The Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center is representative of a typical New England Dairy operation. It houses 87 milking-age cows and approximately 70 growing, replacement animals. Included in that number is the 20-cow, student-managed Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management, with the remaining animals devoted primarily to research in the area of dairy nutrition and reproductive biology.
The University of New Hampshire has been ranked as hosting one of the top 20 sets of university farms in America. UNH has four horticulture, agronomy, and dairy farms, as well as greenhouses, which are centered on teaching, research and outreach. All are facilities of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station at the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture.
UNH was recognized by Best College Reviews, which published a ranking of the 20 best university farms in America. In particular, UNH, which was ranked No. 20, was noted for having an academically centered farming operation: “Farming at the University of New Hampshire is more academically centered than at many of the institutions on our list, with funding provided for a large amount of research.”
The rankings were based on a number of factors, including the size of the farm, farm integration with the main campus, farm sustainability, courses taught on the farm, student use of the farm, and community use of the farm. The authors noted that “the large variety of sites are a crucial part of the university’s land-grant heritage, with some elements of agricultural education dating back to 1887. The community is able to use facilities–particularly the Kingman Farm–for hiking, mountain-biking, and other recreational activities.”
“The dedication of our farm and greenhouse staff to our faculty, students, and stakeholders is tremendous. Our research farms and greenhouses provide experiential learning opportunities to hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students every year. They also offer our faculty critical facilities to conduct research that has a positive impact on the bottom line for the agriculture, forest products, and related natural resources industries. I’m hugely proud of our farms and greenhouses, which are an integral part of UNH’s land-grant heritage and future,” said Jon Wraith, director of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station and dean of the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture.
UNH’s farms include the Woodman and Kingman agronomy and horticultural farms, the Macfarlane Greenhouses, the Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center, and the Organic Dairy Research Farm. Every year, thousands of people visit UNH’s farms and greenhouses. Some of the most popular events include the Granite State Dairy Promotion Open House at the Fairchild Dairy; the Spring Open House at the Macfarlane Research Greenhouses; and twilight meetings with members of the agricultural community at Woodman and Kingman farms.
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Written By:
Lori Tyler Gula, PhD | NH Agricultural Experiment Station | lori.gula@unh.edu | 603-862-1452
