| Cabot Creamery Cooperative | |
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| Type | Farm Family Dairy Cooperative |
| Founded | 1919 |
| Headquarters | Vermont, United States |
| Products | Dairy |
| Website | http://www.cabotcheese.coop |
The Cabot Creamery Cooperative is an American dairy marketing cooperative started in 1919 by farmers in Cabot, Vermont. The Cabot Creamery has facilities in various locations, including Cabot, Route 100 in Waterbury, and Quechee, Vermont. The cheese-making facilities in Cabot offer tours and information, and sells souvenirs to visitors. In 2004, there were about 1,350 members in Vermont and the nearby part of upstate New York. As a member of Vermont Cooperatives[1], Cabot attempts to emulate the Rochdale Principles. The cheese making process has evolved for the Cabot cooperative. The small-time producers who sold mostly throughout New England, and eventually to buyers in the South have gone international. The cooperative, teamed up with the New York cheese makers of McCadam, has expanded. They make and sell dairy products, and cheddar cheese. In 2006, Cabot won for the best sharp cheddar at the World Championship Cheese Contest.[2]
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History
The original plant had an investment of $3,700 in total, which was paid by 94 farmers in proportion to the number of cattle which each owned. The farmers purchased the village creamery (built in 1893) and began producing butter under the Rosedale brand name. The cooperative started out making butter with the excess milk produced, and began shipping its products south. It wasn't until 1930 that the cooperative hired their first cheese maker. By 1960, the cooperative had 600 member farmers. In 1992, the cooperative merged with Agri-Mark, another large New England farmers' cooperative.
Over the next two decades, as the nation’s population moved to urban areas, Cabot’s farmer-owners shipped their milk and butter south. While the national economy shifted away from agriculture, the Vermont economy was still largely based on dairy farming. In fact, in 1930 cows outnumbered people, 421,000 to 359,000. It was at this time that the company hired its first cheesemaker and cheddar cheese entered the product line for the first time.
By 1960, Cabot’s membership reached 600 farm families, though the total number of operating farms around the nation was already in rapid decline. The trend continued into the 1980s when the total number of farms in Vermont sank below 2,000, less than one fifth of what it had been just a few decades earlier. By this time, Cabot had dropped the Rosedale name and was marketing cheeses and butter under the Cabot brand. The company also began entering its cheddar in national competitions and in 1989 took first place in the cheddar category at the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest held in Green Bay, Wisconsin. In 1992 Cabot’s farmer-owners merged with the 1,800 farm families of Agri-mark, a southern New England co-op dating back to 1918. The combined companies totaled more than 1,500 farms, four processing plants and a large product line.
Cabot's Community Involvement
Cabot Creamery has created a number of educational programs, incorporating nutrition, science and agriculture into learning. These programs were created with students, parents, teachers and community members in general in mind as useful tools for all kids, whether in kindergarten or high school.[3]
