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PHOTO: Dana and Seri Lowell and their children, Maren and Wheeler, and longtime associate Josh Fournier, at Lowell Farm, the Maine Dairy Farm of the Year. (Submitted photo)
WALDO — The Lowell Family Farm, of Buckfield, has been named Dairy Farm of the Year and winner of the Green Pastures award for 2020 by the UMaine Cooperative Extension’s New England Green Pastures program.
The farm will be honored at the Eastern States Exposition in Springfield, Mass., and at the Maine Dairy Seminar next spring.
The Lowell family has a rich history in Buckfield, but has only been shipping milk since 2007. The farm started on rented property before moving to the farm on North Hill in 2010. Working out of a composted bedded pack barn that was converted from a riding arena, Dana and Seri Lovell, their two children Maren and Wheeler, along with long time employee Josh Fournier, have created a farm business focused on cow comfort, quality milk, and exceptional quality forages.
Milking 50 Jersey cows, many from a herd originally owned by Peter Young, the Lowell’s ship their quality milk to Agrimark with an average somatic cell count of 120,000. The family harvests hay and haylage from about 200 acres, much of which was land that they have leased and improved over time. Additionally, they grow 83 acres of no-till corn, and utilize cover crops to improve soil health and protect the fields from nutrient losses.
The Lowells were one of the first dairy farms to construct a bedded pack barn in Maine. “The facility that they constructed and manage provides exceptional cow comfort” says Rick Kersbergen, of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.
Forage quality on the farm is exceptional, the Extension said, with haylage analysis that provides energy levels that match corn silage samples. Using multiple mowers and wide swath techniques, the farm can harvest forages quickly, providing top quality feed for their cows and young stock.
“The Lowell’s focus on cutting their grass crops every 30 days for optimum quality” said Michele Bennett, of Goldstar Feeds. “They focus on feeding the best quality forages possible”.
The Lowells credit a lot of their success to their children, who were both home-schooled, help with chores and are a key part of the forage harvest crew. Maren recently graduated from Univeristy of Maine at Farmington; Wheeler is working towards a degree in biology, also at UMF. The Lowell family is also quick to recognize Fournier as a critical part of the operation from the beginning.
The New England Green Pastures program started in 1948 and has been run continuously since then. Farms are nominated by other producers, agribusiness representatives and a selection committee made up of the last five winners reviews the nominations, selects finalists and selects the winner.
