Almost exactly a month after my trip to Burlington, Vermont, I finally combed through all of my pictures and narrowed them down to a select few. And now it’s recap tiiiime!
I left for Burlington, Vermont early Sunday morning on October 8 and by 10:30 a.m. the following Tuesday, I was back in Charlotte. It was a quick trip, but a gorgeous one!
Fall in Vermont and Learning About Organic Farming
Visiting Vermont in the fall and learning about organic farming was a dream. The foliage is stunning and pops of the most vibrant reds, oranges and yellows made me wish Charlotte would hurry up and realize it was fall already when I returned home. (Thankfully Charlotte got the memo last weekend.)
I was invited to Vermont by Stonyfield Organic to learn more about the importance of organics and organic farming and after a quick flight to Washington, D.C. and another to Burlington, I found myself in Vermont a little after lunchtime on Sunday. I was greeted by sunny skies and cool breezes, colorful leaves and rolling hills. Unfortunately Sunday’s sun was the only sun I’d see during my visit, but it was a beautiful welcome to the state and sneaking peeks at Lake Champlain as the sun was setting was nothing short of breathtaking.
The trip officially began about 20 minutes after I checked into my hotel room at Hotel Vermont, so I had just enough time to throw on a sweater and check in with Ryan before heading down to the lobby. We were greeted by the two-person PR team for Stonyfield (yep, only two of them – Stonyfield employs around 350 people and I definitely thought the company was much bigger) and after emailing with Kristina and Mairead for so long (years!), it was so nice to finally meet them in person. They planned a meet-and-greet event at Dedalus, a local wine and cheese shop, and the space was warmly lit and incredibly cozy.
Our group spent a solid two hours introducing ourselves to each other and learning more about our blogging pasts, ambitions, families and more. It was such a relaxed, laidback way to ease into the trip which was wonderful. So often blogging trips are go, go, go from the minute you step off the plane, so this informal kickoff was such a treat! I had plenty of time to meet the six additional bloggers on the trip and loved learning more about all of them. Blogging for a living can feel like a strange job in my day-to-day life and I cannot overstate how nice it is to connect with people who do what I do (or something very similar) in real life.
After our mini cocktail hour, we boarded the bus back to the hotel and got ready for dinner at Juniper, a farm-to-plate inspired restaurant that focuses on local ingredients. Our private room overlooked Lake Champlain and we couldn’t resist sipping our drinks out on the terrace before our meal.
(Our group from left to right: Claire of The Kitchy Kitchen / Bev of Bev Cooks / Sonja of A Couple Cooks / Me / Emily of Small Fry Blog / Erika of Essentially Erika / Gabby of Design Mom)
Over a three-course meal served family style that included the creamiest pumpkin soup, pillowy gnocchi, fork-tender chicken and perfectly sweet apple tarts, we learned more about organic farming practices, the benefits of choosing organic and the initiatives Stonyfield takes to help conventional dairy farmers switch to organic dairy farming. While I knew about the issue of pesticides, synthetic hormones and chemicals in conventional farming, I didn’t realize that organic foods are much higher in antioxidants (20-40 percent higher!) and other nutrients. Additionally, scientists have found that soil from organic farms is better at sequestering carbon (a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change) than conventional farms because organic soil has higher concentrations of humic acids. (These are substances in the soil that give soil its brown color and binds to the soil, making it more fertile and allowing it to retain water while assisting plants in nutrient absorption.)
Since we had a very full day ahead of us on Monday, after dinner and dessert, we all said our goodbyes and headed back to our hotel rooms where I tossed and turned but eventually fell asleep a little after midnight.
Monday
Our group was up and ready for the day a little after 7 a.m., decked out in rain jackets and wellies since the forecast told us to expect nothing but rain and clouds all day long. Unfortunately the forecast proved correct and we spent all day Monday with our hoods up and our cameras protected under ponchos and layers.
A one-hour drive northwest from Burlington brought us to Green Wind Farm, one of the family farms that supplies organic milk to Stonyfield.
We met Julie who owns the organic farm with her husband and right away we could see the passion she has for farming, her cows and cultivating high-quality pasture for her animals to graze. Because her cows are organic, they’re required to graze on pasture at least 120 days per year in addition to having year-round access to the outdoors. As part of this, her cows rotate through different grazing areas (paddocks) every day, each one saturated with lush grasses and plants. This method of farming allows the cows to feed themselves and fertilize their pastures naturally, resulting in less fossil-fuel consumption, less erosion, less air and water pollution and greater soil fertility. I was absolutely fascinated to learn more about the pasture the cows eat and on Green Wind Farm, the pasture is saturated with a myriad of plants. While the cows have preferences (they love dandelion which is a great source of vitamin C and stimulates liver activity), they will often gravitate toward different plants in the pasture depending on how they are feeling.
This just reiterated in my mind the power of the foods we eat and the way they can help and heal our bodies. During our visit to Green Wind Farm, we talked a lot about the health of organic dairy cows versus conventional dairy cows and I was shocked to learn that organic cows live twice as long and rarely seem to get sick. Organic cows cannot be treated with synthetic hormones and antibiotics which are both frequently given to non-organic farm animals to change their reproductive cycles and speed up their growth. It was really interesting for me to hear from multiple dairy farmers about the dramatic shift in their cow’s health when they switched to organic farming and pasture grazing.
Once we were officially too wet to keep trudging through the mud, Julie invited us inside her home for the most incredible homemade brunch.
Julie and her husband live in a farmhouse that was built in the 1800s and served a comforting spread of hot coffee with the best creamer I’ve ever had, fresh-from-the-oven bread with a thick slab of butter, cheesy egg casserole and a pickled beet salad. I don’t think I was the only one who couldn’t resist filling my plate more than once and loved everything. With our stomachs full and caffeine kicking in, we were ready for our next adventure and headed off to Windy Hill Farm, another family-owned organic farm that supplies milk to Stonyfield. Windy Hill is a larger farm with a herd of approximately 100 beautiful Holstein cows and even though it was pouring during our visit to Windy Hill, somehow we still had a good time!
We made it back to our hotel with just enough time to shower and change before we were off to a farm-to-table dinner featuring a spread of delicious organic produce from Philo Ridge Farm. The farm is owned by husband-wife duo Peter and Diana who purchased a run-down conventional dairy farm to save it from ruin. They transformed the farm into a fully-functioning organic farm complete with a stunning farmhouse they are currently using for organic farming education and community events. Diana was once a student of Gary Hirshberg, the founder of Stonyfield and shares his passion for organic farming. Gary actually joined us for dinner which was really amazing. (For my fellow NPR podcast lovers, you may recognize his name from his recent feature on How I Built This.) Gary was really interested in our thoughts on organic farming and choosing organic products; what information surprised us about organic farming after our farm tours, what roadblocks stand in our way from purchasing organics (the resounding answer here was price) and more. I felt honored to be included in such a lively, honest and informative discussion.
We arrived back at our hotel just before midnight and I’m pretty sure all of us crashed hard, especially since a number of us at pre-5 a.m. wakeup calls the next day. It was a whirlwind trip, but a wonderful one! Thank you so much to Stonyfield for including me! I loved fall in Vermont and learning about organic farming.
Stonyfield Organic Yogurt Giveaway
And now for a giveaway!! I’m partnering with Stonyfield to give away three months of FREE yogurt! One PBF reader will receive coupons to stock up on a wide variety of Stonyfield yogurt, whether you prefer their organic whole milk Greek yogurt, 100% Grassfed yogurt, soy yogurt, YoBaby or YoKids yogurts (Chase is still 100 percent obsessed with the mango YoBaby yogurt) or want to try their double cream yogurt (it truly tastes like dessert)! To enter this giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite kind of Stonyfield yogurt or one reason why you believe it is important to choose organic food when possible.
I will randomly select a winner next Friday, November 17 at 7 a.m. (EST), when the giveaway closes. (U.S. entries only, please.) Good luck!
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I like their yobaby yogurt. The kids like it and so do I!
We love Stonyfield Farms yogurt! After having my son, we knew it would be important to feed him organic, healthy foods (many of which weren’t available when we were growing up). His favorite is strawberry banana (anything with “nanas!”). Thanks for passing along the information you learned!
Vanilla is my fav
I love the double cream yogurt!
I love all their yogurts! Have loved them since I was a kid and now my kids love them. Eating organic whenever possible is important not only for ones personal health (avoiding added hormones, etc) but also for our planet ?
My 9 month old loves the yobaby yogurt! I personally love their Greek yogurt with some granola bin OT for a morning snack 🙂
I’m loving Stonyfields fruit yogurts with PBF homemade granola sprinkled on top. It’s my “go to” breakfast of champions! I make organic food purchasing a top priority when grocery shopping. It’s a good feeling that I’m feeding my family good/clean/wholesome foods. Thanks for a great giveaway.
I love the YoBaby yogurt for my 15 month old daughter. She literally wakes up every morning asking for her “gogo”. It’s too cute and she cant get enough!
I love greek yogurt with red grapes. I have read before about the extra nutrients in organic food and I believe if we ate healthier foods we wouldn’t need to supplement our diets with a ton of vitamins and all the other extras.
Choosing organic is important to me because they contain more antioxidants.
Looks like a beautiful trip! I love the yokids for my little ones as well as the whole milk yogurt. so creamy!
I grew up eating fruit on the bottom blueberry yogurt, so I have to go with Stonyfield’s version of that nostalgic flavor!
What a cool experience! They kiddos love their yogurts.
LOVE Stonyfield’s lemon flavored yogurt! Yum!
I love their Organic whole milk yogurt – as does my toddler!!
My son (and I!) love all of the yobaby yogurts. I try to buy organic produce, meat, and dairy whenever possible!
I love their vanilla Greek yogurt!
I’m all about their whole milk yogurt! I like to add it to smoothies or overnight oats or just eat it with a little honey and granola. Yum!
We love their organic whole milk yogurt for our toddler!!!! ?
I love their vanilla yogurt!
This looks like an incredible trip! For many years, I’ve been a big fan of Stonyfield Organic Plain Greek Yogurt, as well as the Plain regular, Fat-Free yogurt! It’s always so smooth and creamy!
Love their grass fed Greek yogurt
Wow, Vermont in the fall is gorgeous. I have only tried the Stoneyfield strawberry (2 percent) that came with a packaged lunch, so I would LOVE to try a few more varieties. The Double Cream sounds like heaven… Choosing organic did not become important to me until recently, when I began reading more about the fungicides and insecticides used to grow the non-organic fruit and veggies I was feeding my family. YIKES.
My son loves the YoBaby yogurt! Eating organic is important to me because I like to know where my
Food is coming from and what EXACTLY is in there. I also love eating local!
I try to buy organic for my family, especially my daughter, as much as possible!
To be honest, my favorite is the 6-pack for kids because my son eats them easily and loves them!
This was so cool to read about! I had no idea how small the company was and loved hearing about organic farming. We really like their Greek yogurt at our house.
Wonderful and interesting post! Love their Greek yogurt!
My 2 year old has yet to meet a yogurt he doesn’t like.
I’m not sure I’ve ever tried Stoneyfield yogurt, but I’d love to give it a shot! I am new to the organic movement. I’ve always gone as cheap as possible and organic just simply not that. But as I’ve started to give my health more of a priority in my life, I’ve moved towards more organic foods. However, I typically have only tried organic produce, but organic dairy makes sense now too! Thanks for expanding my horizon 🙂
We love them all! I typically get the cherry flavored Greek for myself and the yobaby for my 18 month old! She’ll eat any and all kinds and flavors though.
Soy yogurt for my dairy free little one! I like to eat organic so I can remain aware of what is in the food I am feeding to my little one!
So interesting to learn about the difference between organic and conventional dairy. I always try to buy organic dairy products bc I truly believe they must be much better for our bodies. I LOVE using stony field plain yogurt to make dressings for salads and side dishes. And I love just plain vanilla with some almonds for a snack 🙂
I love the vanilla! Besides the health benefits of eating organic, I also believe it genuinely tastes better too 🙂
I love that organic products are not only good for humans, but improve the quality of life for animals as well. I try and eat organic whenever possible. I see it as an investment in my health Now. Quite a few members of my family have been diagnosed with unfortunate diseases this last year which has made me reconsider organic as an important decision.
Great post on the difference between conventional and organic dairy! Over the years, I have seen the difference in the two types of dairy products and appreciate the clearly worded explanation. My husband and I are big fans of the grass-fed greek yogurts – vanilla for me and blueberry for him. Our son doesn’t go a day without a YoBaby – particularly the blueberry/apple. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wow, I never knew some of the differences between organic cows and non. Definitely going to keep this in mind when grocery shopping for dairy this weekend. I love just vanilla yogurt and have it as “dessert” after dinner so that would be awesome to get a supply!
My favorite kind of Stonyfield yogurt is the YoBaby that I still use for my toddler. He loves it and asks for “More Yogurt Please” all the time. Since my son has some special needs having to do with behavior and sensory integration, it’s incredibly important that we keep his food as organic as possible. Children with sensory disorders often gravitate towards processed foods and have a very limited diet. So when my son enjoys (and asks!) for a food that is organic (and has more nutritional value – I did not know that about organic foods before reading your blog) you GLADLY supply him with as much as he wants. Hence, Stonyfield has given us a nutrition, clean and healthy staple in my son’s diet. 🙂 (Side note: My son is just a week or two older than yours! It’s been so fun to hear what’s happening with Chase as I see it in my son around the same time!)
My son loves the Strawberry Yobaby!
I love the YoKids for well my kids and for myself the whole milk Greek yogurt. I love that I can eat it plain, jazz it up, cook and even bake with it!
YoBaby and YoKids are so easy to grab and I feel better about giving them to my kids!
Wow! I knew organic was better which was why I’ve always bought organic when it comes to anything dairy based but I’m just stunned. Those cows look so happy and to think conventional dairy farming cuts their lives in half is just so sad! My little guy turns one tomorrow and I was planning on getting him some organic grassmilk yogurt and milk and I’d love an opportunity to try theirs! And seriously the food and scenery from your trip are just breathtaking! So so jealous! And now I want to move there because Oklahoma still hasn’t gotten then memo it’s fall which is definitely my absolute favorite time of year.
Love the stoneyfield vanilla yogurt!
My son loves the YoKids yogurt!
My 19 month old loves the Yo Baby and Yo Kids yogurt. He has one for breakfast every morning. He loves pointing to the baby on the packaging and saying “baby!”.
I Love Greek yogurt! It’s so important for everyone to realize that we are slowly killing our earth with pesticides and that by supporting organic companies and products we are improving our health and the world.
Thank you for this post! Humane farming practices are so important. So many people out there claim to love animals, yet do not think twice about where the animal products they consume come from. Factory farming is so cruel in many ways. It is so nice to see animals that live happily on farms and do not get pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. And by supporting humane, organic farms we can help change the industry! Our dollars are powerful! <3 <3
My little guy will be starting solid foods soon so I would love to feed him Yobaby! I bet he will love yogurt as much as his mama : )
Organic food is important so you know you are feeding your family actual food–no pesticide chemicals, no GMOs, no antibiotics.
I can’t get enough of the Stonyfield strawberry greek yogurt – it tastes like a delicious indulgence while also being nutritious! I had no idea what an impact organic vs. non-organic practices have on the health of the cows – definitely an important factor that I will take into account going forward when making dairy choices at the grocery store!