Bennington farmer protects land to expand goat dairy business

Conservation helps beginning farmer secure 80 acres and improve former agricultural land 

First-generation farmer Becca Knouss has conserved her 82-acre farm in the Pleasant Valley area of Bennington with the Vermont Land Trust. Knouss runs The Goat Project, producing raw goat milk and goat-milk soaps, and is expanding into cheesemaking.  

Formerly the Kinney Farm, the farm is located south of Route 9 on Pleasant Valley Road.  

“Prime agricultural land is so vulnerable to development,” said Knouss. “Protecting it through conservation ensures it stays open and accessible for farming, now and in the future.”   

The parcel is nearly surrounded by conserved farms and forest, with 1,200 acres of protected forest to the east. Knouss has been farming here with her husband, Vince Royce, who is a woodworker and arborist, since 2016.   

“It is very exciting to see this stellar farmland being carefully managed,” said Don Campbell, VLT’s southwestern Project Director. “Through intensive pasture management, Becca’s industrious goats are improving the soil, beating back undesirable species such as multiflora rose, buffering the streams and wetlands, and generally pumping life into all aspects of the land.” 

Before starting her own farm, Knouss gained hands-on experience with goat dairying and cheesemaking on several farms in New York state, and also worked on several vegetable and dairy farms in Vermont.  

Knouss bought her first goats while renting farmland but needed more space to expand her operation. About ten years ago, she reached out to the Vermont Land Trust for help. In 2016, she purchased the Pleasant Valley land with a plan to conserve it. 

She has worked with Sara Armstrong Donegan, Farm Business Specialist at the Intervale Center, on her farm’s viability and business plans. 

With support from a Working Lands Enterprise Initiative grant, Knouss has begun constructing the creamery and plans to expand her goat herd from 25 to approximately 45 goats. She aims to launch her cheese business by spring 2025, starting with fresh chevre and feta before exploring raw milk cheeses. Knouss plans to sell her products at local farmers’ markets and through partnerships with shops throughout New England.   

Jim Horst runs a Christmas tree farm that directly borders Knouss’s land. Horst, who is 81, recalls that half a dozen farms once thrived in the valley but slowly disappeared over the last several decades.  

“We’re starting to see agricultural activity back in the valley because of [The Goat Project] and the VLT involvement,” Horst said.  

The property includes wetlands, forest, and a tributary to Brown’s Brook that now has special clean-water and flood resilience protections, and offers habitat for grassland birds and other wildlife.  

Conservation funding support came from the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB), the Whipstock Hill Preservation Society, and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.   

“Our Board congratulates VLT, Becca Knouss and The Goat Project on this conservation project that will not only protect important agricultural soils and water resources, but also support a growing farming operation,” said VHCB Executive Director Gus Seelig.