BOSCAWEN, N.H. — The Crete family of Highway View Farm, located in Boscawen, N.H., has received the New England Green Pastures Award for New Hampshire. This award recognizes excellence in production records; herd, pasture, and crop management; contributions to agriculture and the local community; environmental practices; and overall excellence in dairying.
Highway View Farm was purchased by Adam’s grandfather, Edgar Crete, in 1958. Edgar built the milking facility that is still in use today. Over the years, Edgar expanded his buildings to where they are now. The milking parlor is a double nine herringbone and the barn is capable of housing about 230 cows. In 1991 Bruce Crete, Adam’s father, purchased the farm from Edgar. Under his ownership, the land base was expanded. Purchasing several parcels of land brought the total tillable acres to approximately 500.
In 2002, Adam graduated from Merrimack Valley High School, and then attended Southern New Hampshire University for one year before transferring to the University of New Hampshire where he earned an Associate’s Degree in Civil Technology. While there, he took several dairy related classes. After leaving UNH he returned to the farm full time. In 2008, his father passed away. At that time Adam took over all managerial responsibilities of the farm, becoming the principal operator. In 2011, he became a co-owner along with his mother, Martha, and his sister, Sarah.
Shortly after Adam became a manager he started the herd on DHIA testing to keep track of herd health and performance. During the past five years, the rolling herd average has increased from 24,000 to 27,000 pounds.
A plate cooler was added in the milk house to cool the milk more rapidly, saving energy and increasing milk quality. After installing the plate cooler, a reservoir tank was set up for the farm. With this system, water is pumped from the artesian well to a 3,000 gallon tank. The water is then pumped into the barn and supplies all fixtures. The plate cooler water is then returned to the tank and re-used. To save more energy, fluorescent bulbs were installed in all barns.
Adam began using microfiber towels in the milking parlor to increase cleanliness and reduce the costs of disposable paper towels. A new clean-in-place system was installed as well. Milk quality is at a consistent level – the long term SCC is below 200,000, but the average for the past six months is well below 100,000.
Two years ago, Adam remodeled the calf barn. Individual calf stalls were changed to a group housing where automatic De-Laval feeders are used to improve growth and daily gains.
A few years ago Adam started applying no-till practices in the corn fields to aid in preventing soil erosion, conserving soil moisture, reducing herbicide costs, reducing labor hours and fuel expenses. Last year, 160 acres were transitioned; this year the total acreage under this practice is 460 acres. Lighter soiled fields are being placed into a corn/alfalfa rotation. This has helped produce high quality feed and improve soil health. With the large land base, Adam is able to improve the farm cash flow through the sale of corn silage to other dairymen. He sells around 7,000 tons of corn silage annually.
Adam has been involved in local community life. He is a member of the Merrimack County Farm Bureau, New England States Holstein Association, and Boscawen Congregational Church. Adam received the NH Farm Bureau Young Farmer’s Award in 2014 and the Merrimack County Conservation District Cooperator of the Year in 2016. Martha is active as well. She serves as a treasurer of the Granite State Dairy Promotion and is the chair of the Merrimack County Farm Service Agency board.
In 2011, Dairy Farmers of America conducted the training session for their area representatives for Gold Standard Dairies on Adam’s farm. After the training, The Highway View Farm was awarded the first Gold Standard rating in New Hampshire.
Highway View Farm is a great representative of the New Hampshire dairy industry. They maintain a neat and clean operation, and take pride in the work that they do. They are well deserving of the 2017 Dairy Farm of the Year.
—University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
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