Knight and Carriere are undergraduate students and Erickson is a professor of dairy management at the University of New Hampshire, respectively.
For the 27th year, students from the six New England land grant universities hopped on a bus for a week in January, traveling to dairy farms in the northeastern United States, and Quebec, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario, Canada. The program is focused on providing students with a better understanding of the state of the dairy industry and the differences in certain farming practices. This year, 51 students and faculty visited a total of 16 farms in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York to see different dairies. The program was made possible by the Farm Credit East Ag Enhancement Program. Here are a few of our journey’s highlights.
Hitting the road
To begin the trip, University of New Hampshire (UNH) students hosted tours of the Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research facility. With 90 Holsteins, the operation is the primary dairy on campus and is open year-round to the public. The dairy boasts an impressive somatic cell count average of 27,000, with a rolling herd average of approximately 26,000 pounds. Additionally, this dairy is home to the UNH Cooperative Real Education in Agricultural Management (CREAM) program, which offers students hands-on experience while managing a herd of dairy cattle. The barn is frequently involved in graduate research studies with many of the projects being focused on nutrition and calf management.
Following tours of the UNH conventional dairy, students made their way to the UNH Burley-DeMeritt organic dairy research farm, located off campus in Lee, N.H. This 50 head Jersey operation is home to more than just cows, as there are often other research studies involving the environment and wildlife.
The farm itself uses a step-up parlor, one of the least common parlors in the state. Currently, cows are averaging 5.6% butterfat and 3.6% protein and are being milked twice a day. In the warmer months, the cows go out to graze pasture as often as possible after milking and stay in a compost bedded-pack barn with outdoor access.
Not far from the UNH barns is Cold Springs Dairy, a small, mostly Milking Shorthorn-based operation run by a UNH alumna. This farm was converted to a dairy after serving as a horse farm, and calves are housed in one of the old horse stables. Genetics are a big part of this operation and many animals have traveled to shows at the Eastern State Exposition (Big E) and the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE). Currently, they use a DeLaval robot in their lactating barn. This farm is mostly a purchased feed operation.
The students also traveled to Morill Farm just outside of Concord, N.H. They are currently farming 500 acres and milking 140 cows, with recent ventures into growing small grains for microbreweries in the area. Aside from the dairy, the Morrills raise and sell beef steers at retail prices. The Morill family also takes part in the show world, and many of their animals have traveled to the Eastern States Exposition dairy show.
To change it up, the group ended the day at Contoocook Creamery at Bohannon Farm. For five years, Contoocook Creamery has been processing and selling their own milk and is considered to have some of the best milk in the state. Their milk selection ranges from whole to skim, along with flavored milks such as chocolate, coffee, blueberry, and strawberry. Fresh cows go through the parlor four times a day to increase secretory epithelial cells in the mammary gland, resulting in greater production. Uniquely, the farm created their own semi-automatic calf feeders using old refrigeration systems.
The third day of the trip began with a drive down to Southampton, Mass., at Fletcher Farm. Nicole Schwab is a previous graduate of UNH who runs the 75-cow Jersey and Holstein farm with her family. This farm is well-rounded in agritourism and has a successful farm store on-site. Some of the activities that the farm offers to the public include pumpkin picking, fall festivals, flower sales, food truck events, and more.
One of the most unique farm designs came from High Lawn Farm in Lee, Mass. This barn resembles a castle, with a large clock tower standing on the property. High Lawn is home to 120 registered Jerseys and is known throughout western Massachusetts for their cheeses. The milking herd resides in climate-controlled barns with water beds and a manure scraping robot that runs during the day. Currently, they are working toward having an entirely A2A2 certified herd. Interestingly, this farm is trying to lower their fat percentage, as their current 5.6% fat level is too high for making cheese. Their cheese is sold in their on-site farm store and can be found in stores as far away as Boston.
Adding variety
In the second half of the week, we visited eight farms with various styles of dairy farming. We began at Dutch Hollow Farm, located in Schodack Landing, N.Y., while just up the road a few miles was Retso Holsteins, where breeding and boarding quality cattle are housed. Owners Brian Oster and Cassie Chittenden started boarding show cattle eight years ago, pursuing a long-time childhood dream. They currently represent every major dairy breed through boarding relationships with clients and partnerships. Retso is a fully purchased feed operation for the 70 lactating animals they care for. The mixed herd gets milked two times a day, averaging a 4.5% butterfat with a 3.7% protein and an outstanding 100,000 somatic cell count. To accompany the cows, the young couple raises and boards heifers while also incorporating in vitro fertilization to make genetic progress within the herd.
Going north
The farthest north traveled on this year’s dairy travel course was to Forbes Farm in Lancaster, N.H. Scott Forbes was able to give us a perspective from the industry that we don’t see as commonly anymore — bull breeding. Bulls are used to breed every animal owned except for first-calf heifers. Genomically tested bulls are purchased yearly to reduce inbreeding and to focus on production. The herd average for production is 26,100 pounds with a 4.3% butterfat and a 3.2% protein as well as a somatic cell count of 75,000. Forbes also harvests around 2,000 acres of corn and 200 acres of soybeans, which is a relatively novel practice in New Hampshire.
Windyhurst, belonging to the Adams family in Westmoreland, N.H., currently milks 318 cows but are eagerly looking to expand by the summer of 2025. The Adams also have their own maple syrup business with 8,000 to 10,000 taps and a restaurant for the public to enjoy.
From northern New Hampshire to eastern New York, we had the rewarding experience of seeing all aspects of the dairy industry. Whether it was an organic producer, a large commercial dairy, or a show cattle facility, this trip offered students the opportunity to see a variety of different management styles to learn from.
