BERKSHIRE, VT--(AP) A 400-head Holstein dairy farm in Berkshire is Vermont's 2018 Dairy Farm of the Year.
Aires Hill Farm has
earned the distinction from the University of Vermont Extension and the Vermont
Dairy Industry Association in cooperation with the New England Green Pastures
Program.
The farm is
primarily managed by Karie Thompson Atherton, who took it over in 2014 after
her father and uncle decided to retire.
Aires Hill, one of
several farms nominated this year, epitomizes everything that an outstanding
dairy farm should including exemplary management practices and herd
performance, high-quality milk production and a strong commitment to promoting
the dairy industry. The judging committee, comprised of past Vermont Dairy Farm
of the Year winners, also looked at production records, conservation practices
and other criteria in addition to farm visits and interviews with the top four
finalists.
University of
Vermont Extension’s Tony Kitsos, the awards program coordinator, says, “The
judges all saw the same passion here as they themselves have for farming. They
all commented that even in the face of low milk prices, Aires Hill has made a
farm transition plan and has begun to put that in motion, and have made
investments in the future through new technology to improve animal health and
profitability.”
Atherton currently
milks 195 cows twice a day in a double-ten parallel milking parlor. The average
daily milk production per cow is 77 pounds with 3.5 percent butterfat, 3
percent protein.
The extension
service says the farm, which is part of St. Albans Cooperative Creamery,
consistently earns awards for high-quality milk and is a good steward of the
land. The service says the farm instituted conservation practices before the
state agriculture agency mandated them, including using buffers, blocking
access of cattle to streams and developing a nutrient management plan.