Last year, the number of Vermont dairy farms dipped below 1,000 and it
continues to drop. Is this a Vermont problem or a by-product of a system
heavily weighted in favor of mega-farms? In the localvore age,
shouldn’t the trend be a return to the small family-run farm and away
from the corporate-style operation?
Tuck School of Business
senior writer Kirk Kardashian’s first book, “Milk Money: Cash, Cows, and
the Death of the American Dairy Farm,” investigates why the system is
tilted towards mega-farms and against the small family farm. He
discusses the failing economics of the traditional small dairy farm.
Also on the program, professional photographer Skye Chalmers
has created a book of images that chronicles the farms and farmers of the Cabot
Creamery Cooperative. He discusses the tales behind “Sending Milk.”
And, Vermont’s prison population has exploded over the past decade. That leaves local communities grappling with ways to help inmates re-enter their communities after they have served their time. VPR’s Charlotte Albright reports on the debate going on in Kirby over the subject.