Vermont’s dairy industry has constricted dramatically over the last decade. According to data from UVM Extension, there were 838 dairy farms a decade ago. That number dropped to 414 at the start of this year. Current projects indicate that another 50 will close by the end of this year.
The processing sector is consolidating, too. Last month, Franklin Foods
announced it’s closing its dairy processing facility in Enosburg Falls. The month before, the infant formula maker
Perrigo laid off more than 160 people from its soon-to-be shuttered plant in Georgia. In April, the HP Hood dairy processing plant in Barre
closed for good.
This hour we look at dairy industry consolidation from local, state and national perspectives. Guests include:
Anson Tebbetts, Vermont’s Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets; Kevin Kouri, chair of the
Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance and the nutrition and sales director at Phoenix Feeds and Nutrition; and Claire Kelloway, the food systems program manager at the
Open Markets Institute, a think tank focused on the negative impact of monopolies on the economy and democracy.
We also talk with Jon Ovitt, the longtime plant manager at Franklin Foods in Enosburg Falls. The plant is set to shutter in August, but Ovitt has plans to reimagine the business and reopen it this fall.
Broadcast on Monday, July 6th, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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