DURHAM, N.H. -- The Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center at the University of New Hampshire has been awarded a 2015 Quality Milk Award from the nationally recognized nonprofit dairy farmers cooperative Dairy One. Less than 20 percent of Dairy One's member herds received the designation in 2015.

"Thank you for your efforts in producing quality milk. Your outstanding achievement sets a standard of excellence for the entire dairy industry," said James Zimmerman, general manager of Dairy One in a letter notifying UNH of the designation.

The Fairchild Dairy Center's research and Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management (CREAM) herds were recognized for consistently producing milk with a low somatic cell count throughout the year. Dairy herds with a low somatic cell count tend to be more healthy and profitable herds since they have reduced treatment and veterinary costs for mastitis, which is the most common and costliest disease for dairy cattle. Healthy herds have higher milk production per cow and receive a higher price for their milk. In addition, milk with lower somatic cell counts has a longer shelf life and results in a higher yield of cultured dairy products.

Cows at the Fairchild Dairy Center produce an average of about 26,000 to 27,000 pounds of milk per cow per year, which is greater than the national average of about 22,000 pounds per cow a year.

The Fairchild Dairy Center, a facility of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, develops new knowledge and management expertise geared directly toward many state and regional stakeholders. It houses about 80 milking-age Holstein and Jersey cows and approximately 70 growing, replacement animals.

Included in that number is the 20-cow, student-managed CREAM herd, with the remaining animals devoted primarily to research in the area of dairy nutrition and reproductive biology.

The Fairchild Dairy Center has been long recognized for its quality milk and operations. In 2014, 2013 and 2012, the farm received the Gold Quality Award from the Dairy Farmers of America. Also in 2014, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services recognized the dairy as a New Hampshire Quality Milk Producer. In 2014 and 2013, the farm received a Quality Milk Award from Dairy One for consistently producing high quality milk with a low somatic cell count.

The Fairchild Dairy Center is located at 36 O'Kane Road off Mast Road Extension in Durham. It is open to the public seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors can observe the milking of cows at 3:30 p.m. each day. Map: http://colsa.unh.edu/nhaes/directions/Fairchild.

Dairy One is a farmer-owned cooperative nonprofit with a core DHIA membership of approximately 4,600 dairy farmer members throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. Dairy One is closely aligned with Dairylea Cooperative and Dairy Farmers of America.

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.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 13,000 undergraduate and 2,500 graduate students.

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The Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center, a facility of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, has been awarded a 2015 Quality Milk Award from the nationally recognized nonprofit dairy farmers cooperative Dairy One. Credit: UNH