By Danielle Frawley

I love trying new things. It comes with the job title. As a reporter, fear stays at home; it does not come with you to work. Not that my life has been in danger working at Shelburne News for the past two years, but the new experiences and the comings and goings of this 20-something reporter in and around Shelburne have been invaluable: unique and interesting people and stories with a life lesson thrown in here and there.

A while back my co-worker and good friend Lindsey Campbell suggested I do a story on a past teacher of ours from Champlain College. Rob Williams is probably one of the most interesting people you will ever meet. He teaches an assortment of classes at Champlain College, plays music in a band, travels the world, is editor and publisher of the newspaper Vermont Commons, and is part owner of a yak farm. Yes, I said yak farm. The farm is located in Waitsfield, Vt., and last week I had the pleasure of re-uniting with Williams and had a tour of the farm, a lesson in yak farming, and received a gift: a little over a pound of yak meat for yak burgers.

Five Vermonters own and operate Vermont Yak Company in Waitsfield. A farmer, a businessman, a professor, a hockey mom, and a non-profit leader all have a part in tending to the yak, selling the yak, breeding the yak, and the list goes on and on. Rob and his wife, Kate had some capital to start and help run the business, David Hartshorn had the property (20 acres), and Ted and Susan Laskaris brought their tractor and tools with them, as well as land.

The adventure began in April of 2008. Since that time, the families have purchased two different herds and currently own 45 yaks that roam in different paddocks on 20 acres of land. The yaks graze constantly, fertilizing the land at the same time. Forty-five head of yak is the capacity for the 20 acres. More land equals more yak, which is the ultimate goal of the group.
Williams asserts that yaks are the quintessential Vermont bovine. They are smaller than cows, and are amazingly efficient with their grazing. Yaks have no top teeth, a unique hoof structure, and are lighter than cows - as a result, they graze and live more lightly on the land. Yaks were built for high mountain grazing, they love the cold weather, and a simple fencing system keeps them safely contained.

Vermont Yak Company is the only known working yak farm in New England. The herd is split into a breeding herd and an eating herd, explained Williams. Members of the breeding herd are individually named, and yaks from the meat herd are eventually sent to the Royal Butcher about 25 minutes away from Waitsfield. Williams said the butchering is clean and humane. The meat is then sold at local farmers markets and to area restaurants such as the Skinny Pancake in Montpelier, American Flatbread in Waitsfield, and as far away as a Himalayan restaurant in New York.

Yak meat has one-sixth the fat of cow meat and 40 percent more protein. Add to this fact that most of the cow's diet is grass and "This makes yak meat the greenest red meat," said Williams. The meat can be used in a variety of ways, from ground meat for burgers to meat for yak sausages.

After my tour of the property and the barn (which does not even remotely smell like a barn, by the way) Williams handed me about a pound of yak burger and suggested that I take it home, add an egg to the meat, and grill some burgers. I could not wait. Williams said the biggest hurdle for people to get over is the fact that they are eating yak. "Everyone likes it once they try it," said Williams.

What the man says is true. I felt it appropriate to invite Lindsey over to grill the burgers with me because she was the one who initiated this story idea. Her boyfriend Andrew and their happy puppy Banjo tagged along too.

The burgers were simply amazing. I only added an egg and some salt and pepper. I should have added breadcrumbs, because the meat was so lean and soft it began falling apart on the grill, but nonetheless, we managed to keep the yak burgers intact. They were cooked perfectly: slightly pink in the middle with a brown exterior, just a tad lighter than a beef burger. It's hard to explain the taste. It is milder than a beef burger, very tender, slightly gamey, but not overly so. Lindsey, Andrew, and I decked our burgers out with thick slices of yellow American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, ketchup, and mustard. There was no yakkin' (pun intended) going on during this meal. We silently ate "green" burgers and thoroughly enjoyed every bite.

All in all, another new experience and a new food item that I can add to my list of things tried as a twenty-something reporter. Did I already say I love this job?