Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources

June is Dairy Month so to celebrate, we recently hit the road with staff and the newest members of the Agricultural Youth Council to visit 2 local family-owned dairy farms in Southeastern Massachusetts along with Bristol County Agricultural High School to see their hands-on dairy program.

At Almeida Dairy Farm in Rehoboth, visitors can find a state-of-the-art facility with robotic milkers. This summer, they’ll be opening up a farm stand where customers can purchase direct from the source their delicious milk.

At Bristol County Agricultural High School, we learned about the data-driven approach that students in the Animal Science division use to learn more about animal care in the 21st century-skills that will prepare our future dairy farmers in the 21st century. The school has an actual working dairy farm that supplies its milk to Agri-Mark.

Our final stop at Hornstra Dairy Farm in Whitman had owner John Hornstra recount his story of saving this dairy farm from potential development after the previous owners decided to sell off their farm property. Now restored to its former glory, it currently operates a farm store selling local products and an immensely popular ice cream stand that’s on our Massachusetts Ice Cream Trail!) with an adjacent indoor area for visitors to see the cows up close!

For centuries, dairy farming has been a staple of the farming community in Massachusetts and these visits underscore the tremendous value that dairy farmers bring into their communities and the local economy. From milk to cheese to butter and of course ice cream, our hardworking dairy farmers produce premium products that strengthen the local food system.

To find a local dairy farm near you, head to our MassGrown Map at the following link: https://massnrc.org/farmlocator/mobile-map.aspx?Type=Dairy%20Farms

Our final round of voting is underway to crown the first ever "Fat Queen Bee" in Massachusetts! It all comes down to two stellar and regal queens: Regina and Queen Gilded Tomato. Votes are due by Sunday, June 7th at midnight. The winner will be crowned at a ceremony during this year's Massachusetts Beekeepers Association Field Day. More details on that event to come!

Cast your vote at the following link: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/XyitnqMR3j

This month’s Plant Pest Newsletter is out! In it, you can learn about: Spotted lanternfly hatch in Massachusetts, spotted lanternfly egg mass scraping, an update to the MA Prohibited Plant List to include Japanese angelica tree (Aralia elata) and sapphire berry (Asiatic sweetleaf; Symplocos paniculata), and six-spotted tiger beetle which is an insect native to Massachusetts that’s sometimes mistaken for emerald ash borer. Read the newsletter and learn more here: https://massnrc.org/pests/blog/?p=3942

Photo credits: Alden Dirks and chdphoto, iNaturalist

We're closing out May with one more spotlight of a woman flower grower, this time recognizing Laura Abrams of J.P. Bartlett's Greenhouse in Sudbury!

Laura literally grew up in her family's greenhouse business and was expected to help out whenever she and her siblings were able with tasks like stamping labels with plant variety names on each pot, picking out plants for delivery, loading trucks, and of course, watering everything.

For her, working in agriculture means you never know what the challenges ahead will be and the best laid plans can change in a heartbeat. That said, it is a job she finds rewarding anything but routine.

Growing up, Laura's father would tell people that the only reason their family business survived was because his wife and her mother was running the business! She truly believes there is no job in agriculture that a woman cannot do!

The next round of voting for our first ever "Fat Queen" Honey Bee Bracket Challenge is underway! Click on the following link to vote for your 2 favorite queens to advance to the final round!!

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/g/XyitnqMR3j