HARDWICK – Area organic dairy farmer Forrest Foster has been around agriculture for 76 years. Like many other farmers, Foster’s insurance policy was canceled last fall. The policy included liability insurance, required to ship milk.
photo by Raymonda Parchment
Foster has since sold most of his cows, keeping a few with the hopes of rebuilding his herd. “We have to have liability. I send 500,000 pounds of milk in a year, so I had to have 2 million dollars a year of liability insurance,” he explained.
Foster says it all has to do with modern farming regulations. “If you don’t know that I treated a cow, and didn’t mark it and the milk goes in there with medicine in it, gets in the truck so you got 30,000 to 50,000 gallons of milk. You have to have insurance enough for all the milk, not just the milk I make. We never had to have it until a while ago.”
Foster says they’ve done this to seven farms he knows of in recent months. He believes over-regulation and inconsistency in policy has made it more difficult for small farmers like himself to keep up. “Every time you get something that makes it in standard, insurance is the same, getting certified for organic, they keep adding new restrictions. They take away some medicine you can’t use.” Citing one example, Foster explained he is trained and more than capable of dehorning his animals, but certain regulations could force him to hire a veterinarian for the procedure, adding an additional cost. “They’re not looking at the farmer much at all,” he said.
Foster is currently waiting for a state inspection so he can dispose of his barn materials according to state regulations. Some of the wood will be repurposed for the construction of the new barn, headed to an Amish community in upstate New York. In exchange, they will provide some labor during construction. The new structure will be fitted with new electric, and a milking parlor.
He expressed his frustration with the potential delays. “If he doesn’t show up in the next seven or eight days, June he’s taking off, so I might set on my a** [rear] for the month of June when it might be the best time to do the tearing down and building.”
Foster quit school just before he turned 13, spending the bulk of his lifetime in agriculture. In his twenties, Foster relocated his sawmill business in order to be closer to the family farm.
“My dad was pissed off, he didn’t want me to keep cows, I had 31 cows over there before I left, and was shipping milk. I told him I’m gonna keep my cows, and you do the sawmill business yourself.”
Foster said he took a chance, buying 135 acres and a barn. He continued, “A lot of people have written about this, but farming is a life. Karen was with me for 45 years. She came out of the middle of New York City. You never seen a girl so happy in the dirt, gardening, learning how to cook and cooking.”
Foster is touched by the community support he has received in recent months, thanking several individuals. He cited Maria Amador, of the Barton Chronicle and The Civic Standard, as a great help. “She comes in and helps milk, she isn’t afraid to ask questions. Maria fits right in.”
He also named Erica Heilman of the RumbleStrip podcast, and Steve Gorelick, grateful for their continued assistance. “I didn’t even know what a Go-Fund-Me was. He (Steve) and Erica started, they met in the barn.
“There were some nights when I was milking, there would be from six to 16 people. Everybody’s doing something, they’d be all visiting, they didn’t know each other but they got to coming, and it worked really good. That’s one of the reasons for helping me get back at it, because they want to be there. It’s a neat place.”
To support Foster’s return to dairy farming, visit gofundme.com/f/support–forrest–fosters–return–to–dairy–farming
Raymonda Parchment is a Hardwick Gazette reporter. She recently graduated from Vermont State University - Castleton with a Bachelor’s Degree in English. She is a strong supporter of freedom of speech, and the right to publish information, opinions, and ideas without censorship or restraint. She is a lifelong lover of the written word, and is excited to join the team as a staff member.
