Happy Cows

Who says all the happy cows live in California? At High Lawn Farm in Lee, MA, the cows are happy as clams. And why shouldn’t they be? They are treated with the utmost respect and care. And in fact, the name “High Lawn Farm” came about due to the large green lawns that cover the hills surrounding the farm where the cows are left to graze. What does that mean? Simply, grass fed dairy, which we all know produces higher quality milk.

Another contributor to that high quality is the cows themselves. At High Lawn, they only milk 100% Jersey cows, which come from the Isle of Jersey off the coast of England and naturally produces rich full flavored milk that contains 20% more calcium and 17% more protein than standard dairy cows. Additionally, the milk contains higher amounts of B vitamins and beta carotene. And you can taste the difference.

In fact, last year at the Boston Local Food Festival, a representative of High Lawn Farm explained to me that the lower fat milks actually taste richer due to the milk solids produced only by Jersey Cows. These cows do not produce as much as other dairy cows, but what they do produce is a much higher quality.

Because High Lawn Farm is the last dairy in the Berkshires area, it is important to them to preserve the land and educate on the importance of local farming all while producing a high quality product you can feel good about consuming. High Lawn does not use antibiotics, pesticides or growth hormones, going so far as to test every batch of milk for antibiotics before it even goes into production. Let’s face it, we don’t know what’s going into some of the mass produced milk we find at our grocery stores and knowing that the cows and the environment are as important to High Lawn Farm as they are to me is quite comforting.

At High Lawn Farm, it is equally important help keep their community green and maintain sustainable agriculture. They currently work in partnership with Berkshire Grown and Buy Local Food in order to further the push to local sustainability.

As a fourth generation family business, High Lawn is preserving an over 100 year tradition of providing the best quality milk you can find and sustaining a local presence: a tradition they hope to carry on for another 100 years and are taking the steps to do so.

High Lawn Farm will be at the Boston Local Food Festival on October 7, 2012, at the Rose Kennedy Greenway from 11:00am until 5:00pm. Here’s your chance to check them out if you’ve never tried the yummy milk, or support them if you’re like me and already love what they’re doing!

Cheers to our happy cows right here in Massachusetts!