The five dairy farms selected winners of the New England Green Pastures Award show that dairy, while in small numbers, is still alive and well across the region.
Each New England state selects a Green Pastures winner — dairy farm of the year — every year, and winners make formal presentations at the annual Eastern States Exhibition (Big E).
The program has been running continuously since 1948 when the New Hampshire governor bet the other New England governors that New Hampshire had the greenest pastures. Nominated farms are judged on a variety of production criteria, and a state winner is selected.
Here’s brief biographies of this year’s winners. Click on the slideshow to see photos of each winning farm.
Connecticut
Logue Farms, Woodbury. This dairy has been in continuous operation since 1905 with the fourth generation as current operators and 10 children in the fifth generation.
David and Debbie Logue own the farm with their sons, Michael and James. Their daughters, Rachel and Sarah, are also involved on the farm, too.
The 325-acre farm in Woodbury includes 320 Holstein cows, 650 head total. The cows average 85 pounds a day with cows separated into two groups. They milk in a double-six herringbone parlor three times a day. Cows are fed a mixed ration of silage, haylage, corn and grain.
In addition to the home farm and another farm in New York, Logue Farms Inc. rents an additional 1,500 acres. They have 900 acres in corn and 300 acres in hay, 50 acres in sweet corn, and 25 acres in pumpkins. They also grow vegetables for their popular farm stand.
Debbie runs the mixer wagon with son Michael. She and daughter Rachel share responsibilities in the office paying and maintaining bills and records. When not working on the farm, Debbie is active in her church. She is assistant to the pastor and regional prayer ministry coordinator for Operation Christmas Child.
Another son, James, set up a hoof trimming chute and trims feet. The Logues place a lot of emphasis on cow comfort, movement and mobility in their milking herd. He also delivers corn, hay and pumpkins.
Oldest son Michael is responsible for many facets of the farm, including ordering all feed, corn seed, fertilizer and parts. He plants corn and pumpkins, and harvests corn for chopping and combining. He is also the head mechanic.
Rachel left her nursing career and returned to the farm to raise her two sons. She oversees the replacement heifers, and shares herd health responsibilities and management with her brothers.
Sarah is involved with the summer harvest of corn and vegetables, as well as running the pick-your-own pumpkin stand on the weekends in October.
The Logues have capitalized on the increasing desire of families to purchase locally grown meat and vegetables. Their farm stand is in western Connecticut between the cities of Danbury and Waterbury. They offer vegetables and corn, as well as pork and beef.
Maine
Caverly Farms LLC, Clinton. The Caverly family's dedication to dairy farming spans three generations, beginning with Wyman Farm in Benton. Evelyn Wyman and Brainard Caverly, the farm’s founders, raised three sons: Frank, Pudge and E.C.
Frank and his brothers established Caverly Farm in 1962 after purchasing land in Clinton. Frank's marriage to Susie six years later marked the beginning of a family commitment to expanding the farm and herd. The farm initially housed Ayrshires but transitioned to Holsteins in the mid-1990s, a move aimed at enhancing genetic selection and increasing milk production.
The farm is currently managed by Frank and Susie's son, Neal, and nephew Brian, who came back to the farm in 2010. Brian has overseen the genetic selection of the herd since Richard Caverly’s death last February (Neal’s cousin and E.C.'s son).
Neal and his wife, Michele, say the farm's success is due to the combined work of the management team and farm crew, consisting of Alvin Winslow, agronomist; Greg Weber, nutritionist; Ethan Robertson, Farm Credit; Matthew Rolleston, veterinarian; and 13 farmworkers.
The farm has 1,300 acres. Of this, 610 acres are dedicated to hay or haylage, 503 acres are devoted to corn (200 acres to brown midrib corn) and 10 acres to grasses for silage.
The herd comprises 605 cows and 520 replacement stock in six barns, all freestalls and with deep bedding. The farm produces about 14.8 million pounds of milk a year with 4.1% fat, 3.02% protein and 6.12 pounds components.
Massachusetts
Fletcher Farm, Southampton. Fletcher Farm is a multigenerational dairy in Southampton. Robert and Cheryl Fletcher first rented the APR farm in 1989 and purchased it in 1995.
They raised three children: Nicole, Elizabeth and Matthew. Today, Nicole and Matthew work full time alongside Robert. Cheryl runs the farmstand with Elizabeth’s husband, George. Both Elizabeth and Nicole’s husband, Torrie, work off the farm but can be found helping on weekends and assisting with projects.
Fletcher Farm is a member of Agri-Mark. The dairy herd consists of registered Holsteins and Jerseys. There are 85 cows in the milking herd and an additional 65 head of heifers. The Holstein rolling herd average is 24,284 pounds and the Jersey rolling herd average is 17,867 pounds.
The family farms 220 acres of land with about 120 acres in hay, 90 acres in corn and 10 acres in pumpkins. Some of the rented land includes town conservation land, something they feel strongly about maintaining and keeping in agriculture.
The Fletchers also run a farmstand that has become a year-round community hub. This year is the 30th year of the pick-your-own pumpkin patch, a beloved local tradition. The farm also hosts field trips and open barn weekends in the fall.
In addition, the Fletchers sell local Christmas trees, potted plants, compost and sweet corn.
Education and outreach is a key focus for the Fletcher family. They are dedicated to promoting dairy and agritourism. The farm also works closely with New England Dairy Promotion and Cabot Creamery to host and participate in year-round events. The farm was the Discover Dairy Adopt-A-Cow host farm for Massachusetts in 2021, connecting with more than 19,000 schoolchildren over the course of the academic year.
The farm is also involved with various youth programs, especially 4-H, leasing project animals for youth to exhibit at fairs and shows.
New Hampshire
Bohanan Farm/Contoocook Creamery, Contoocook. In 1907, Lester Bohanan bought a farm on the banks of the Contoocook River in Contoocook. Today, the third, fourth and fifth generations of Lester’s family are still farming the same land.
Heather Bohanan Robertson; her husband, Jamie; and their three grown children, Si, Nate and Bram, own the farm. The family operate the farm with help from employees Wendy, Paul, Cathen, Dennis, Jon, Belinda, Sarah (Heather’s sister) Ben, Pierce, DJ, Melanie, and herd veterinarian Dr. Megan Robertson, (Si’s wife).
The farm consists of more than 440 acres of land nestled between three rivers. There is also another 300 acres of rented land in Contoocook, Concord and Webster.
The farm includes 120 cows, producing more than 16,000 8-ounce servings of milk every day. Bohanan Farm strives to be a modern dairy that produces milk of the highest quality with the most efficient and environmentally sound practices available. The farm works closely with a nutritionist and veterinarian to formulate a balanced diet that blends the homegrown grasses and corn with other nutrients and grains to support the cows’ health and production.
After much thought and research, in 2011 the family decided to add direct marketing to the farm business. The farm now has an on-farm milk processing plant that pasteurizes and bottles all the milk produced. Today, Contoocook Creamery markets milk, beef and eggs from Conway to Billerica with more than 150 retail partners.
Vegetables are being added to the farm mix and are offered at the self-service farm store.
Vermont
Scotch Burn Farm, Ryegate. An eighth-generation farm owned by Ethan and Erin Nelson, the farm is recognized for its high-producing herd, milk quality, excellent crops and top-notch management.
The judges also were impressed by the many recent farm improvements including installation of a 4-million-gallon concrete manure pit, a remodeled storage area, and changes to the calf and heifer barn to improve efficiency and comfort.
The Nelsons milk 270 cows on a twice-daily schedule in a double-12 herringbone parlor. Their rolling herd average is between 24,000 and 25,000 pounds. Butterfat is 4.5% to 4.6% with protein averaging 3.25% to 3.27%, enviable numbers for a mostly Holstein herd.
They ship their milk to Agri-Mark/Cabot Creamery, consistently earning quality awards for their milk.
To help maximize milk production, the high-producing group is fed highly digestible brown midrib corn silage and grass, usually at a 2-to-1 ratio, and higher concentrates once they slow down. The low-production group get conventional corn and grass.
The Nelsons raise their own replacements with heifers bred to have their first calf at 24 months. They use SCR ear tags to monitor rumination, feed intake and activity, which tells them if a cow is in heat or ill. The use of the tags, they say, has doubled their pregnancy rate.
The Nelsons strive for a 1.5 conception rate with a 70-day voluntary waiting period between calving and next breeding, although if a high producer comes into heat earlier, they will service her then.
The Nelsons purchase grain but grow all their forages. They hay and chop 300 acres of grass, aiming for several cuts a season, and 40 to 50 acres of alfalfa.
They grow 240 acres of corn with their best fields averaging 22 to 23 tons of silage per acre, 15 to 17 tons for the less-productive fields. In the fall, they plant winter rye as a cover crop. Any fields with a slight slope are put in rotation of two years in corn, then eight years in grass and alfalfa.
The Nelsons employ three full-time and 10 part-time workers, including several high school students. Their children Susanna, 17; Bryn, 14; and Ewan, 11, also help out on the farm along with several family members.