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 Farm and Hadley’s Jessica Dizek of Mapleline Farm.
Each farm serves an educated market which is looking for better ingredients and healthier food to buy for their kids. Each farm also faces the same challenges of equipment and labor issues.
“One of the biggest challenge in Massachusetts, as I see it, is price,” said Williams, 13th generation farmer. “Folks like Barstow and myself — wholesale shippers — whatever the price is, that’s what we get, no matter what,” he said. “There are only 150 of us left.”