By Tamara Scully, NODPA News contributing writer
Steeped in history, Riverhill Farms in Williston, Vermont was once the home of Thomas Crittenden, who served as Vermont’s first governor in 1791. Since 1835, it has been home to Cameron Clark’s ancestors. The 560 acre farm includes 230 acres of tillable land, with the remainder being forested. The tillable acres are broken down into 170 hayfield acres - 60 of which are also used for late summer pasture - and 50 acres of permanent pasture. Nestled in the flood zone of the Winooski River, the soil is “some of the best soil in the state,” Cameron, the eighth generation of the Clark family to farm this land, said.
Cameron grew up farming here and now co-owns the farm with her mother. The farm has always been a dairy farm. Cameron manages the dairy and milks the cows, does the field work including pasture rotations and haying, and works the maple woods and sugar shack during sugaring season. She farms alongside her husband, Dan O’Shaughnessy, who works full-time off farm while also doing maple sugaring, logging, fieldwork, and more.
“My best resource is my husband, who can run any piece of equipment and enjoys doing it, and fixes everything mechanical that breaks,” she said.
Her mother, Patrice, manages the horses and does the bookwork, and helps as needed with the farmwork. Patrice’s husband Mark, a retired power company lineman, also helps on the farm by fixing things, hauling hay and sap, and helping in the sugarhouse. Cameron’s 12 year-old son - the ninth generation - along with one employee, Wendy, who milks, does pasture work and helps with the maple sugaring operation, round out the crew.
Awarded the first Vermont Fantastic Farmer award in 2021, Cameron has taken the legacy of her family’s farm and improved upon it with a focus on environmental, animal and human health, implementing changes that make sense for the land, the herd, and the family’s financial and economic needs. Her decisions began with the switch to certified organic dairy farming , include the more recent move to a 100 percent grassfed dairy, and continue to the planned future expansion of the farm’s retail maple syrup sales.
When Cameron was growing up on the farm, the cows were managed conventionally. When she left for college in 2007 to attend the dairy management program at Vermont Technical College, the family stopped milking cows. Cameron, however, kept some cows from the herd, breeding them and milking them at a nearby farm. When she graduated in 2012, she returned to the farm with 16 cows, and has grown the closed herd internally since then.
Cameron brought more than her cows back home to the farm: she brought changes to the dairy. “I grew up farming conventionally, with milking cows confined to their barns during the winter, and during the summer months the dry cows and heifers would go out to permanent continuous grazing pasture, while milking cows would have outdoor access,” Cameron said. “Throughout those years, the health benefits of pasture and fresh air and sunshine - to all groups of cows - were very noticeable. I decided that if I was going to continue farming and milking cows that it would be a pasture-based system where cows could just be cows, and I could work with nature as much as possible instead of against it.”
With that philosophy as her guiding mission, Cameron certified the dairy in 2012 through Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF). All of the hayland and permanent pasture was eligible to be certified immediately, and 70 acres which had been cornfields for the conventional dairy herd were transitioned into perennial grass and legume hayfields, with the last gaining organic certification in 2017.
The dairy began shipping milk to Organic Valley in 2012 By 2019, she was ready to take the herd to 100 percent grassfed, and has been under their Grassmilk® brand for the past six years. The switch to 100 percent grassfed followed naturally with another decision she had already implemented: managing the cows with Once-a-Day (OAD) milking. Cameron was already OAD milking the later lactation cows for a few months prior to drying them off. After some further research, she opted to experiment with the entire herd. Cameron felt that OAD milking made sense for their farm, with labor constraints, natural cow behavior, and and cow health considerations all being deciding factors. “I could not find enough time to get everything done in a day, especially during haying season,” she said, as she was operating the farm alone at the time.
Another factor in the decision was the body condition struggles her first lactation cows were having during the winter months in her very cold barns. With high nutrition demands, eliminating a milking meant the cows could utilize more energy for their health, rather than put it into producing more milk.
The herd’s switch to OAD milking did lead to a 20 percent drop in production overall. Within one week, the entire herd had adjusted to the new OAD schedule. She planned the switch for the coldest part of the winter, reserving the option to go back to twice per day milking in the summer, should the cows have a need for it. They didn’t.
There were no issues after the May return to pasture grazing. Today, some of the sixth or seventh lactation cows in the herd have only ever known OAD milking.
The change to grassfed came next. Cameron had read that there would be some drop in production without grains, and that a drop in body condition could cause issues with cow health and breeding when eliminating grain. She needn’t have worried.
“Since I went OAD milking before grassfed, I saw no difference in production or cow health after switching to grassfed. I generally was only feeding less than three pounds of corn grain per cow, per day only in the parlor during milking time. I switched to alfalfa pellets in the parlor,” as a result of going grassfed, Cameron said.
Some cows were a bit upset, but it didn’t last long, and they are now happy. She’s seen improvements in body condition in the winter months, decreased summer heat stress, and no overall change in fertility. And the cows and the people are happier.
“At this point I don’t even consider going back to twice per day milking because OAD has been one of the best management decisions for me, my cows, and the farm as a whole. It allows us the time to make quality hay crops in the summer and work in the maple woods and the sugarhouse during the winter and spring, and have the occasional afternoon of rest or free time,” Cameron said. “Many people, including my veterinarian, the artificial insemination technician and others, have commented on how good my cows look in all season.”
The milking herd and the heifer group each are housed in separate 1970s freestall barns. The barns are bedded with sand, and everything is scraped out daily. There is a concrete area to stack the manure, and manure and bedding from the horse barns is co-mingled with that from the dairy. This mix is spread on the hay fields after mowing and baling, during both the spring and fall.
As the cows naturally want to stay in the barn during the hot summer days, and graze in the late afternoon through early morning hours, twice a day milking was interfering with their ability to do so. With an afternoon milking at 5pm, the cows were having to graze during times of higher heat stress, and then were further stressed by having to come to the parlor to milk when they naturally wanted to graze.
“Understanding and observing cow behavior over the years and through reading about OAD milking, cows naturally want to do the majority of their grazing in the afternoon and pre-dawn/early morning hours,” Cameron said. “I now milk in the late morning. Cows come back from pasture voluntarily in the morning before milking.”
The cows are milked in an old DeLaval pit parlor, circa 1953. The old barn, where the parlor had been, burnt down, but the parlor was spared. This parlor was the second “modern” parlor built in the state of Vermont. They updated much of the parlor’s equipment prior to 2012, and they’ve made upgrades as needed since then.
With three stalls per side, the parlor is a “true parallel parlor because the cows have individual stalls and they are parallel to the pit,” Cameron said. “It is a very old parlor, but it still works, and for my size herd it works well.”
The size of the milking herd changes with the season, and ranges between 35 and 45 head. In fall and early winter, cows are bred so they do not freshen during the coldest parts of the year, which are the months of January and February here. The cows are all descended from the Purebred Holstein herd that was dominant on the farm since the early 1900s. Cameron has crossbred her now-colorful herd, which currently consists of two, three and four-way crosses, as well as six purebred Holsteins.
“I started with Holstein/Jersey crosses, and then added Milking Shorthorn, Swedish Red and Lineback breeds. The Linebacks are my favorite, but the Holsteins will forever be special,” she said.
Annual milk production is approximately 10,500 pounds per cow. The somatic cell count runs about 130,000. The winter butterfat is at 5.2 percent, trending down to about 4.6 percent in the summer, while the proteins are at 3.6 percent and other solids at 5.5 percent. Cameron saw a general decrease in SCC after implementing OAD milking. Overall, she has a 100 point lower SCC than prior to OAD milking, which was opposite what she expected from the literature. And, from her observations and records, milk leaking from udders does not correlate to mastitis issues or high SCC. Butterfat increased between 0.2 and 0.5 percent with the switch to OAD milking, depending on the season.
Milking cows and springing heifers are grouped together on pasture, and are provided with a fresh paddock every day. In keeping with their preference for grazing later in the day, the herd is typically milked between 10 and 11 am, but the cows - and the people- are fine with some flexibility in this system. The cows are released out into the fresh pasture following the milking. Mostly, they come back on their own to the barn each morning prior to milking time. “I call it a ‘voluntary grazing system’ because the cows make their own schedule,” Cameron said.
The pastures are primarily perennial grasses and some weeds, notably thistle and dock, with sedges in wetter areas. The hay fields that either have been converted to pasture, or are also used for pasture after cutting, are a mix of orchard grass, perennial rye, brome and timothy, and some red and white clovers.
“We would like to implement some pasture renovation on specific areas, but would like to do so without tilling the soil, since most of it is in the floodplain,” Cameron said. “But finding the equipment to borrow or rent, and the time to do so has been elusive.”
Riparian buffers surround the entire floodplain field area. These buffers are 80 to 100 feet wide at the minimum, and have been established for more than 80 years. Her grandfather planted trees to create the buffer, and installed riprap stone and log banks to reinforce the river banks.
With three major floods in the last two years - July 2023, December 2023 and July 2024 - the farm’s fields were inaccessible for several weeks. The farmstead and barns sit on a hill above the floodplain, and have not been impacted.
“Massive trees and extensive wild undergrowth protect our fields from erosion and debris when we get the occasional flood,” Cameron said. “Riparian buffers are not used for animals or cropping purposes.”
The yearlings and younger heifers are grouped together and are rotationally grazed on pastures distinct from the milking herd. They are moved two or three times per week depending on pasture growth. This group also has some pastures which include perimeter woodlands, and they help control invasive species such as honeysuckle bush via grazing.
The summer ration for the milking herd is based on 75 - 80 percent grazing, with three pounds or less of alfalfa pellets fed per cow daily during milking. The alfalfa pellets are drizzled with a bit of molasses in the parlor “just to keep them happy while they are milking,” Cameron said. The cows also are offered free choice dry hay after milking, before returning to fresh pasture.
During the winter months, the milking herd and heifers bale graze wrapped round bales. The animals are not on pasture in the winter, in part due to the trek down the hill to the pastures, which would be difficult, if not hazardous, in the winter. There also isn’t any water in the pastures in winter. Water is pumped from a hydrant on the farmstead, down the hill and into water tubs in the pastures during the grazing season.
During the winter, the milking herd and dry cows have continuous outdoor access to a concrete area near the barn, and the hay wagon is situated there. Heifers go outdoors for three or four hours during milking time. Hay is fed in the feed bunk in the heifer barn.
“I usually feed my best early first cut bales to milking cows during the coldest months of the year, and transition to my next best bales, usually second cut, during late February or early March,” Cameron said.
“We have been primarily an AI herd since as long as I can remember,” Cameron said. But a few years ago, she decided to experiment by adding a bull to compliment the artificial insemination. “I raised a herd bull and then a second one the next year, and I used them for one year each to breed my heifers and a few late cows, being careful not to inbreed. I have many beautiful calves and heifers from those bulls now, but decided not to continue with bulls because I don’t have proper facilities to separate them when I don’t want cows bred.” It was also a bit difficult to keep track of when cows were bred, as this wasn’t always witnessed.
Breeding selection is for midsize cows with sturdy feet and legs. Grazing ability, longevity and square, sturdy udders with no milk quality issues are also primary considerations. With the mature cows, Cameron considers cow size, breed and calving history when making breeding decisions, and tries to incorporate polled genetics whenever possible.
“All of my crossbreeds are perfectly sized and great overall cows. Holsteins always end up huge,” Cameron said. All first calf heifers are bred to Jersey, for calving ease. Most heifer calves are kept each year, adding 16 - 18 to the herd as replacements. Any extras are sold via the local auction barn after factoring in history, temperament and breeding.
She’s also begun breeding to Limousin Angus beef. Over the past five years, cows that are late to settle, or cows less suited for the herd, are bred to beef. The Limousin Angus have very good calving ease for beef-on-dairy breeding, and the calves grow well and can be sold for a good price. By incorporating beef-on-dairy breeding, she is increasing her calf retention rate, and the Limousin beef crosses are worth more at auction than non-beef breeds, Cameron said.
The primary limiting factor on the farm is calf housing. Calves are housed in an old, repurposed shed with a calving pen, and a group pen. There is another group pen in the main freestall barn which has outdoor access to a concrete pad, and calves are moved there next depending on calf numbers and weaning times.
“My biggest challenge for calves is housing space and grouping of calves, and I’m hoping to replace my old calf barn with a larger one in the next couple of years,” she said.
Calves are weaned at three months, and for the past six years have been raised on nurse cows. The few calves that don’t learn to nurse well are raised on bottles and nipple buckets. The calves have access to good quality dry hay within two weeks after birth, and they are taught to eat it by the nurse cows with no calf starter, until they are put on pasture after six months of age. “I rarely have health issues with them,” since using nurse cows, Cameron said.
Prior to going organic, Cameron raised calves on buckets, feeling a milk replacer. The health issues were constant. She switched to feeding whole milk from the cows, and calf health significantly improved. However, scours and general un-thriftiness were still concerns. She then learned that the calf sucking reflex produces natural sodium bicarbonate, which neutralizes stomach acids and bacteria.
“That was a lightbulb moment for me, and I never again trained a calf to bucket feed, using only bottles and individual and group nipple bucket feeders after that,” she said. “Health and scours issues dramatically decreased when raising calves this way.” The ultimate switch to nurse cows came after she implemented OAD milking. She had always kept cows with their calves for a few days after birth, and she decided to let a few cows with high milk production into a group calf pen. It was a successful experiment, and became routine.
“I let nurse cows into the pen with their calves twice daily, for about an hour, and then put the cows back out with the herd. I will wean calves to once per day feeding at about five or six weeks old, and then wean completely at around three months old,” Cameron said. Certain cows always want to be with their calf, and volunteer to be nurse cows for a calf group. Other cows don’t seem to miss their calves, and are not suited to the job.
“Since using nurse cows I have almost zero issues with scours, and growth rates and body condition are phenomenal,” she said. “Another thing that is probably very taboo in the dairy industry is that I don’t naval dip calves and I don’t have any issues with naval infections either.” Cameron has made some changes to traditional calf health care, and no longer uses any navel dips. The nurse cows clean the navel areas regularly, and spend a lot of time grooming their calves. If scours occurs, she always uses Crystal Creek’s Calf 180® powder mixed with either milk or water, and any calves “bounce back quickly.”
Calves also do not received vaccines until they go onto pasture. Then, weaned calves and young heifers are given Vira Shield® or Triangle® respiratory vaccine, Vision 20/20® clostridium plus pink eye combination vaccine and a rabies vaccine.
“I have historically given annual booster shots to all cows, but over the last three or four years I have scaled back on boosters to second lactation plus cows because I don’t believe it’s necessary in a closed herd and I have had no issues,” Cameron explained. “We rarely have health issues with any cows or calves, except for milk fever in fresh cows.”
She administers IBA’s Cal-C-Preme® calcium boluses as a preventative measure for milk fever. If a cow is down, she will start an IV to provide calcium. Mastitis tends to be due to environmental factors, and she uses Dynamint® udder rub on cows as needed when it occurs.
The farm’s veterinarian, Anne Murphy of Addison County Dairy Consulting, is used primarily for pregnancy checks a few times per year, and to dehorn calves. She may be consulted during a particularly difficult calving situation.
They don’t use a nutritionist, as they are a 100 percent grassfed herd, and Cameron knows the quality of the hay that is coming from each field and is confident making selections to meet cow nutritional needs.
After they mow and rake the hay, a custom baler is used in the summer and does excellent work, Cameron said. Friends often help haul round hay bales from the field to the farmstead for stacking. She stacks the bales, so she can readily locate the hay she needs when feeding.
Cameron and her cows couldn’t be happier about their embrace of certified organic, and grassfed dairy farming. Before embarking on the transition she did have some concerns. “I had so many questions and worries about how I would treat diseases and issues that I had been conditioned to deal with,” she said. “I toured other farms in my area and remember one older farmer who had been organic for many years. When I asked about how they dealt with various issues using organic treatments, his response was ‘after a few years, they just go away.’”
Despite some skepticism, Cameron took the plunge and thirteen years later now understands that common herd health issues which occur under conventional methods simply are eliminated with organic dairy practices. Ketosis, hoof problems, retained placenta, fertility issues, abscesses and more “were always something we just dealt with when conventional, but now are rare or non-existent,” she said.
The farm’s maple operation is certified organic, too, since 2022. They have expanded the taps from 400 to 3,200 over the past four years, and have the land resources to expand production to a potential of 8,000 - 10,000 taps. Opening a farm stand and a website to expand retail maple product sales is a short-term goal. “The maple expansion on our farm has helped us make ends meet the last couple of years; it has been a big investment upfront but has long-term payoff potential,” she said.
Economics and the cost of doing business are ongoing concerns. The loss of many Vermont dairy farms has led to difficulty getting milk to the processing plant, as local and regional processing capacity has been lost, and the cost of doing business increases. “The cost of everything has gone up and affects our bottom line, making it harder to pay for improvements to farm operations when they are needed. For farmers, our biggest asset is our land. We work hard to maintain it and improve it and use our resources wisely,” she said. “We are also maintaining open, working landscapes that are valued for the environmental and economic benefits they provide, but seeing less and less return on that resource.”
Grants and cost-sharing are available but difficult to access, and simplifying these so that farmers - who manage a farm business, family, and land fulltime - are better able to participate should be a priority, she said. And the programs need to be worth more upfront and in long-term return value.
Deciding to transition this historic, century’s old family dairy farm to certified organic production has greatly improved the lives of the cows, and of the farmers. Both Cameron and the cows are happier under the organic system than they were when the farm was conventionally managed.
“I have been farming here my whole life, and I am truly blessed to live and work here. I am truly blessed to live this life on this farm, doing what I love. Words cannot describe the sense of fulfillment of cows on pasture, a newborn calf, the smell of fresh grass being cut, hay being baled, a stack of bales at the end of the year, tapping trees in the winter and boiling maple syrup in the spring, maintaining fences during pasture season, and a bonfire and homegrown burgers off the grill while sitting on the porch during summer sunset.”
Cameron Clark can be reached at Riverhill Farms, 1645 Gov. Chittenden Rd., Williston, VT 05495; email: coyotecam223@gmail.com; Instagram @coyotecam223; Dan’s Instagram @vtmapleking
Posted: to Featured Farms on Sat, Mar 15, 2025
Updated: Sun, Mar 16, 2025
