Facilities Overview

Fairchild Research and Teaching Dairy, High Tunnels, and Hay Production Field

The New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station is the home of several campus-area farm and greenhouse facilities. These are not funded from the UNH general budget, but rather, through the separate NHAES federal and state budget lines. Many activities conducted at these locations support the core institutional mission and goals.

Our field facilities include the two horticulture and agronomy farms, a typical New England Holstein dairy, a diversified organic dairy farm, and the research/teaching greenhouses. The several other field sites adjacent to or near the UNH campus are used independently for research, teaching, and engagement while directly contributing to the farm operations by producing required dairy and equine feed. The majority of our forage fields are maintained in certified organic status, and we use manure and compost generated from our dairy and equine facilities to maintain their soil fertility and tilth.

Provision of our research farms and greenhouses provides added value through outstanding opportunities for hands-on teaching and experiential learning by graduate and undergraduate students within multiple UNH academic programs, and formal and informal outreach and engagement with stakeholders.

Researchers interested in conducting experiments at these facilities can visit each facility's page and complete the online facilities use request form. 

For more information about how the NHAES manages its farm fields, please visit our Farm Field Management Overview.

 

students recording research data in greenhouse

 

New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, Thompson School of Applied Science
Fairchild Dairy Teaching and Research Center
This NHAES/COLSA facility is representative of a typical New England Dairy operation, thereby developing new knowledge and management expertise geared directly to many state and regional stakeholders. It houses about 90 milking-age cows and approximately 70 growing, replacement animals. Included in that number is the 20-cow, student-managed CREAM herd (CREAM is the acronym for Cooperative for Real Education in Agricultural Management), with the remaining animals devoted primarily to research in the area of dairy nutrition and reproductive biology. The facility relies heavily on student labor - during the academic year there are typically about 40 students working part-time at the farm at any given time, either as hourly employees or as participants in the CREAM program. In addition to its primary research focus, the farm receives large numbers of visitors and hosts a number of public programs each year (e.g., School to Farm Days). Milk production currently averages about 26,000 to 27,000 pounds per cow per year for the CREAM and research herds. Learn More
New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station
The NHAES/COLSA Farm Services unit is responsible for the major activities by which forages are provided for the dairy and equine operations, and for sustainable manure management for these facilities. Corn silage, hay and/or haylage are produced on approximately 400 acres of university-owned land and approximately 90 acres of privately owned land that we lease. Manure and used bedding are composted for incorporation on our certified organic fields, maintaining soil tilth and fertility. Farm Services personnel also contribute to the general upkeep of our farm facilities and resources (e.g., maintenance of farm machinery, construction and maintenance of fencing, building repairs, maintenance of farm roadways - including snow removal, etc.). Additionally, they are responsible for purchasing additional forages when required, and they obtain bedding materials for our animal facilities. Learn More
Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Systems, Natural Resources and the Environment, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, Thompson School of Applied Science
Kingman Research Farm
A research facility primarily focused on horticultural and agronomic crops, wildlife management, and a part of the Great Bay oyster renovation effort. The farm is the site for the extensive cucurbit breeding program, the longest-running such program in North America, and emerging research on sustainable forage production, agricultural soils, and pollination services. The farm contributes forages for the dairy and equine programs. Daily operations are carried out by the Kingman Farm staff. Learn More
Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Systems, Biological Sciences, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, Thompson School of Applied Science
Macfarlane Greenhouses
The facility provides highly controlled environments for a diversity of research projects, including ornamental and food crop breeding, sustainable ornamental plant nutrition and development, aquaculture, biological pest control, bioremediation, and plant genetic diversity as well as instructional activities. The greenhouse environments are monitored and precisely regulated through a computer-based control system that creates a sustainable growing environment through the conservation of heat, electricity, water and fertilizer, and increased plant resistance to insect pests and diseases. Learn More
Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Systems, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station
NHAES Thompson field
There are two multi-use fields, Thompson Farm and Moore Field. Thompson Farm is a 205-acre farm consisting of forest, hayfields and tillable land used for forage and corn silage production. Moore Field includes about 90 acres of cropland plus adjacent woodlands, 1.5 miles from campus off highway 155A toward Lee. Its primary use is for research and feed production. Learn More
New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station
Organic Dairy Aerial Photo
The Organic Dairy Research Farm is operated by the NH Agricultural Experiment Station and College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, and represents the first of its kind at a land-grant university. It is intended to help the University of New Hampshire explore opportunities for regional dairy producers through research. Learn More
Agriculture, Nutrition and Food Systems, Biological Sciences, Natural Resources and the Environment, New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, Thompson School of Applied Science
Field of wildflowers
The primary activities at this farm are research, teaching, and outreach on the production of horticultural and ornamental crops. Recent and ongoing research projects include efforts in reducing the dependence on pesticide applications with Integrated Pest Management, assessing pollinator habitat, using high tunnels to hasten and extend the growing season for fruits and vegetables, using reflective plastic mulches to increase per-acre yields of vegetables, evaluating seedless table grape and eggplant varieties, breeding organic strawberries, redomesticating quinoa in New Hampshire, and leading the most expansive kiwiberry breeding research project in the nation. Learn More