Pasture Day welcomes visitors to Barstow's Longview Farm in Hadley

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Judy Stone, sixth generation Barstow, and Marge Barstow, seventh generation Barstow, join seventh generation Barstows Steven and Kelly inside their dairy store and bakery in Hadley.

(ELIZABETH LaFOND-COPPEZ)


By ELIZABETH LaFOND-COPPEZ
Special to The Republican


HADLEY - The next time you enjoy a glass of fresh milk or allow a bite of sharp cheddar cheese to complement your full bodied, red wine, give a toast to dairy cows and their farmers, near and far.

Barstow's Longview Farm
in Hadley deserves a toast as they began their traditions in 1806. Today, sixth- and seventh-generation family members manage the dairy farm and their store and bakery, with a heavy dose of forward thinking entrepreneurship.

"Our family has been here for over 200 years," said Kelly Barstow, a seventh-generation Barstow and manager of the dairy store and bakery. "It's nice to keep the family working together towards the common goal of keeping the farm running and moving into the future."

Barstow's Longview Farm is operating with the future at the forefront, as they use the latest technology to run their farm.

The farm has a total of 550 animals. Of those animals, 230 are milking cows and 22 are beef steers that are raised to sell beef.

The remaining are younger animals, or dry cows. Rather than using the "old fashioned" methods of milking cows, Barstow's has four specialized robots imported from the Netherlands that the cows seem to appreciate.

"In the past, we got up at 3:30 a.m. and milked the cows until 10 a.m.," said Steven Barstow, Kelly's brother. "Our robot is great for the cows. The cows are much calmer, and they can be milked on their own schedules."

Brown Jersey Cow says "hello" to visitors inside one of the many barns at Barstow's Longview Farm in Hadley. The barns house 550 animals that includes milking cows, dry cows and beef steers.

The robots are stationed inside the barns at the end of each milking group. The cows decide when they want or need to be milked. They walk into the robot and the robot scans the cow's tags that determine the cow's name, weight and milking schedule.

If, according to the robot, the cow is ready to be milked, the robot cleans the udders twice, and the machine attaches to the cow's udders, extracts the milk and calculates how much milk the cow produces for each session.

"The robot ensures the cows aren't over- or under milked," Steven Barstow explained. "The robot will call us if a cow hasn't milked. Some cows milk every four hours each day, while others are milked every 12 or 16 hours."

The robot system gives the cows the freedom to be milked at their leisure, and it allows extra time for the farmers to manage other chores around the farm.

"Because of our large herd, we are member-owners of the Agrimark-Cabot Co-op, and all of our milk is sold to Agrimark-Cabot," Kelly Barstow said.

"Our milk is picked up every other day, and the majority of our milk is used to make Cabot butter that you can buy in most grocery stores."

Of course, with hundreds of cows come many, many pounds of manure. Although customers may purchase composted cow manure to fertilize their gardens, the manure has another technology-driven purpose.

In 2013, Barstow's partnered with Vanguard Renewables to turn cow manure and food waste into renewable energy.

Barstow's has a specialized digester that combines food waste that is dropped off by area companies, with the farm's manure.

The digester has three mixers that combine the two waste products that create methane gas. The gas is collected, cleaned and forced into an engine that turns the methane gas into electricity.

"The electricity that we create is pumped back into the grid system," Steven Barstow said. "And, what is left from the mixers is a liquid fertilizer that is very nutrient dense, and farmers who use it noticed a higher crop yield after applying it to their land."

The excess heat from the engine is helping to heat the Barstow's grandmother's house, and they hope to add a second engine to the operation that will heat a few more homes located on the farm's property.

One of the biggest challenges of owning a dairy farm in today's world is the price fluctuation of milk.

"It's a rollercoaster," Steven Barstow said. "Every three years the price is high; every three years it's low. When the price is low, it's below what it costs to make the milk. The way we're moving into the future is the use of our new technology, and our dairy store and bakery helps provide more income so we can get by when the price of milk changes."

Barstow's Dairy Store and Bakery sells a variety of fresh produce, ice cream and milk, and meat from the steers raised at Barstow's.

"We opened our dairy store in 2008, and we offer breakfast and lunch sandwiches, salads, soups, pastries, desserts, coffee and much more," Kelly Barstow added.
As for the future, the farm is looking into getting a robot for feeding their calves.

The farm offers tours for school groups and local colleges and universities, and every May they have a special event enjoyed by the family farm, customers and cows alike.

"On Saturday, May 7, we're having our annual Pasture Day event," Kelly Barstow said. "The cows are allowed out in the pasture after a long winter in the barns. I think they're just as excited as we are!"

"If anyone wants to see our farm, we're so happy to give tours and show our farm because we're proud of what we do!" Steven Barstow added.

For more information about Barstow's Longview Farm, visit the website, barstowsfamilyfarm.com.

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