Real Pickles® is a small, worker-owned co-operative producing pickled products that are raw, vinegar-free, 100% organic, and rich in probiotics. Their products are made using the traditional natural fermentation process that has been used for centuries all over the world. In support of a regional food system, they buy all of their vegetables from family … Read more
May 26, 2017 Story by Mary Reilly, Photography by Elaine Papa Edible pioneer valley Hadley grass is responsible for one of my springtime traditions: nearly getting rear-ended as I see a farm stand and brake for the first bunch of the season. A more longstanding local asparagus-based tradition is the First Congregational Church of Hadley’s … Read more
Hockanum Village is in a 100-year flood-plain. While this contributes to fertile soil, it also means this area has gone through some very extreme flooding. During heavy, extensive rain and during rapid snow melt in the north, the Connecticut River floods and the fields and sometimes even roads are inundated. You can visit the Hockanum … Read more
Emily Gaylord April 28, 2017 Recycling Works In the face of a changing dairy market, Barstow’s Longview Dairy Farm in Hadley, MA capitalized on another product from their cows: manure. Manure Manager reports that Vanguard Renewables invested in the construction of an anaerobic digester that allows the farm to repurpose the manure as both fuel … Read more
While the rest of her tow-headed siblings and cousins were following around the farmers, you could find Shannon in the Farmhouse. And more specifically, you could find her in the kitchen with her Grandmother. Generation 7 know her as Grandma, but you might know her as Marjorie Shipman Barstow. Grandma baked for therapy and cooked … Read more
Concord Monitor April 20, 2017 Millions of people around the world will soon celebrate Earth Day, but for hundreds of New England’s dairy farmers, every day is Earth Day. We’re talking about farmers like the Erb family. The Erbs own and operate Springvale Farms and Landaff Creamery in Landaff. This was one of three pilot … Read more
Written by Domenic D. Mercurio, Jr. Photography by Scott Erb, Donna Dufault Foodies of New England Spring 2017 Got milk? Well if you’re planning on visiting Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley, Massachusetts in the near future, you’ll surely get your share – and then some. The Barstow family set up shop in Hadley over 200 … Read more
Joseph Allen Skinner State Park is a state-owned, public recreation area located in the towns of Hadley and South Hadley. The state park surrounds Mount Holyoke, the westernmost peak of the Mount Holyoke Range. At the summit is the historic Prospect House, an old hotel first opened in 1851. The park is managed by the … Read more
Kestrel Land Trust Blog February 10, 2017 After receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars to preserve their seventh generation family farm, the Barstows are using the money to populate it with robots. While negotiating the sale of the Agricultural Preservation Restriction rights on 123 acres of their dairy farm, the Barstows have installed four Astronaut … Read more
Smith Dining Services Does Agritour of Hadley, Massachusetts January 2017 As a bitterly cold but sunny winter day settled on western Massachusetts the first week in January, the dairy barn at Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley, Massachusetts, was buzzing with the sounds of conversation, laughter and a herd of milking cows munching on morning hay. … Read more