Hayley and Stephanie Painter grew up on a fourth-generation dairy farm in northern Pennsylvania, and while it was an idyllic childhood, the instability of milk prices continually threatened their family’s livelihood. The sisters took it upon themselves to save the farm by creating a yogurt brand, Painterland Sisters, and in the space of two years have gotten their product into stores in all 50 states and are using milk not only from their own farm but from neighboring producers.
Hayley Painter talks about the practices of regenerative agriculture from a multi-dimensional perspective––not only soil health, but also animal and farmer health, food processing that retains nutrients, healthy transportation, responsible retail, and more. The key is diversity, including a diversity of farms and farm sizes, brands, and retail outlets.
TIMELINE
1’58 Special feature: Michelle Nijhuis of High Country News.
10’35 Painterland Sisters Yogurt
11’23.1698 growing up on a four-generation farm
12’51 market instability in dairy farming
14’16 encountering instability for the first time
16’10 the process of making Skyr yogurt
17’10 process that creates nutrient density
18’31 the complexity of nutrient density, it’s not just soil health but also processing
19’21 customer response to the yogurt
20’30 thinking about regenerative agriculture as the whole process from farmer to consumer, not just what happens on the farm
21’39 grass fed is a good trend but pasture-fed and rotational graxing would be even better
23’51 shifting definitions of what is “sustainable” over decades put farmers in the position of having to keep changing
26’44 diversity of farm size and diversity in supply chains provide stability. If all farms are one size it doesn’t work as well–need to support small and medium scale farms
28’51 the problem of farmers not making enough money to survive, it’s a whole-system problem
31’33 98% of food brands go out of business
32’46 need policy changes and empowerment of farmers
33’53 paying farmers for carbon sequestration
34’17 farmers need to be recognized for their ecosystem services
35’10 how Painterland Sisters became a national brand
35’40 when you’re a national brand they can have a voice about farmers and regeneration
36’51 marketing through telling their story, both online and at events
38’42 retailers happy to work with them
39’36 children of farmers might stay if the system were more regenerative and profitable for them and their families
41’11 the role of labeling and certification
43’16 challenges to farmers, high rate of depression and suicide
45’14 how they’re doing as a company
