Milking Sustainability (with Taste): Dairy’s Role in Sustainable Farming

Enjoy a lively discussion with action-packed industry insights while enjoying handcrafted artisan cheeses and fresh grass-fed yogurt shared from two of Connecticut’s leading experts in the sustainable dairy and specialty cheese sectors.

Integrating Sustainability efforts that go beyond the company mission through results, what are these success stories like, and how do efforts in sustainability marketing influence a brand’s new market growth and customer loyalty.
Beyond Just Dairy – The Path to Net Zero – from regenerative agriculture methods to a fascinating take on collecting cows’ manure to then capture methane and generate renewable energy for farms and the local power grid.
Sourcing Specialty Cheese with Integrity – How partnering with family farms is helping to preserve our local food systems and the art of handcrafted specialty cheeses from around the world.
The Connection Between Food Brand and Farmland – From Regenerative Organic/ROC to Carbon Neutral and Grass Fed certifications …Consumers want to purchase food products based on their values, and as stewards of the land, farmers want to farm with their values and better educate how our food is sourced and grown – learn how sustainability-branded certifications can align with the confidence and values of today’s highly eco-conscious customer.

Hamilton Colwell

Lily Orr

Lily Orr is a Conservationist turned Cheesemaker. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science & Natural Resources from the University of Connecticut then pursued jobs in the conservation field; working for Mount Agamenticus in Maine and Connecticut Farmland Trust back in her home state. Love for the land and agriculture has been part of Lily’s life since she was a little girl growing up on her family’s dairy farm, Fort Hill Farms, which is part of milk cooperatives like The Farmer’s Cow and Cabot Creamery. During the pandemic, Lily found a hobby melding her science degree with her knowledge of dairy and took up cheesemaking. She is now the Lead Pasteurized Cheesemaker at Cato Corner Farm in Colchester, CT and soon-to-be Cheesemaker at Blakesville Creamery in Port Washington, WI.