Dairy farms find a lifeline: beer

“We’re at a historic low nationwide in terms of farmers getting money for their milk,” said Sean DuBois, who works in the family business. Prices have cratered, driven by high supply and falling demand. For Carter & Stevens, staying solvent required creative thinking. “To succeed today as a dairy farm, you need to diversify,” Mr. DuBois said. “We found our passion for craft beer.”  The farm opened Stone Cow Brewery in 2016, making beers like the Roll in the Hay I.P.A., which sells for $7 a pint at its taproom. That makes the beverage much more profitable than the dairy’s raw milk, which currently sells wholesale for about 16 cents per pint, even though it costs more to produce.  “It’s totally changed our farm forever,” said Mr. DuBois, 37, who manages the brewery. Breweries are also resuscitating shuttered dairy farms. Zack and Laura Adams opened Fox Farm last spring in a renovated 1960s dairy barn on a 30-acre farm in Salem, Conn. The hayloft was cut out to create catwalks for reaching towering fermentation tanks, and the barn’s layout lets Mr. Adams easily load raw materials into the former milk room.