The Cabot Creamery Cooperative is often referred to as the makers of the world’s greatest cheddar. The Cabot Gratitude Team travels to communities up and down the East Coast to thank volunteers and community-service-based organizations for the good work they do in supporting and sustaining their communities. The Gratitude Team serves free meals, prepared by local chefs, to feed volunteers during their community service. The Gratitude Team has served more than 45,000 meals to volunteers as diverse as Habitat for Humanity to local storm-recovery teams.
In 2019, the Cabot Creamery Cooperative celebrates a century of making a full line of award-winning cheeses, Greek yogurt, sour cream, cottage cheese and butter. Cabot is owned by 850 dairy farm families in New England and upstate New York. One of said families includes Allison Akins, a 7th generation dairy farmer from Lisbon, New York working alongside her grandparents, parents, brother and sister-in-law. After graduating from SUNY Cortland and working at an agricultural finance company, Allison returned to the farm to continue the Akins family’s almost 200-year legacy.
I had the pleasure of doing Q&A with Ms. Akins — who can be followed on Instagram via @Five_Mile_Farm — on behalf ofA Global Lifestyle, and highlights of such are below.
As a 7th generation dairy farmer, did you always know that you were going to be a farmer?
Allison Akins: Not at all. When I was a teenager, I had a desire to get out and experience other things instead of coming directly back to the farm after college. Luckily, my family encouraged me to get a job in whatever intrigued me in whatever place I wanted to go to. I worked full-time off the farm, about 200 miles away, for 2 and a half years before deciding I wanted to move back to the farm. It has allowed me to be much more relaxed and never thinking any “what ifs.”
There was never any pressure to do this or that and by me being the one to decide to come back home and continue our family’s legacy, it has allowed me to be excited to see what Five Mile Farm will become. I’ve been very lucky to have a wonderful family to support me in pursuing my dreams, even if it meant changing my mind 10 different times to get here.
Cabot Creamery Cooperative is known for making the “world’s best cheddar,” to you, what makes it so?
Allison Akins: Cabot is a farmer-owned cooperative that has won every award for taste including “World’s Best Cheddar.” The quality of our products is a direct reflection of everyone that works so hard behind the scenes. From the family farms, to the countless Cabot employees, the farmers that put in long hours to care for the animals and be stewards of the land, the truckers that bring the milk to our processing facilities, the employees making the cheese, then the cheese graders selecting the best of the best, the cut and wrap facilities perfecting the packaging, and of course the marketing and sales teams getting the cheese to the buyers. We all work together in our own ways, but the one thing in common is the pride we have in the Cabot products we produce.
What is your favorite kind of cheese?
Allison Akins: I’m not sure how anyone can choose just one! For cooking, Seriously Sharp is always my go to and I also like Pepper Jack for some spice. For sitting down and eating an entire brick — hopefully I’m not the only one that does this — I really like our legacy collection’s Alpine Cheddar, it is a unique parmesan tasting cheddar but so creamy! Just recently I tried our founder’s collections cheeses, and I instantly loved the Orne Meadows. But honestly I don’t think you can go wrong with any of Cabot’s cheeses, I always have at least 5 kinds in my fridge!
What are some of your favorite restaurants or places to eat near your farm?
Allison Akins: My favorite restaurants are the ones that use locally-sourced meat and produce. I highly recommend Off The Hook Bed & Breakfast, it is a wonderful B&B owned by my brother and sister in law. They have a great farm-to-table breakfast using lots vegetables and meat grown right on our farm!
Anastasia’s Bakery in Madrid, New York is another huge favorite of mine. Anastasia opened her bakery a few years ago, and recently expanded her bakery with a food truck. She has become a great friend and I love seeing young local entrepreneurs bring life to our small town community.
What is your next planned out-of-town vacation?
Allison Akins: As a farmer, it’s tough to get away, I always end up missing my cows and curious what is going on at the farm while I’m gone. But I certainly have a bucket list of places I want to go and things I want to see. I recently went to Asheville, North Carolina for events with Cabot and that is on my list to go back to! I also would love to do some National Parks, like Zion, Utah, the Grand Canyon, Arizona, and so many more.
So in closing, tell us a bit about the Gratitude Touring Team and why you are traveling across the country with Cabot Creamery Cooperative…
Allison Akins: As a cooperative, both employees and farmers, we are extremely involved in our communities. Many are volunteer firefighters, youth sports coaches, teachers, and attend a plethora of community service activities. We realized that many community events or volunteers go unnoticed, so we are taking initiative to give back to them and thank them for all that they do. My events range from Red Cross Blood Drives to non-for-profit fundraisers to random acts of cheddar, which is giving cheese to volunteer fired departments or schools. I’ve travelled from my hometown of Lisbon, New York to as far south as Orlando, Florida. It is an extremely rewarding job and a simple thank you with a slice of cheese can brighten anyone and everyone’s day!
