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April 1, 2023
Brent Beidler Chooses Not to Farm
“I am very delightfully holding on to the things that I hold dear about myself that are a part of my life as a farmer, and not integrating that into my life going forward, where I'm not commercially farming. I really appreciate being remembered, and that people still value the thoughts that I've had over these years.”
After falling in love with farming as a young boy on his grandparents farm in Pennsylvania, Brent Beidler dreamed of starting his own dairy farm in Vermont. He worked on many farms growing up, went to school for agriculture, volunteered internationally on farms in Africa and Indonesia, and finally bought a farm in Randolph Center, Vermont with his wife Regina to live out his dream.
After 24 years living this dream, Brent and Regina transitioned off the farm by their own choice and in their own timing. With so many farmers entering and leaving agriculture, the Beidlers' story is a great lesson about love, gratitude, caretaking, and knowing when it's time to move on.
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Brent Beidler
Brent knew he wanted to be a dairy farmer from a very young age despite not growing up on a farm. After completing a degree in Animal Science from the University of Vermont and doing two terms in International Agriculture in Bangladesh and Chad, Brent and his wife, Regina, settled into a dairy farm in Randolph Center, VT. They milked 35 cows and shipped their milk to Organic Valley. The last 12 years the herd was grassfed and grain free. The farm also diversified into small grains and cut flowers. Brent now works as an RN with the Visiting Nurses and lives with Regina on a hillside property in Braintree, VT.
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