Paul-Lin Dairy opened their barn doors in Bakersfield to the public today, August 8th, for a farm tour and fresh gelato tasting.
30+ locals of all ages showed up to the farm today. Linda Stanley graciously educated us on the history of the farm and gave all of us biosecurity booties to wear as Linda said, “so we can all look like smurfs!”. Paul and Linda Stanley founded Paul-Lin Dairy in 1985. They currently milk 16 Jerseys, raise their own replacements, and graze all their animals – calves, heifers and cows – on about 30 acres of intensively managed pasture. They export their manure to their neighbors and buy in local hay. They get semi-frequent visits from elementary schools. Attendees today had questions about temperament and milk quality of Jerseys, how to source local milk products, how milk is processed and distributed in Vermont, as well as questions about raw milk.
As we entered the well-preserved original cow barn, we could see their tie stall management with shavings as bedding. They selected Jersey cows for a number of reasons, but I don’t think Holsteins would fit in their barn, anyway. Every inch of the walls and ceiling are whitewashed. Above each stall hangs a tag with details on each cow. Each one of the cows at Paul-Lin has a name, and progeny have similar names to their mothers. Linda brings the milk machine to the cows, and says it takes her about an hour to milk all 16. The Dairy Farmers of America picks up their milk every other day.
We ventured outside to check out the manure pit, pasture system, as well as the Jerseys. Paul-Lin Dairy works with Ben & Jerry’s Caring Dairy Program, who has helped them with passageways between pasture paddocks called laneways and provided assistance to enrichment like a large cow brush for the animals. Linda explained the grouping systems of the Jerseys, talked about their temperament, and also explained how watering systems work and how many they have. We then had a tour of the calf barn and Linda explained the life cycle of cows.
Afterward, Linda poured heavy cream into some glass jars and we passed it around, shaking it, until we had fresh butter, which we sampled on crackers.
Ellen Stanley, Paul and Linda's daughter, founded a gelato company called Paisley Scoops in 2020. She creates the gelato from milk from the Jerseys every week, pasteurizing and processing it on site. We sampled her vanilla gelato, which was fantastic. Ellen usually has a handful of flavors available, as well as non-dairy alternatives. She is currently vending at the St. Albans Bay Farmers Market on Thursdays 4:30-7:30pm, St. Albans City Farmers Market Saturdays 9am-2pm, Fairfax Farmers Market, and Islands Farmers Market. Additionally, she has been at the Swanton Food Truck Sundays and will be there on August 21st and September 18th. If you want to try gelato made from fresh and local Jersey milk, be sure to go!
Paisley Scoops 802-582-9529;
Post written by Megan Walker
Read more written by Bridget Higdon at the St. Albans Messenger: https://www.samessenger.com/things_to_do/food/gallery-east-fairfields-paul-lin-dairy-and-paisley-scoops-gelato-give-open-farm-week-tour/article_7ba1766e-1cd4-11ed-b6cb-e38167654a4a.html