June is Dairy Month! Each Sunday and June, we’ll learn more about how dairy impacts our economy, planet, diet, land use, and how dairy farming connects us with our Pioneer Valley heritage. This free walking farm tour will be led by seventh generation farmer Denise Barstow and her guest, Massachusetts State Senator, Jo Comerford. Jo … Read more
American dairy farmers are struggling. At this point, this should be news to no one. It is mentioned on every news station from NPR to Fox. But nobody is doing a very good job of explaining why they are struggling or what could in fact be done about it. There’s a lot of things going … Read more
Barstow’s Dairy Store and Bakery visitors and land conservationist Lee Halasz of the Kestrel Land Trust enjoyed a educational stroll down through conserved farmland for the Dairy Month Lecture Series on Sunday, June 10! In case you missed it, we have this short recap for you: The Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) program preserves and protects agricultural land, … Read more
Every day is Earth Day on a dairy farm! Like most dairy farmers in this country, we live in the place that we work. That means each morning we greet our day, walking from our back step, into our dairy barns. We care for our animals and land, providing wholesome, nutritious, safe, and sustainable food … Read more
September 2017 by Laura Rodley, Country Folks Three dairy farmers, District Representative John Scibak and Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation (MFBF) representatives Katelyn Parsons and Brad Mitchell, gathered at Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley, MA late September to discuss dairy farming. The farmers were Denise Barstow of Barstow’s Longview Farm, Hatfield’s Daryl Williams of Luther Belden … Read more
Written by David Mclellan, Daily Hampshire Gazette September 28, 2017 HADLEY — Pick up a gallon of milk at a New England grocery store, and its contents are pretty much guaranteed to be locally made. Whether the label advertises a big company’s name or a family-owned farm, the dairy farmer who has provided that milk … Read more
By Richie Davis, Recorder Staff Thursday, September 28, 2017 With two reporters and two state legislators in tow, the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation organized a “down on the farm” tour to touch on some of the key agricultural issues like locally grown hops for the region’s craft beers, pollinator health and the health of local … Read more