Media Up At Pete & Madonne Rainville's Today

Well, no video yet on The Channel 3 News Web Site, but here is the News Script in the raw:

The Rainville family had a rare day off on their farm in Fairfax Sunday. They have been working around the clock since May to rebuild their milking barn. An early morning fire swept through the family farm last April. Madonne Rainville said, "The fire trucks came quickly, but by the time the fire trucks got here, the barn was fully engulfed."

More than half of the family's 65 cows were unable to escape the burning building and died in the blaze. Not only did they lose their animals - but the Rainvilles lost their source of income. The Rainvilles both grew up on farms in the area and as they were cleaning up after the fire, they knew right away they wanted to rebuild. Peter Rainville said, "I guess pursuing a different career really didn't cross my mind. I was ready to rebuild within a few days."

But Peter and Madonne Rainville knew rebuilding their eight year-old farm was not going to be easy. Financially - money from the insurance company didn't even cover half of the cost of rebuilding. And when the barn burned down last year - farmers were receiving 18 dollars per-hundred weight. Right now farmers get less than 12-dollars. Madonne Rainville said, "So knowing you are going back into a business where your paycheck is going to be cut by a good 40 percent isn't exactly enticing, but it's what we like to do."

During the last year - the Rainvilles traveled across the country - visiting farms to study technological changes in the industry. They noticed many are switching to robotic milking. A centralized computer system milks the cows when they need to be milked. For large dairy farms - this could mean large savings when it comes to labor costs. For the Rainvilles it was more about being able top spend more time with the family.

Peter Rainville said "It's more efficient and allows me to do more with my family. Before it was 7 days a week, wherever you go, whether it is a family function or a softball game, when 3 o'clock rolls around you need to be here. So you were leaving right at the prime time, when things are happening. You had to come back and milk the cows. So with this, it is going to give us more flexibility. We don't have to come back at 3 o'clock, we can stay until later and come back and do our chores later."

A young Franklin County farm family - hoping to "milk" a new trend into Vermont's dairy farming industry. Peter Rainville said, "I'm excited, I'm ready. I'm tired of the building, I want to get the building done and get started again."

Matt Henson - Channel 3 News Fairfax.

The Rainville's new farm is scheduled to reopen in a couple of weeks. The Rainville's will hold an open house Saturday August 8th to showcase the robotic milking system.