The Dairying for Tomorrow Awards, sponsored by American Dairy Association North East, are designed to recognize local dairy farmers and showcase the unique actions they take, on and off the farm, to help sustain and improve the dairy industry.
Dairy farmers were recognized in three key categories: Animal Care, Community Outreach and Environmental Stewardship.
The overall winners in each category receive a farm photo shoot and a donation of $1,000 value in their name, of either milk to a regional food bank in their community or a commercial smoothie blender to help a local school implement a yogurt smoothie program. ADA North East staff facilitates the donations to ensure maximum impact in each community.
Read on to learn more about our 2019 Dairying for Tomorrow Award winner and honorable mention farm families!
Environmental Stewardship
Overall Winner: Red Sunset Farm — Mifflintown, Pennsylvania
Red Sunset Farm is home to 400 acres of land located in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Since 2000, farm owner and environmental steward, David Graybill, has regularly assessed that land and has brought his conservation ideas to fruition so that he can protect the land and keep the water clean. Graybill diverts water away from his barnyard to keep the water clean. He has improved cow walkways in paddocks, put in a sizable manure pit with leak detection equipment, and implemented a compost system.
Honorable Mention: Fair Hill Farm — Chestertown, MD
Owned and operated by Ed and Marian Fry, their son and daughter-in-law Matt and Megan Fry and grandsons Owen and Reid Fry, Fair Hill Farm is a fourth generation, Certified Organic dairy farm. The family has made many updates and investments both to the farm and in their day-to-day practices in order to minimize their impact on the environment. Fair Hill Farm has fenced-off waterways to keep cows from walking into local streams, and also added buffer strips – small tracts of land located at the edge of fields used to reduce surface water contamination.
Honorable Mention: Wagner Farm — Poestenkill, NY
Wagner Farms is owned and operated by Peter and Keith Wagner and their family. The Wagners crop over 800 total acres to feed their 400 milking cows plus young stock in the herd and generate electricity with a methane digester. As part of their environmental commitment, the Wagners adopted the road that runs through their farm through the “Adopt a Highway” program.
Community Outreach
Overall Winner: King Brothers Dairy – Schuylerville, New York
King Brothers Dairy is owned and operated by brothers Jan and Jeff King, fourth generation dairy farmers. While a majority of the Kings’ time is spent overseeing operations at King Brother’s Dairy, as well as Kings-Ransom Farm, the 118-year old dairy farm with 800 cows, the duo still take time to make an impact in the local community both on and off the farm. The Kings have always been proactive in educating the community about where their food comes from via a number of different platforms – from their retail business to farm tours and participation in “Sundae on the Farm” to their social media channels.
Honorable Mention: Fawn View Farm – Pylesville, MD
Fawn View Farm is operated by Mary and Greg Stewart and children Abby, Bradley, Zachary, Thomas and Taylor. Mary developed this dairy education center around Fawn View Manor Farm, the dairy farm owned by her parents, Jim and Janet Archer, which allows the family to host school tours, farm-to-table dinner events, parties, weddings and other community events in order to engage with their community and share their story as dairy farmers.
Animal Care
Overall Winner: Misty Meadow Farm – Smithsburg, Maryland
Misty Meadow Farm is owned and operated by the Herbst and Malott families. Jeni and Justin Malott (far right), along with Jeni’s brother, Andrew Herbst, run the day-to-day operations at the farm, while Jeni’s parents, David and Betsy Herbst, manage Misty Meadow Farm Creamery, where they sell milk and ice cream that is processed on the farm property. The team at Misty Meadow Farm milks 150 cows and processes some milk in their on-farm creamery and ship some to Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative, who nominated the family for the award.
Honorable Mention: A Joy Swiss — Athens, Pennsylvania
Abbie and Andrew Evans, of A Joy Swiss, follow a strict protocol for the daily care of their dairy herd, which is housed in a freestall barn complete with new stall dividers, mattresses, fans and quality ventilation. Their calf care program is top-notch from feeding, individual and super hutch housing until weaning, and a Virginia-style heifer barn. Abbie and Andrew are known in the dairy cattle show circuit for providing top-quality care of the animals in their herd. They show their Brown Swiss cattle at local, state, and national shows.
Congratulations to all the 2019 Dairying for Tomorrow Award winners!
