In recognition of outstanding achievement in the consistent production of high-quality milk, the Alfred State College Farm recently received a Special Gold Certificate Award from the Dairy Farmers of America (DFA).
According to the Dairy Farmers of America’s website, www.dfamilk.com,
the DFA’s Gold Standard Dairy Program lays out a comprehensive set of standards
to guide its farmers and “is one of the first on-farm evaluation programs of
its kind, focused on employing best practices in the areas of animal care and
wellness, environmental stewardship, employee training, and milk safety and
quality.”
Farm Manager Virginia Chamberlain noted that the college’s
organic herd has received either a bronze-, silver-, or gold-level milk quality
award almost every year since the college started shipping milk in 2013. The
award, she said, is a reflection of a team effort, crediting both the farm
staff and, of course, the cows themselves.
“To us, the award means that we – and our cows – are doing a
good job to produce a superior quality product,” she said. “We work hard to
keep our milk quality standards high, so we hope that we keep receiving these
awards.”
Each month, the Alfred State College Farm currently ships
115,000 pounds of milk that comes from 50 organic herd cows. The product is
sold as fluid milk under the label of the farm’s co-op Organic Valley.
Alfred State’s 800-acre college farm serves as a field
laboratory to provide practical instruction in production agriculture and to
produce feed for the college’s livestock. It is home to registered dairy and
beef herds, horses, swine, poultry, sheep, and meat goats used for instruction
in animal care and management.
The farm is also used for classes on soils, botany, feeds, nutrition, robotics, livestock, and field and forage crops. Students have the opportunity to work on the farm as interns. Other facilities there focus on high-tunnel vegetable production, row crop production, and agroforestry practices.
