Farm News 

New Entrance Sign

Drivers on Winter Street may have noticed that there is a new sign identifying the farm!  Thank you to a fantastic Graphics Designer, Cherry Bishop, for designing the sign with our signature colors and cow logo. Now people who pass by will know who owns the cows in the pasture and how to set up the appointment only tours.  Cherry Bishop also assembles and lays out each issue of our newsletter.

Friends of the Farm Programs being established

Website changes reflect the establishment of our "Friends of the Farm" groups and programs for the year 2012.   We are looking for adults who are interested in becoming a member of the "Friends of the Farm" group and contribute to expanding awareness of the dairy farm in the community.  Contact Pat Loring at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

New Trail Brochure

With great thanks to the fantastic Graphic Designer Kim Glattstein the Farm now has beautiful new trail brochure outlining the farm's two walking trails, the Avery and Chandler Trails. 

The brochures can be picked up at the Duxbury Town Hall Conservation Office, Wildlands Trust office in Duxbury and in the information box at the Autumn Avenue trailhead.

Trails are open from Dawn to Dusk and contain two geocaches, good luck with the hunt for the geocaches. (to learn more about geocaching Click Here)

New Bark Mulch Treatment System

When you visit the farm on farm day, you might notice what appears to be a large mound of bark mulch in the corner of a field.  This is our new Bark Mulch Treatment System for treating the liquid waste associated with producing milk.  With the help of two grants from the MA Department of Agricultrual Resources and the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, we recently completed the construction of this milk-house waste treatment system - one of only a few in the state.

In the process of milking cows lots of water is used to make sure the pipes and tubes associated with the milking operation remain clean.  This water contains low concentrations of "raw milk" as well as some detergents usaed to clean those lines. The raw milk is diffcult to treat and often fouls traditional septic systems.  However, this "milk house waste" cannot be simply discharged as it is technically waste stream, like septage from a septic tank or industrial waste from a manufacturing process.  As a result the MA Department of Environmental Protection and the MA Department of Agricultral Resources agreed to allow a few dairy farms to construct these alternative systems for treating milk house waste.

In the Bark Mulch Treatment System the liquid waste is pumped underground from the milking barn to the bark mound where it is sprayed onto the bark mulch through pipes buried within the mound.  The liquid, bark and naturally occuring bacteria wok together to compost the waste.  An ingenious natrual composting mound..

We are opitmistic this Bark Mulch Teatment System will significantly improve how milk waste is treated at he farm.  We will constantly monitroing the new system to ensure it operates efficently and are please to have been chossen for this special agricultrual grant.

Successful Grants and Annual Fund

Community support for Historic O'Neil Farm continues to be strong, for which we are most grateful. 

The new Bark Mulch Treatment System that you read about earlier received grants totaling $50,000 from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultrual Resources and the Natural Resources Conservation Service which paid for the new system.

The farms annual fund got off to a good start with individual donations arriving throughout the spring and summer. 

Thank you all.  Your support is extremly important to us as we continue to make improvements to the farm and its programs.     

Special Thanks

A special thanks to Kim Glattstein and Cherry Bishop for their Pro Bono work on the Graphics for the Farm!

A special thanks to Gary James who engineered the new Bark Mulch Treatment System.