Weathering a dry spell: Drought hits farmers, hurts crops

By JACQUELYN VOGHEL Staff Writer Daily Hampshire Gazette Published: 9/18/2020 3:35:25 PM Modified: 9/18/2020 3:35:11 PM GRANBY — At Red Fire Farm, there are often years when workers “barely get the irrigation equipment out,” said co-owner Ryan Voiland. But this year, with much of the state and nearly all of Hampshire County under a moderate … Read more

Big E helps Agri-Mark distribute Cabot dairy products to small farm stands

MassLive By Jim Kinney | jkinney@repub.com WEST SPRINGFIELD — Farm stands like Barstow’s Longview Dairy Store and Bakery in Hadley used to be able to pick up Cabot Creamery-brand cheese and other dairy products at Agri-Mark’s butter and dry nonfat milk manufacturing plant on Riverdale Street in West Springfield. But that was before coronavirus restrictions … Read more

Building a Stronger Community On and Off the Farm

Kestrel Land Trust | Blog Denise Barstow just completed her year-long service year as Kestrel’s Community Engagement and Regional Conservation Coordinator through the TerraCorps AmeriCorps program. She also works at Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley, owned by her family for 7 generations. In 2014, when my dad and uncle called a family meeting to discuss … Read more

When Waste is not Wasted: Dairy Farmers Leading the Way on Responsible Manure Management

This article comes from the NOFA/Massachusetts 2020 June Issue Newsletter By Christy Bassett, Northeast Organic Farming Association / Mass Dairy Program Coordinator At Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley, MA, Denise Barstow and family have taken a slightly higher tech approach to manure management. With 350 cows and heifers in their dairy herd, they have a … Read more

Checking in with the Barstows of Hadley

By FRANCIE LIN For the Gazette Published: 6/12/2020 3:25:20 PM Interview with Steven Barstow II, dairy farmer Who lives in the same house as you? Caroline Barstow (large animal veterinarian), Nelson Barstow (19 months), OVH (cat), Moose (the farm dog) How are you juggling all your responsibilities during this time? Although much has been turned upside down in … Read more

Valley Bounty: Amid challenges, Barstow’s farm still taking the long view

By NOAH BAUSTIN For the Gazette Published: 5/23/2020 Pasture Day is Denise Barstow’s favorite time on the farm. The event is an annual celebration of spring at Barstow’s Longview Farm in Hadley. In a normal year, hundreds of people gather on the farm to watch the heifers celebrate their first taste of fresh grass in … Read more

Who let the cows out? Pandemic doesn’t stop dairy farm’s Pasture Day event

By SCOTT MERZBACH Daily Hampshire Gazette  Published: 5/12/2020 HADLEY — Taking tentative and seemingly nervous steps, six heifers had a new experience awaiting them Tuesday morning as they jumped from a trailer into the pasture where they will be spending the next few months. Only moments after their hooves hit the grass, though, the young … Read more

Coronavirus spring: Farms, gardens figure out how to get vegetables to consumers in the age of social distancing

By Jim Kinney | April 7, 2020 MassLive At the 100-acre Calabrese fruit and vegetable farm in Southwick, the sweet corn is planted. Normally not a remarkable occurrence on a farm in April. But with the coronavirus and efforts to stop its spread disrupting nearly every aspect of every life, it’s remarkable that this one … Read more

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