Choiniere Family Farm in Vermont: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Choiniere Family Farm in Highgate Center, Vermont, about four miles from the Quebec border, is an organic, 100 percent grass-fed dairy that won the 2021 New England Leopold Conservation Award. The Choiniere family has farmed here since 1945, working 242 acres of farmland and 70 acres of woodland along the Rock River. The farm was the first from Vermont to win the New England Leopold award, and its owner was also named Vermont's Conservation Farmer of the Year in 2009.
| Location | Highgate Center, Franklin County, Vermont, about four miles from Quebec |
|---|---|
| Founded | In the Choiniere family since 1945 |
| Sectors | organic grass-fed dairy; beef; pork; poultry; eggs; honey; baked goods |
| Scale | 242 acres of farmland and 70 acres of woodland; herd size not published in the sources reviewed |
| Why it is elite | 2021 New England Leopold Conservation Award; 2009 Vermont Conservation Farmer of the Year (Guy Choiniere) |
| Ownership | Guy and Beth Choiniere, with children Matt and Hannah |
| Official website | Drovers: Choiniere Family Farm New England Leopold Conservation Award announcement |
History of Choiniere Family Farm
The dairy has been in the Choiniere family since 1945. Guy's parents, Henry and Raymonde, placed a conservation easement on the land and sold its development rights before transferring the farm to Guy and Beth in the 1990s. That early step helped keep the land in agriculture.
The farm went organic in the 1990s and later converted its herd to 100 percent grass-fed. Guy and Beth now run it with their children Matt and Hannah. The award, announced in November 2021, includes $10,000 and a crystal trophy and is presented by Sand County Foundation with American Farmland Trust as national sponsor.
What Choiniere Family Farm Grows and Raises
The farm uses rotational grazing and hay-fed winter barns, and it manages manure with a compost bedded pack system rather than liquid manure storage. Pigs help break down the compost. This keeps nutrients on the farm and reduces runoff risk near the river.
Water quality is the farm's signature conservation story. The family planted 5,000 trees on the banks of the impaired Rock River, conveyed a 51-acre river corridor easement and maintains a 50-foot naturally vegetated buffer along 12,000 feet of riverbank. The farm also participates in Vermont's roadside sign program for conservation practices.
How Choiniere Family Farm Makes Money
Organic grass-fed milk
Milk is the original and central enterprise. Organic and grass-fed certification positions the dairy away from the conventional commodity market. Milk prices and buyer details are not published in the sources reviewed, so none are stated.
On-farm store
The family sells beef, milk, pork, chicken, eggs, honey and baked goods at an on-farm store, adding retail margin and direct customer relationships.
Diversified livestock
Beef, pork and poultry use the same pastures and byproducts, such as pigs working compost. Farm diversification spreads risk across products.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Choiniere Family Farm
Make conservation part of the farm system. The compost bedded pack, buffer strips and river easement serve water quality and also cut the cost and risk of liquid manure storage. Practices that fit your herd and land often earn recognition and cost-share.
Use the land trust and easement tools early. The Choiniere family's easement and development rights sale in an earlier generation helped the next generation take over. Vermont farm families can combine easements, organic markets and diversified direct sales to improve resilience.
Pigs that help break down compost may be the most diligent employees in northern Vermont, and we mean that as a sincere compliment. At farm.FM we write farm satire, farm humor, ranch humor and farm jokes, and a dairy four miles from Quebec with a chorus of cows, hogs and hens has more comic potential than we could ever use. We promise to keep the teasing as gentle as a rotational grazing move on a June morning.
Part newsroom, part radio dial, farm.FM bills itself as America's first satirical farm site and plays Tractor Tunes, its country music for farmers. Browse a farm.FM writer's back catalog to see the style.
How to Contact Choiniere Family Farm
We did not verify an official farm website, so this award announcement is the best public page. No address, phone or email was confirmed from an official site. The farm has an on-farm store; confirm hours and sales before traveling.
Choiniere Family Farm Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Choiniere Leopold award - Drovers report on the 2021 New England Leopold award
- VHCB announcement - Vermont Housing and Conservation Board coverage
- AgProud feature - Independent coverage of grazing and soil health on the farm
- Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets - State agency for water quality and farm programs
- NOFA-VT farm profile - Organic farming association directory entry
Choiniere Family Farm FAQ
What is Choiniere Family Farm known for?
It is an organic, grass-fed dairy in Highgate Center that won the 2021 New England Leopold Conservation Award.
How much land does it farm?
The award announcement cites 242 acres of farmland and 70 acres of woodland.
What does the farm sell?
The farm sells beef, milk, pork, chicken, eggs, honey and baked goods at an on-farm store.
Who runs it?
Guy and Beth Choiniere, with their children Matt and Hannah.
Choiniere Family Farm demonstrates that a Vermont dairy can protect a river and still build a diversified, direct-selling business. See more operations in our guide to Vermont farms.