Valley Bounty: ‘Looking forward since 1806’: Barstow family has been producing milk and more in Hadley for eight generations

The Barstow family has been producing milk in Hadley since the 1920s – and after nearly 90 years, they knew they had to make some changes if they wanted to stay in the dairy business.

“In the early 2000s, the milk market was tumbling, so we sat down as a family to figure out how we could diversify,” says Denise Barstow Manz, a member of the farm’s seventh generation. “We wanted to prioritize the interests and the strengths of the next generation. My cousin, Shannon, is an amazing baker who had dreamt of having her own bakery, so that was the direction we chose.”

The result was Barstow’s Dairy Store and Bakery, the farm store the family opened at Barstow’s Longview Farm in 2008. There you’ll find basic grocery items, including Barstow’s own beef and produce from neighboring farms, full bakery, breakfast and lunch options, and an ice cream scoop shop.

The transition from focusing solely on dairy to being a multi-faceted business was significant. “It was very much dairy farmers who had only been talking to cows and plants for a long time, and all of a sudden we had to figure out how to talk with vendors and customers,” says Barstow Manz. “It started as a way to save the family farm, but in a lot of ways, what it’s become has surprised and delighted us. It’s the front door to our dairy farm for our community. It’s become a time capsule for family recipes, and all the soft sides of the farm that aren’t as significant to the day-to-day of caring for our herd but are important to our heritage. And it’s a place we can have an ongoing conversation about the food system, right where it’s happening.”

One ongoing concern is how thousands of dairies have shuttered in recent decades in the Northeast. The reason for this is simple: dairy farms are not paid enough for their milk in the wholesale market to cover the costs of production.

“I don’t know any dairy farms in New England that haven’t diversified in some way,” says Barstow Manz. “You have to have an additional revenue stream because the cost of milk just doesn’t cover the cost of doing business. In some ways that makes sense because milk needs to be affordable to people, but it makes it hard for dairy farms to support the family.”

It begs the question: why persist as a dairy farm at all? For the Barstows, the discussion was grounded in practicality. “We have invested in all this infrastructure and are set up as a dairy farm to feed our community,” says Barstow Manz.

There’s also a case for milk production as a public good. “We believe that dairy production in New England matters,” she says. “We are keeping land open, which is important for climate resilience. Milk is an affordable protein that is very accessible – it can go into schools, corner stores, and anywhere else that people need affordable options. Food security is national security – we don’t want all of our milk coming from one gigantic farm in California or China. We need to have pockets of food production in all the places that it fits.”

Finally, there is the intangible pull of family and love for the work. “Many dairy farm families are relying on legacy for motivation, to continue what your ancestors have built and to pass it along to the next generation, to not be the one to turn off the lights in the barn. It’s so special – I get to work with my cousins, my uncle and my dad on the family farm.”

Indeed, the Barstow crew is sprawling. On the farm side, there’s Steve and David Barstow, both sixth generation owner-operators, working alongside Steve’s son, Steven Barstow II. Denise oversees marketing on the farm store side, working closely with her cousins: Shannon Barstow, the head baker and owner, and Kelly Barstow, who manages the store, along with Jean Curran, who is Kelly’s fiancé and a supervisor at the store. Teenage members of the eighth generation pitch in too, while the littlest kids get to just play ... for now.

Ultimately, every decision the Barstows make is about the eighth generation, and beyond. Barstow Manz says, “When I was a kid, we would hear our parents talking about the farm and really they were talking about us kids, about how to pass the farm along to the next generation. That’s such an important mindset – we’re taking care of this land so it can take care of people in the future, not just now.”

To that end, the family has made a number of sustainability-focused investments. “We’ve embraced technology that we know is going to be better for our herd, better for the land and climate and better for the farmers,” Barstow Manz says. “Tech on the farm has made it so work is easier, safer, and takes less time. When we talk about sustainability we’re talking about clean air and water, but we’re also talking about a sustainable bottom line.”

These investments feature an anaerobic digester, which generates electricity from the farm’s manure and food waste from nearby businesses. Robotic milkers allow the cows to choose their milking schedule and collect data on each cow’s health for more personalized care. In 2019, the farm converted to no-till farming practices on their 500 acres of feed crops, which decreases soil disturbance, minimizes erosion, and helps with water management.

There’s a lot to be excited about at the Barstow kitchen and store. Barstow Manz mentioned the pies made with Grandma Barstow’s recipes, the cheesecakes with a “semi-religious following,” the Burger Nights throughout the summer, and their ideal location to grab a scoop of ice cream after a hike up Mount Holyoke at Skinner State Park.

It’s all grounded in the Barstow family’s reverence for their past and deep commitment to and hope for the the future. “We talk about our ancestors an almost unhealthy amount – when we talk about time here on the farm, we’re somehow 200 years behind and 200 years ahead,” says Barstow Manz. “The farm’s motto is ‘Looking forward since 1806,’ and it’s so true.”

Find Barstow’s Dairy Store and Bakery at 172 Hockanum Rd. in Hadley, or online at barstowslongviewfarm.com.

Claire Morenon is communications manager at CISA (Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture). To find more farm stores near you, visit buylocalfood.org.