Tin Mountain Conservation Center’s EcoForum on September 9th, noon-1pm, will highlight the current practices in place at the University of New Hampshire. The University’s Organic Dairy Research Farm provides a venue to improve livestock, plant, and soil health while also providing a research and educational foundation for students and staff. The farm also serves the community through the support of local and sustainable agriculture. Join Trent Schreifer, Superintendent of the Organic Dairy Research Farm, to learn more about UNH’s current projects and efforts and to find out why the program has been so successful.
Trent Schriefer is the Superintendent for the Organic Dairy Research Farm. He works to provide outstanding research experiences to graduate and undergraduate students, outreach to producers, suppliers and citizens, and experiential learning in agro-ecology and sustainable agriculture. His background is in Animal Science and Extension Education.
In his presentation, Trent will describe how the UNH Dairy Research Farm’s focus on research, education, and outreach has been achieved through several key commitments. These include research focusing on improving soil, plant, and animal health, analyzing the difference between food grown organically and conventionally, and engaging various stakeholders (students, farmers, researchers, and land owners) to identify and perform relevant research projects. Current projects include monitoring the health of pasture-fed versus mixed feed dairy cows and developing strategies to optimize mike production while reducing methane emissions. Trent will also address the importance of research and outreach to the program’s success. Community engagement is accomplished through UNH courses, sale of dairy products to local distributors, dispersal of research results to local farmers, and collaboration with agricultural suppliers for the testing of management methods, equipment, and technology.
The Eco-Forum lunchtime lecture series is sponsored by The Flatbread Company of North Conway, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Rock House Mountain Baker and is presented at noon on the second Thursday of each month at the Tin Mountain Nature Learning Center in Albany. The public is urged to attend to learn more about salient issues facing our natural environment and to hear the views of thought-provoking speakers.