UNH Today

University of New Hampshire will welcome nearly 1,000 area school children to the Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center for the 30^th School-To-Farm Days June 6 to 8, 2017. This educational opportunity is sponsored by the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, NH Agriculture in the Classroom, and the Rockingham and Strafford County Farm Bureaus, and strives to teach Granite State youths about the importance of agriculture in the state.

“The School-to-Farm event is designed to acquaint fourth-graders with various aspects of New Hampshire agriculture and will include a visit to the NH Agricultural Experiment Station facilities, including the UNH Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center, the UNH Equine Center, and other educational stations. I believe School-to-Farm is an important and worthwhile program for children and will be most beneficial to all involved,” said Dr. Jon Wraith, dean of the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, and director of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station. 

UNH researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students present information on their dairy and agricultural research. Students will meet area sheep farmers, chicken farmers, vegetable growers, soil experts, and maple producers. Participating organizations include the Rockingham County Conservation District, NH Department of Education, Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners, Granite State FFA, 4-H, USDA APHIS and Seacoast Eat Local.

The Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center develops new knowledge and management expertise focused on improving animal health and the profitability of the regional dairy industry. The facility houses about 90 milking-age Holstein and Jersey cows and approximately 70 growing, replacement animals. Included in that number is the 20-cow, student-managed Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management (CREAM) herd, with the remaining animals devoted primarily to research in the area of dairy nutrition and reproductive biology.

Educators interested in learning more about School-to-Farm Days should contact Debbi Cox at NH Ag in the Classroom at nhaitc@nhfarmbureau.org or 603-224-1934.

Founded in 1887, the NH Agricultural Experiment Station at the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture is UNH’s original research center and an elemental component of New Hampshire's land-grant university heritage and mission. We steward federal and state funding, including support from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, to provide unbiased and objective research concerning diverse aspects of sustainable agriculture and foods, aquaculture, forest management, and related wildlife, natural resources and rural community topics. We maintain the Woodman and Kingman agronomy and horticultural research farms, the Macfarlane Research Greenhouses, the Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center, and the Organic Dairy Research Farm. Additional properties also provide forage, forests and woodlands in direct support to research, teaching, and outreach.