New England Green Pastures

Birch Mill Farm – Connecticut Dairy Farm of the Year 2021

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New England Green Pastures Connecticut Dairy Farm of the Year 2021

Kinsella familyWe are delighted to announce that Katlyn and Tim Kinsella of Birch Mill Farm have been selected as the 2021 New England Green Pastures Connecticut Outstanding Farm. Birch Mill Farm is located in Falls Village in the bucolic northwest corner of Connecticut. They are proud first generation dairy farmers and along with their young family, Emma and Henry, they milk 45 cows made up of Brown Swiss, Ayrshire and Holsteins. Tim and Kate grew up in the agriculture community, both their grandparents are retired farmers and as kids they raised and showed purebred dairy cows and were very active in 4-H and FFA. After high school Tim went to work full time on a local dairy farm and Kate worked as a DHIA milk tester. In 2009 when a good friend and long time farmer decided to retire, Tim and Kate were given the opportunity to rent the farm and purchase his 28 young stock. Those young stock along with the 5 milk cows they already owned became the foundation for their now, herd of 100 head consisting of 50 mature cows and young stock.

They maintain a 22,500 rolling herd average and they are proud of the latest DHI test of 82 pounds of milk per cow. They maintain high quality milk with average SCC far below 100,00- cells/mL. They have bred several Excellent Brown Swiss cows and are particularly proud of a favorite Brown Swiss cow who’s daughter has ranked in the top 100 for Heifer G-PPR. The secrets to their success is their commitment to high quality forage, cow comfort with the installations of water beds in their tie stalls, and a strong focus on hygiene in housing and milking time routines.

They are farming at a rented facility with 25 acres and rent an additional 500 acres. This additional land base supports a secondary hay business. Their forages consist of 100% BMR corn, grass and alfalfa. They use cover crops and have recently explored the feeding potential of this crop.

They have a strong commitment to the dairy industry and support local school activities and are involved in the local FFA and 4-H programs. They have leased calves to 4-H youth and Kate just became co-chair of the Goshen Fair Dairy Committee.

Over the last 12 years, they have focused on updating facilities to ensure cow comfort, hygiene and high quality milk, along with making high quality forages. The Kinsella’s consider themselves to be relatively ‘risk adverse’ and they make sure that all new investments will be economically sound. They are positive and resilient and maintain a can-do attitude that shows in all aspects of the farm. They look forward to moving their farm to the next level and they are great representatives of the sustainability of dairy farming in Connecticut. We congratulate Kate and Tim Kinsella on their achievements.

Respectively Submitted by, Sheila M. Andrew, Ph.D., Professor and Extension Dairy specialist, University of Connecticut

Valley View Farm is Connecticut Dairy Farm of the Year

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New England Green Pastures Connecticut Dairy Farm of the Year 2020

Learned family gathers for a photo on their farm in North Stonington
Left to right: Timothy Learned, nephew Bradley Tefft, niece Annalise Tefft, sister Marcia tefft, mother Belinda Learned, father Edward learned, Benjamin Learned, Catherine Learned and Liz Lewis.

It is indeed a pleasure to announce that Ben and Tim Learned, owners of Valley View Farm, in North Stonington are the 2020 Outstanding Connecticut Dairy Farmers of the Year for the New England Green Pastures Award Program. Ben and Tim have accomplished the unique achievement of establishing a very successful new dairy farm in only 10 years. The brothers both worked for area dairy farms as they were growing up. Their passion for farming and dairy cattle became even clearer as they attended college and they easily decided that dairy farming would be their vocation rather than pursue other ventures. The brothers, together with their parents, Edward and Belinda, purchased a 130 acre unoccupied dairy farm 10 years ago in the beautiful rolling hills of North Stonington, Connecticut.

Ben and Tim started the farm with eight purchased cows and developed the herd through internal growth and strategic purchases to the current 120 cow herd. The herd is fed 100% BMR corn silage and round bale haylage produced on the farm and rented land and their rations are completed with purchased concentrates. They milk the herd in a flat parlor that they designed and built for cow comfort, cow flow as well as labor efficiency. They have recently completed a barn renovation to convert a tie stall part of the facility to a sand-bedded freestall that the cows fully utilize. The primarily Holstein herd is a high producing herd with high levels of protein. In addition, they have received awards from their dairy cooperative, Dairy Farmer’s of America, for achieving and maintaining high quality milk, which truly demonstrates their commitment to dairy farming.

Tim and Ben enjoy working together in all aspects of the dairy farm and they genuinely believe that having fun should be a component of dairy farming. It is truly a family farm with help from family members. Ben’s wife, Catherine, who helps out on weekends and before her full time job as a physical therapist and Catherine’s sister, Liz, as well as Ben and Tim’s sister, Marcia. In addition, they open their farm to students from the University of Rhode Island so that students can gain hands-on education on dairy farming. Tim and Ben, along with their mother, also have a grass-fed beef operation that yields 24 steers per year.

Together, Ben and Tim have built a dairy farm that is an excellent representation of the viability and sustainability of the New England dairy industry and gives us confidence for the future. Again, congratulations to Tim and Ben Learned for being named the Connecticut Outstanding Dairy Farmers for the 2020 New England Green Pastures Program.

The New England Green Pastures Program has a rich history starting in 1947 with a challenge from the New Hampshire governor as to which New England state dairy farmer produced the best pastures. It has continued with the additional focus on total management and viability of the farm as well as contribution to the agricultural community. This tradition lives on with recognition of the Learned brothers in North Stonington, Connecticut. We also thank the selection committee that consists of former winners and agri-business members.

Article by: Sheila M. Andrew, Ph.D., Professor and Extension Dairy Specialist, University of Connecticut, New England Green Pastures Connecticut Coordinator