Consider Bardwell

Consider Bardwell Farm

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Spanning the rolling hills of Vermont's Champlain Valley and easternmost Washington County, New York, 300-acre Consider Bardwell Farm was the first cheese-making co-op in Vermont, founded in 1864 by Consider Stebbins Bardwell himself. A century later, Angela Miller, Russell Glover, Chris Gray, and master cheese maker Peter Dixon, are revitalizing the tradition with goat milk from their herd of 100 Oberhaslis and cow milk from Lisa Kaimen's herd of 30 Jerseys. Rotational grazing on pesticide-free and fertilizer-free pastures produces the sweetest milk and the tastiest cheese. Their cheeses are made by hand in small batches from whole, fresh milk that is antibiotic and hormone free. All of their cheeses are aged on the farm.

Angela Miller leads Farm Campers on a tour of the farm and cheese caves. We hear about Angela's work returning much of their 300 acres to native grasses. We talk about the benefits and limits of organic certification. Angela, Russell, Chris, and Peter have formed a dynamic partnership drawing on their respective skills and reviving one of the area's most historic farmsteads. As we pass the corn crib and tool shed it's not hard to imagine what the property looked like 150 years ago. Consider Bardwell demonstrates an exciting mix of technological advances and old world practices. And we eat some great cheese!