Andrew Birch of Derby, VT spent last week in the Middlebury office as a part of the Farm Credit Fellows program. Andy’s family farm, Maple Grove Farm sold out a few years ago, but Andy and his younger brother continue to raise a few heifers of their own, Andy has a couple of cows that are currently boarded out. This will be his final year at UVM as part of the 2+2 F.A.R.M.S program. Andy is also a member of the UVM chapter of the Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. This past summer Andy completed an internship at the Hoard's Dairyman Farm in Wisconsin. The Hoard's farm milks 270 Guernsey cows. Andy helped out with herd work, hoof trimming, breeding, and farm tours while on the farm. Andy has not finalized his plans for after graduation yet, but plans to work as a herdsperson somewhere for a few years, with the eventual goal of running his own farm some day.
