Fisher Brothers Farm
Fisher Brothers Farm was established in 2013 with retail and wholesale operations beginning in 2016. They have 35,000 row feet under cultivation including aronia berries, blueberries, blackberries, elderberries, gooseberries, and raspberries, as well as 3 acres of Marquette grapes. They sell their products at a retail farm stand; farm-to-cone Sisters of Anarchy Ice Cream made using their own berries and dairy sourced from Kingdom Creamery, sold at a farm stand in Shelburne, VT and at over 180 off-site events in 2018; and syrups and flavorings sold to value-added producers such as breweries including Magic Hat, Hill Farmstead, and Foam Brewers, among others. In 2019 they added another 5,000 row feet of various berries to meet the growing demand for ice cream, berries, and syrups.
A $30,000 Business Builder Loan from the VFF was used to purchase a $35,000 Emery Thompson 44-quart commercial batch freezer to further expand the production capacity of Sisters of Anarchy (SOA) Ice Cream. A Working Lands Business Grant will cover $20,000 of the batch freezer, and $15,000 of the VFF loan will act as the match for the batch freezer. The other half of the loan will be used to purchase a frozen delivery trailer to facilitate deliveries of frozen berries and syrups to value-added food producer customers (primarily breweries).
Overall, the loan will help Fisher Brothers Farm transition Sisters of Anarchy Ice Cream (SOA) from a seasonal to a year-round business, and position them as a premium player in the regional and even national market.