by Alice H. Allen

Recently there’s a lot of attention being paid to women working in farming as well as veterinary medicine. There’s even a TV program called “FarmHer” as well as a blog of the same name. To be sure, women in agriculture isn’t a new thing, nor are women in veterinary medicine something new and unique – although in the past few decades the shift from men to women in veterinary medicine has changed from mainly men in that profession to now at least 80% women to barely 20% men. (more…)

by Laura Rodley

During June six farms in Western Massachusetts created a way for customers and the public to be more involved in their farms and to increase business. They created a postcard-like passport that could be stamped at each business. After all the businesses had been visited, the customer’s passport would be entered into a drawing for a prize from one of the participating farms. This act of solidarity is the hallmark of the farming families involved who have known each other as friends and neighbors for decades. This was the second year for the annual event. (more…)

by Enrico Villamaino

Reflecting the changes in farming practices from those firmly rooted in the 19th century to the cutting edge technology of 21st, Hastings Farm has served as the model of New England-style farming for over a century. (more…)

by Laura Rodley

When Laura Scott calls her Dexter cattle, they come running. On a beautiful June morning, they gamboled, ambled and ran down a slope to the fence to see what she had to offer them. A rare and hardy heritage breed that originated in Ireland in the 1800s, they are small and compact, about three to four feet high, the size of a small pony, and very inquisitive. They are a dual purpose breed, used for milking or beef. (more…)

by George Looby

For many of us, exposure to events in our childhoods have profound effects on the career paths we take as adults. For Marie-Laure Couet of Dudley, MA, it was a visit to a cheese facility in the Alps that set her on her path. At 8, her parents embarked on a tour of France that included hiking through the French Alps. On one of these excursions they found their way to a modest Alpine cottage where the occupants made goat milk cheese. This visit made a lasting impression on young Marie, one that stayed with her through her adolescence when her career goals began to take shape. She felt compelled to manufacture cheese. (more…)

by Laura Rodley

Shades of our American cowboy heritage were present recently when Tony the Longhorn steer was present at the Draft Animal Day in Woodstock, VT. From the size of his two-foot-long horns, and his 1,500-plus-pound bulk, it is easier to get an appreciation of the cowboys’ bravery, herding hundreds with bullwhips, faithful brave horses, little sleep and the promise of a fat paycheck. Unlike the cattle being driven to market for beef, this steer is 15 years old, and has been owned by Jim Palmer of Silver Ledge Farm in Gorham, Maine for most of those 15 years. (more…)