UNH Dairy Receives 2016 Quality Milk Award

Monday, June 26, 2017

Fairchild Dairy aerial phto

The Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center, a facility of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, has been awarded a 2016 Quality Milk Award from the nationally recognized nonprofit dairy farmers cooperative Dairy One. Credit: UNH

DURHAM, N.H. –– The Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, a facility of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, has been awarded a 2016 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 2016.

“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 prices 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.

The Fairchild Dairy Center develops new knowledge and management expertise geared directly toward many state and regional stakeholders. It houses about 90 milking-age Holstein 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.

Cows at the Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research 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 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. 

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 is a flagship research university that inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. UNH’s research portfolio includes partnerships with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, receiving more than $100 million in competitive external funding every year to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space. 

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The Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center, a facility of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station, has been awarded a 2016 Quality Milk Award from the nationally recognized nonprofit dairy farmers cooperative Dairy One. Credit: UNH