Muscovites Visit a Dairy Farm

I mentioned that we just wrapped up a visit from two professors and five students from the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, Russia. It was a great visit, and people here at Champlain knocked themselves out putting together a number of enlightening experiences for the Russians. One of my favorite moments was taking them to the Nordic Dairy Farm in Shelburne, which was arranged by Michaela Fortin (one of our wonderful students). The students learned a lot about what economics and international trade mean on the local level - and how even Vermont dairy farmers adapt to a changing financial and technological world. That said, these were big city kids and they have never visited a farm - and even Gradya, who is from Siberia, had only visited a farm once (she told me that she had managed to go twenty years and only visit one farm, and that I took her to three in a week - I replied that this is Vermont, and this is what we have - we're short of hot celebrity-filled night spots, but farms are not an issue). Anyway, the presentation by the fairy farmers was amazing - and once the Russian students got over their highly dramatic horror at the smell of cow manure, they really enjoyed themselves. Here is a picture of a curious cow (wondering why there are a bunch of jabbering Russians next to the milking machine), Olya, Gradya and Masha covering their noses, and Denis "refusing" to come inside.