Water buffalo herd heads north
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The few remaining stock of Vermont water buffalo, seen on Wednesday afternoon, will soon be moved to Canada with the rest of the herd. Benedict Hudson / Rutland Herald |
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By Josh O'Gorman STAFF WRITER - Published: July 16, 2009
SOUTH WOODSTOCK — Citing the advantageous business practices of locals, a businessman is pulling up stakes and taking his herd to Canada.
Frank Abballe, owner of Vermont Water Buffalo, is relocating his 600-head herd to a farm in Quebec, 15 minutes north of the border. The decision comes a little more than a year after Abballe purchased the 18.5-acre ranch and expanded the business to include not just fresh buffalo mozzarella, but meats as well.
"You know what's funny about Vermont?" Abballe said Tuesday by phone. "When you come here, the state welcomes you with open arms, but the locals all want to make a quick buck."
Abballe said state officials offered generous terms to help him pay off the loan used to purchase the property — an offer he declined — and were cooperative when he needed to do work in a wetlands area on the property. The problem, he said, was with local suppliers of feed and hay.
Abballe said the animals require a very specialized blend of feed to produce the milk that is just right to produce quality buffalo mozzarella. He negotiated a price of $45 per ton for the feed, plus another $20 per ton for delivery.
"Eight weeks in, they change the price on me," he said, noting he can get the same feed just over the border for $35 per ton including delivery.
When he was shopping around for hay, he said, he was quoted a price of $180 a ton by local providers.
"When I told them I could get it delivered cheaper from Canada, just like that they dropped the price to $120 a ton. Just like that," Abballe said. He said hay will cost him $90 a ton in Canada.
Abballe has about 280 head left in South Woodstock, with the remainder either already in Canada or in a feed lot outside Burlington. He said he is waiting on blood work for his remaining buffalo and expects to have them all moved by September. He said he is taking nearly all of his employees with him.
Abballe said he will use the property to raise heavy lambs — animals between 4 and 5 weeks old that will be raised another 8 to 10 weeks before slaughter. Because the animals are slaughtered on site, they don't get stressed and their meat can be sold as kosher, he said.
Elizabeth Finlayson, executive director of the Woodstock Area Chamber of Commerce, said she believed Vermont Water Buffalo had received the support of locals who purchased the company's products.
"I think people in the community loved and supported their products, especially their maple yogurt," she said. "It was a great product and this is a loss for Woodstock."
Abballe appears to be happy to be leaving.
"Here in South Woodstock, it's like Hollywood," he said. "Everybody wants it to look like a farming community, but they don't want a real functioning farm."
Abballe has male and female water buffalo for sale. For more information, call 457-4540.
josh.ogorman@rutlandherald.com
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