Niche co-op

founder Alan

Zuschlag

thinks so

By Roger Piantadosi

Rappahannock News Staff Writer

“Co-op” is not a new word in farm country.

On the other hand, words like “natural,” “organic,” “grass-fed” and “sustainable” are all relatively new but growing fast around the world, in both popularity and actual implementation. And when combined with the old-reliable cooperative concept, some say, the result just might spell the future of agriculture in Rappahannock County.

At least the local farmers and businessmen behind Rappahannock Natural Foods Cooperative - and Rappahannock Farms, the grass-fed lamb co-op it grew out of - are betting a bit more than the farm on it. *

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