109 Years of Milk: Suffield Farm Marks National Milk Day

SUFFIELD, CT — On National Milk Day, a 109-year-old Suffield dairy farm opened its doors to show how milk is still produced locally more than a century after the farm was founded.

Hastings Farm marked the annual observance with a behind-the-scenes tour Friday, welcoming state leaders, local legislators, and members of the media to the multi-generation family operation. National Milk Day is celebrated each year on Jan. 11 to commemorate the start of home milk delivery in glass bottles in 1878. Because the holiday falls on a Sunday this year, the Suffield celebration was held two days earlier.

The event highlighted both the farm’s long history in Suffield and its role in modern agriculture. Founded in 1916, Hastings Farm has remained in continuous operation for 109 years, with three generations of the family currently working the land and caring for the herd.

Guests were guided through the farm by Susan Hastings, who described daily routines, cow care, and how the family has adapted over the decades to keep dairy farming viable in town. The tour offered an up-close look at how milk is produced today, from animal care to on-site processing.

Hastings Farm milks approximately 100 cows, primarily Holsteins with some Jerseys. About 18 to 19 percent of the milk produced on the farm is processed on-site and sold through the farm store, local retailers, and wholesale partners, keeping a portion of the product directly within the local market. The remainder is shipped to Agri-Mark, Inc., the farmer-owned cooperative that produces Cabot Creamery products.

The farm has also invested heavily in sustainability and technology as a way to continue operating in a changing landscape. A robotic milking system was installed in 2016, and a roof-mounted solar array added in 2021 now offsets roughly 95 percent of the farm’s electrical use.

Hastings Farm owns 160 acres, including 100 acres preserved through the state’s Farmland Preservation Program, and rents an additional 340 acres within a three-mile radius to grow feed for the herd. The preserved land has remained in agricultural use for generations, even as surrounding development has increased.

Connecticut is home to more than 80 licensed dairy farms, and the dairy industry contributes an estimated $2.2 billion annually to the state’s economy while supporting more than 5,000 jobs. National Milk Day serves as a reminder of the people and places behind that industry, including long-standing local farms like Hastings Farm that continue to operate more than a century after their founding.