Hot Farm Summer
With longer light, Barstow’s Dairy Store and Bakery is now open daily until 5pm. Yes, daily! Barstow’s is open on Mondays! We continue to work our way toward fully staffed and are seeking a creative, motivated, early-bird Baker / Cook to join our kitchen team. More details here.
Between the long days and the hot sun, our corn crop is off to the races. Planted in May, our field corn will mature at just over 8 feet in 109 days. That averages to a little under an inch per day! Corn grows so rapidly on a hot dry day, you may even be able to HEAR it grow. Listen to this!
Our corn, of course, is field corn, or cow corn, a forage crop we raise for our herd of dairy girls. Our animals eat a mixture of hay, corn, and other grains to provide them with the nutrition they need to be healthy and productive. Thanks to feed storage technology, excellent soil health practices, advancements in seed varieties, and preserved farmland in the Pioneer Valley, our cows enjoy fresh, high quality, LOCAL feed, 365 days a year.
Knee High by the Fourth of July
As the old adage goes, “Knee high by the Fourth of July” but it looks like, once again, our corn will be shoulder high by the Fourth – just a week from today! Don’t forget to place your orders now for Independence Day platters, picnic salads, and pies. There’s nothing more American than an apple pie and farm raised burgers on the grill from your neighborhood dairy farm. 413-586-2142 to order or visit to pick up Barstow beef, Cabot cheese, and local summer squash and zucchini fresh from Four Rex Farm.
We’re planning on busting out the grill ourselves on Tuesday, July 27. Mark your calendars for the first Barstow’s Burger Night since 2019! And as we dive spoon first into National Ice Cream Month from National Dairy Month, here’s your reminder to wrap up your Dairy Crawl and turn in completed passports at any of the six participating farmstands for a chance to win! If you have feedback about the Dairy Crawl, we’d love to hear it in this brief survey.
Lucky 13 Years
On Wednesday, June 30, we celebrate 13 years in the farmstand business! Of course, we started up Barstow’s Dairy Store and Bakery in our 202nd year of our family farm business, but these things take time! Opening up our farm to the public in this way has been a truly joyful adventure.
We take pride in the local food we create, the family recipes we preserve, the often first job-experience we provide for our young people, the community connections we foster, and the food system conversations we gather. Among our many joys, we’ve weathered low milk prices, growing pains, supply chain issues, a global pandemic…
Yet we still remain here, rooted in our community. It is with overflowing gratitude that we take this time to thank our dedicated team over all 13 years, our tireless family members (paid and unpaid), and our supportive community. Thank you for this milestone! 13 has never felt so lucky!