by Katie Spring, Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center, in Agriview
When Diane Wyatt bought a family cow in 1998, she thought it would be just that – for the family. But home cheesemaking turned to yogurt making, one cow turned into two, and by 2009, the family had built a processing plant and was selling Sweet Cow Yogurt at markets around Vermont.
With a loyal customer following, they found steady growth. In 2012 they were processing 16,350 pounds of yogurt per year and buying in milk from a local farm. By 2023, they were processing seven days a week, churning out 40,990 pounds of yogurt throughout the year. Despite the happy customers, the Wyatts needed something to change – “our growth had transcended the scale of our infrastructure,” Diane said.
That’s where the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center Dairy Processor Modernization Grant came in.
In 2024, Diane successfully applied for a $101,000 grant to purchase larger equipment that would streamline the yogurt making process. The equipment included an 88-gallon milk cooling tank, milk transfer pump, a 50-gallon pasteurizer, and a rotary filler-sealer. Altogether, the new processing equipment has more than doubled their capacity and drastically increased efficiency. Even with larger equipment, Sweet Cow calculated a 29,400-watt reduction in electricity use for each 50-gallon batch they make. On top of that, the time savings have been enormous.
“We are now able to pasteurize 50 gallons of yogurt in 1 1/2 hours compared with 25 gallons in 3 1/2 hours doubling our production quantities with less time, energy and costs,” Diane reported. The filler-sealer has made a similar impact – where it once took four people four hours to packaged 25 gallons of yogurt, the Sweet Cow crew can now package 50 gallons in four hours with only two people. The new equipment means they can now process and package three to four days per week rather than seven.
“With the time savings in both pasteurization and packaging double quantities of yogurt, we now have much needed time off which has resulted in positive employee satisfaction and quality of life,” said Diane.
Sweet Cow’s expanded production capacity has translated into higher sales.
They’re now selling into 10 new store accounts, with more in the works. Sweet Cow’s newly launched 24-ounce maple yogurt has taken off, a product made possible by the grant.
The increased yogurt sales have an impact on local dairy farms, too. Sweet Cow’s expanded production means they’re buying more milk, and they’re now purchasing from an additional local farm. As yogurt sales continue to grow, the Wyatts are enjoying a better work-life balance and looking to the future.
“With our new automated and efficient equipment, we not only have days off from processing each week, we are able to generate more income to pass on to employees,” said Diane. “Because of this, we now have a saleable business which we can depend upon in the future when we all reach retirement age.” Until then, the Wyatts will continue expanding the reach of Sweet Cow Yogurt thanks to the new capacity from the Dairy Processor Modernization Grant.
Pictured below is Diane Wyatt pouring Jersey milk into a pasteurizer to make yogurt. The photo accompanied a 2023 story in the Journal Opinion.
This story also appeared in the October edition of Agriview produced by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, & Markets.