Redding dairy earns state award

New Pond Farm
Connecting People to the Land that Enriches and Sustains Us All

State Commissioner of Agriculture Philip Prelli, right, presents Chris Casiello, the farm manager, is presented with the Dairy Farm of Distinction sign which will hang in front of New Pond Farm on Marchant Road.

by MAGGIE CALDWELL
mcaldwell@thereddingpilot.com

New Pond Farm, a non-profit environmental education center in West Redding, has been selected by a state committee as this year’s winner of the Connecticut Dairy Farm of Distinction Award.

F. Philip Prelli, Connecticut Commissioner of Department of Agriculture, presented the award to Chris Casiello, the farm manager, and his staff at a ceremony on the farm last Friday afternoon.

Standing on the fringe of the lawn outside the farmhouse in front of a crowd of about 20, Mr. Prelli praised Mr. Casiello and his staff for their hard work at maintaining an “attractive farmstead” that produces “high quality milk products.”

“It is so wonderful to be enjoying this beautiful scenery in one of the most crowded parts of Connecticut... This is a testament to your outstanding dedication,” Mr. Prelli said.

The award, he said, is given out to those that demonstrate the “best farming practices, that their neighbors appreciate.”

“New Pond is what people think of as a dairy farm. It is beautiful and productive,” he said.

New Pond Farm, which has a herd of 18 cows, was named the 2007 Dairy Farm of Distinction.—Maggie Caldwell photo

First Selectman Natalie Ketcham said it is “wonderful the state of Connecticut recognizes what Redding residents have known all along.”

“New Pond Farm is indeed a treasure and rightly deserves this distinction,” she said.

Ann Taylor, executive director of the farm, congratulated Mr. Casiello, who she called a “scholarly farmer.” She said he is “constantly reading” about new farming techniques, and credited him with increasing the herd from two cows to 16.

“He is always trying to make the farm the best it can be,” said Ms. Taylor.

The Dairy Farm of Distinction program is privately funded by agricultural businesses in the state. Every year a committee seeks out a Connecticut farm that meets certain standards of aesthetics and quality of milk. Winning farms receive an aluminum sign that says “Dairy Farm of Distinction” to be displayed on the roadside. The program has been run for 22 years.

This year New Pond Farm was one of only four dairy farms statewide that met the minimum standards to be judged by the committee. Last year, no farm was chosen for the award.

“The milk here is rich and delicious. The locals love the milk and offer the farm a lot of support,” said Jim Allyn, one of the committee members and a state inspector for the Department of Agriculture. “They just do a great job. It’s nice to see a farm in Fairfield County that is still up and running.”

Amy Gould, left, and Paige Zielinski, both farm hands, sample the food made mainly out of ingredients grown or produced at New Pond Farm. —Maggie Caldwell photo

Mr. Allyn said the award is supposed to raise public awareness about the few dairy farms that remain in a state which was founded upon farming.

“The decline in farming activity and the loss of farmland has been so dramatic during the past 100 years that Connecticut has changed from a self-sufficient food production state to a state that now must import nearly 80% of its food including 50% of the milk consumed,” according to the Dairy Farm of Distinction Program’s brochure.

Only 150 dairy farms are left in the state, down from more than 5,000 about 50 years ago, said Mr. Allyn.

New Pond Farm, however, is more than just a dairy farm, a point stressed by Ms. Taylor.

“This is really a multifaceted organization that is mainly an environmental center,” she said.

In 1984, Carmen Mathews, an actress and environmentalist, endowed the 102 acres of pastures and woodland to the Redding Land Trust with a conservation easement in just before she died in 1995. A Board of Directors, set up by Ms. Mathews in the 1980s, runs a summer camp for inner-city children, a Shakespeare program, an astronomy center, and all sorts of programs focused on Native American studies, ecology and farming.

“This place was very dear to Carmen’s heart. She just wanted to bring people back to the land so they would learn to appreciate it and protect it,” said Ms. Taylor. “I think she would be thrilled by this award. She had a very high standard of perfection.”

Eight cows currently are milking and producing 250 gallons of milk per week. The milk is pasteurized and bottled at the farm. The milk along with cheese and yogurt are available for sale at the farm. It is located at 101 Marchant Road.