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Brad and Jill ThomasVermont Agricultural Credit Corporation
Brad and Jill Thomas operate a 177-cow Holstein dairy on a 493-acre farm in Orwell. They purchased the farm and the development rights to several additional parcels in 2000, after having rented the farm for seven years.
Brad is a graduate of Vermont Technical College with an Associates Degree in Dairy Farm Management and Technology, and Jill is a St. Michael’s graduate with a B.S. in Business Administration. The farm’s labor force includes Brad and three full time employees.
Since purchasing the farm, the Thomases built a 145-cow greenhouse dairy barn and renovated the milking parlor. They purchased a mobile home as labor housing to help retain hired help. They grow a combination of hay and corn crops on 240 owned and 54 rented crop acres, and they store these crops in bunker silos. The farm raises its own herd replacements and uses artificial insemination breeding for herd improvement. The herd has excellent genetics, with numerous embryo transplant cows.
Recently, Brad and Jill were offered a generous price for their entire herd, an offer which would have moved the herd out of Vermont. After careful consideration, the Thomases decided instead to approach the Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation about restructuring some debt and investing in equipment. VACC financing of $109,000 has helped the Thomases continue to farm their land and increase the value of their herd.
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A program designed to assist Vermont's farmers
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