DURHAM, N.H. -- Growers and the public are invited to visit two research farms at the University of New Hampshire on the 6^th annual Durham Farm Day Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018. The Woodman Horticultural Research Farm and the Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center, both facilities of the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, will be open for free public tours.

Tours of the Woodman Horticultural Research Farm will take place at 10 a.m. and 11 a.m.; preregistration is required. To preregister, contact Theresa Walker of the Durham Agricultural Commission at theresawalker@comcast.net or (603) 659-7226. Self-guided tours of the Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center are available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visitors can observe the milking process at 3:30 p.m.

Located at 70 Spinney Lane, the primary activities of the Woodman Horticultural Research Farm, approximately 155 acres, are research, teaching, and outreach on the production of horticultural and ornamental crops. The farm specializes in conducting research on new cultivation methods and varieties of fruits and vegetables.

Visitors to the farm will learn more about current research and speak with experiment station scientists. Tours will feature the kiwiberry vineyard; the grape cultivar and training trial; day neutral strawberries producing all summer long as part of the tunnelberries project; wildflowers meadows to promote pollinator health; the UNH Bee Hotel for diverse native bees; soil nutrient management for optimal growth of tomatoes in caterpillar tunnels; breeding strawberries for organic growers; domestication of lambsquarters as a New England version of quinoa; and a new eggplant cultivar trial in high tunnels. Children are invited to participate in a scavenger hunt for facts about pollinators.

The Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center is representative of a typical New England Dairy operation, developing new knowledge and management expertise for the region’s dairy farmers. It houses about 90 milking-age cows and approximately 70 growing, replacement animals. Included in that number is the 20-cow, student-managed CREAM (Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management) herd. Research at the farm focuses on nutrition for lactating cows and improving health of calves and heifers.

Directions to Woodman Farm: http://colsa.unh.edu/nhaes/woodman-directions. Directions to the Fairchild Dairy: https://colsa.unh.edu/nhaes/fairchild-directions.

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.