On March 4, Deep Root Organic Co-op operations manager Anders Aughey left the co-op’s Johnson warehouse around 9 a.m. to cross the border into Québec. His empty truck would soon be crammed with root vegetables and some of the season’s first greenhouse-grown cucumbers from four of the co-op’s six Canadian farmer-members, the farthest of which is just 30 miles north of the Stanstead crossing. There was so much to pick up that he sent another truck to a fifth farm just for potatoes.
Back through customs and unloaded by 4 p.m., Aughey hopped into the cab of the truck and drove to Jericho Settlers Farm, one of the co-op’s dozen Vermont members, to finish the week’s pickup route.
Then roughly 40,000 pounds of Canadian and Vermont produce got packed into a tractor trailer for out-of-state delivery to customers, such as Whole Foods Market’s distribution hub in Cheshire, Conn.
Founded in 1985 by several Vermont farmers, including Westminster’s Paul Harlow, the organic grower co-op first partnered with Québécois farms about 35 years ago. Joining forces allowed its members to build the scale and year-round availability necessary to sell into major U.S. markets across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. Last year, 3.8 million pounds of vegetables — roughly half from each side of the border — generated a record $5 million in sales for the co-op’s 18 member-growers. But 2025 also provided a sobering reminder that the long-standing, mutually beneficial cross-border collaboration could be threatened by shifting global politics and trade policy.
For one week last April, after President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcement, vegetables previously exempted under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) were subject to a 25 percent tariff. The two Canadian co-op members who shipped cucumbers, tomatoes and potatoes that week absorbed the extra cost, and everyone held their breath. The exemption was quickly reinstated, but with the USMCA due for review this summer, Deep Root’s members know that nothing is guaranteed.
If I wasn’t shipping to the States, I would just make a huge compost pile with tons of vegetables.
Russell Pocock
While all co-op members benefit from the partnership, access to the U.S. market is a matter of economic survival for many of the Canadian farmers, according to Russell Pocock of Sanders Farm in Compton, Québec. “If I wasn’t shipping to the States,” Pocock said, “I would just make a huge compost pile with tons of vegetables.”
Pocock, 74, and his wife, Thérèse Shaheen, were organic pioneers in Québec’s Eastern Townships when they started Sanders Farm in 1974. The couple are currently transitioning their 120-acre operation — 60 acres of which are in production — to their 33-year-old son, Nate. A former employee has established Les Vallons Maraîchers on neighboring land and joined Deep Root Co-op, too.
The organic market is less robust north of the border, Pocock explained.
“Once you get over five to 10 acres of production,” he said, “you have to ship to the United States.” He attributed the difference to the cultural expectations and economic constraints of Canadian shoppers, along with a lack of retailers who prioritize organic goods.
“There’s no store in Québec that resembles City Market and Hunger Mountain,” Pocock said, referring to Vermont’s two largest co-op grocery stores.
Deep Root sells a little to City Market, but the vast majority of its accounts are out of state to avoid competing for local business with its Vermont members and other area farmers, explained longtime Deep Root Co-op board member David Marchant of River Berry Farm in Fairfax. Vermont co-ops and independent grocery stores generally buy direct from local producers, which yields higher margins for farmers. To complement that business, Deep Root has prioritized building relationships with much larger accounts outside Vermont, which require volume and systems beyond the capacity of most individual farms.
“When enough small people work together,” said Marchant, 67, “they can be successful in a bigger way.”
The contributions of Québec farms are critical, especially during late winter and early spring, Marchant said. In addition to storage crops, a few specialize in early-
season soil-grown greenhouse cucumbers and tomatoes, which are in high demand.
This is the time of year when City Market customers are most likely to see Deep Root labels at the co-op grocer’s two Burlington locations. Produce category manager Margaret Kane said City Market has bought from Deep Root for at least 15 years, largely in the shoulder season when there is a lull in direct supply from Vermont farmers. She expects her first orders of Deep Root cucumbers and heirloom tomatoes this week and next.
Sourcing within the state is always City Market’s preference, but, Kane said, Deep Root’s Eastern Townships farms are as close geographically as some parts of Vermont. She thinks many customers trust produce from Québec more than they do similar items from California or Mexico, “and they probably feel it’s fresher,” she added.
Kane buys Canadian produce through other distributors, too, but prefers buying from Deep Root when she can because of the direct relationship between the grower co-op and its members. “They’re getting it more quickly, and we know what farms it’s coming from,” she said.
Last spring, when tariffs filled the news, Kane said she was concerned about the effects on the cost of imported produce, including the possible impact on Deep Root. “We would still want to purchase it,” she said, “but figuring out our pricing and margin certainly would be worrisome.”
Annie Myers, founding owner of Myers Produce, a regional distributor headquartered in Hardwick, agreed that absorbing a 25 perfect tariff on an ongoing basis “would be prohibitive.” Myers connects farmers and food producers in the Northeast with wholesale customers and has worked with Deep Root since 2017.
The day after operations manager Aughey’s Eastern Townships run, a small part of the truckload from Deep Root’s Québec members awaited pickup by Myers Produce at the Johnson warehouse. Eight 25-pound bags of parsnips and cardboard boxes holding 15 dozen cucumbers would soon be delivered to specialty shops in Brooklyn and Hudson in New York and Cambridge and Lincoln in Massachusetts.
Like City Market, Myers mostly sources from Deep Root to fill seasonal gaps. “They’re a backup but still very appreciated, especially things like those fresh, crunchy cukes right now,” she said. “I also like that we’re supporting a Vermont-based cooperative.”
Buying from Deep Root, farmer Pocock noted, also supports more organic acres in our shared Lake Champlain watershed. It is a reminder that, despite the border, we’re all in this together.
Pocock’s son, Nate, skis at Jay Peak — where, his dad said, the workers frequently thank him for coming. At a time when politics have strained relations with our northern neighbors, Myers said, “The best we can do is remain as friendly as we can between humans.”
The original print version of this article was headlined “Deep Ties | A long-standing cross-border organic grower co-op benefits Vermont and Québec farms”
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