Subscribe via RSS
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER CASEY FROM ANNAPOLIS, MD. THANKS FOR ALL YOUR COMMENTS!
We love our producers, suppliers and vendors and we think most of them have some pretty interesting stories behind their products too. We’ll be sharing some of our favorites here in an ongoing series. Read on for a chance to win a $50 gift card.
“We go out to the grocery store wearing our Organic Valley hats and someone will come up to us and say, ‘Oh, I love your stuff, it’s the best, thanks!’ and it feels great.”
In scenic Fairfield, Vermont, young farmers Tyler and Melanie Webb run Stony Pond Farm, an organic dairy farm that supplies milk to Organic Valley. Their road to farming was a little unorthodox. Neither Tyler nor Melanie have a background in farming; they both grew up in suburbs of New York. Tyler’s first interest in farming came from studying anthropology in college. Through taking a soils class, he studied plant and soil science and worked for the government for a few years before taking the leap to start Stony Pond Farm. “Tyler found this farm and it was a rundown old dairy farm that together we brought back to life,” says Melanie.
“I figured if I’m ever going to have a chance of being a farmer I’d better try it in my early 20s than my late 60s, so I quit my job, “ says Tyler. “I look back and I don’t even know how we pulled it off. Every day you wake up and you do what you have to do. You milk the cows and you do what’s possible and then before you know it, you’ve done the impossible. In looking back, it seems like it was impossible, but we did it.”
For the Webbs, it was important for their dairy to be part of a farmer-owned cooperative like Organic Valley that encourages the growth and stability of family farms. “I think Organic Valley has been really interested in supporting and promoting young farmers, “ says Melanie. “It’s cool to be part of a co-op that is so forward-thinking.”
What do you think about the hard work that the Webbs have put into starting their dairy farm? Watch the slideshow above and leave a comment with your answer by October 11. One comment will be chosen at random to win a $50 gift card to our stores.
September 28th, 2011 at 9:49 am
What a great success story! It’s great to know that good people like you source the raw ingredients for the Organic Valley products my family enjoys. And I’m even more impressed with your green additions to the farm in the way of wind energy and solar heated water. Awesome!
September 28th, 2011 at 10:02 am
What an adventure for this young family! I love that they’re committed to their product and sharing that commitment with other families.
September 28th, 2011 at 10:19 am
It’s great that although they had no experience, the Webb’s were confident that they could manifest their vision of a humane and organic dairy farm. Glad they’re raising cows other than Holsteins. Now if the gov’t could just get out of the way, and allow a free market for raw milk products. Continued blessings to you Tyler and Melanie!
September 28th, 2011 at 12:09 pm
Rad!! So neat that they had the faith to step out into the dark and take a chance!! I want to be like them:-).
September 28th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Its nice to see the care and affection for the cows…they treat them better than some people treat one another.
September 29th, 2011 at 4:54 pm
How wonderful! I’m jealous.
September 30th, 2011 at 7:08 am
Thank you so much! It is nice to know that there are still farmers out there like you!
October 1st, 2011 at 9:26 am
It’s farmers like Melanie and Tyler that teach us there is room for products outside of factory farming. We can consume responsibly, treat animals well and respect the environment. These guys make it possible. Thanks to Whole Foods and Organic Valley for giving great farmers a means to get quality foods to urban consumers.
October 1st, 2011 at 10:41 pm
I just loved hearing Tyler say…”you do what’s possible and then before you know it, you’ve done the impossible.” I have Celiac Disease and there are days that the possible seems impossible. I am going to use this quote in my daily self talk. Having Organic Valley as a food option has made the impossible meals possible for me and my family. Thanks to Stony Farm and other farmers like them, and of course Whole Foods I am living well gluten-free.
October 2nd, 2011 at 11:35 pm
I am impressed by the Webbs’ dedication and commitment to achieving their goal.
October 5th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
I think this slideshow was excellent. I especially liked Tyler’s comment at the end. I have so much respect for what Melanie & Tyler are doing as a young couple from the NY suburbs. We need many more people like them to save us from the agribusiness giants that are ruining our food and spoiling our environment. My hat’s off to them. It’s a lot of work.
October 6th, 2011 at 7:44 pm
Obviously a passion–it makes me feel good buying organic!
October 9th, 2011 at 1:12 pm
This is an inspirational story. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it.
October 9th, 2011 at 3:25 pm
I find their story comforting as deepens my trust in organic dairy farmers. As a new mother I try my hardest to put healthy foods on the table. Knowing that some companies, including many that are family or farmer owned, still believe in hard work and honesty only makes me feel better about buying their foods. Thank you whole foods for putting Organic Valley foods on the shelves and Tyler and Melanie thank you for producing such wonderful products!
October 10th, 2011 at 8:02 pm
Awesome work.
October 10th, 2011 at 10:19 pm
It is so wonderful to realize that there are still businesses out there that put such good energy into what they do.
October 30th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
I use “Organic Valley” products, but had know idea that you were part of the “American Way”, I love your story. My husband, Charles and I met Bob and Maureen Graham on a cruise, and we have been emailing each other. Maureen said she was friends with you and I am sure encourages you too. We will keep on using “Organic Valley” products knowing that you are one on of families who are contributing to this wonderful way of life and hard work.
Keep on keeping on.
Chuck and Betty
January 30th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
God Bless Organic Valley and Whole Foods for their efforts in bringing God’s originally intended bounty back into the lives of city-dwelling Americans.
Back at the turn of the century and I’m talking the early 1900′s – there were no cancers to speak of, no cardiovascular diseases to speak of, children were not obese, middle aged folks did not have to take statins to reduce cholesterol levels. Why is this – because the foods were whole and society was whole and profit for it’s own sake was not the end all and be all as it has become today in many circles.
We were a purer society then, a simpler society, a more homogenous society, a more Godly society – a society of Americans; not individual sub-classes of whites, blacks, asians, and latins. Sure we weren’t perfect we had some problems, things to work out but all of us were working for that American dream of independence, self-determination, and self-expression.
May God Bless us all as we move forward to reclaim America and our individuality from those forces that seek to divide us, seek to classify us, and who seek to distract us from our natural affection for each one another.
Let’s do this – keep the innocence – keep the purity – keep the authenticity – for each and every one of us – God Bless us all.