Back in the late 1800s, Springdale Farm was used for ice harvesting. In the winter, the early settlers used the farm's spring-fed pond to supply residents of the surrounding villages and towns with ice. The pond and the farm still serve the community over 100 years later, but in many different ways. Springdale Farm, located at 696 Colby Street in Ogden, is a 200-acre working farm that also serves as a day program for adults with disabilities. Springdale Farm is operated by Heritage Christian Services, a Christian agency for adults with developmental disabilities, and is owned by Monroe County as part of the Monroe County Parks Department. This partnership began in 1993 when Heritage Christian Services signed a ten-year lease with Monroe County to operate Springdale Farm. In 2004, Heritage renewed its lease for another 15 years. This collaboration has been described as "a great illustration of public and private partnership," said Lauri Bonnell, Heritage Christian Services' associate director of development. According to Bonnell, "The day program provides disabled adults with real life work opportunities and also gives the community an opportunity to learn about rural life." Heritage Christian Services has made many additions and improvements to the farm since 1994. Last year, a new 13,000 square foot milking center that houses 60 cows and a high-tech robotic milking system opened at Springdale Farm. This computerized center, manufactured by Lely USA, is called the "Astronaut" and permits cows to be milked mechanically without any human assistance. This technologically advanced system has attracted farmers from throughout the country wanting to learn the latest in dairy farming technology. "Farmers from as far away as Indiana, Canada, Georgia, and Tennessee have visited the new robotic milking center at Springdale Farm," said Heather Chasman, tour and special event coordinator. Colby Homestead Farms manages this operation and the milk produced is distributed by Upstate Farms. Robert Colby, co-owner of Colby Homestead Farms, hopes this new milking center will help educate the general public about agriculture. "I think it is important for people to see and learn all aspects of farming. This new center is an educational resource for our community so we can foster an understanding and respect for agriculture. This facility is unique, different and eye-catching. We also hope this milking center will attract young people to the field of agriculture." A new visitor education center opened in April 2005 at Springdale Farm. This center is the entry point for visitors and includes a gift shop, welcome desk, and offices and classrooms for the day program participants and staff. This educational center also houses interactive exhibits, other farming educational resources and a multi-purpose room for community use. A new exhibit, a fiberglass life-size cow, with a light system that shows a cow's digestive system, will be on display by the end of August. "This scale-size Holstein cow replica will have 125 lights that illustrate how a bovine digestive system works," said Chasman. Nellie Gardner is the new full-time horticulturist on staff at Springdale Farm. Gardner knows her flora and foliage, her green thumb is evident throughout Springdale Farm. She planned and created eight new gardens and added many landscaping improvements. "We created gardens from nothing," said Gardner. She teaches day program participants how to maintain these gardens. "I think about our program participants and which tasks they are good at and when they complete these tasks, they have a great sense of accomplishment," said Gardner. These disabled adults also work with Gardner at the Springdale Farm flower shop. They keep the shop stocked and help sell the flowers from the gardens. Gardner discovered Springdale Farm when she came to the farm with her son on a mission trip with her church, and she saw opportunities that she could grow. "I wanted to be a part of this farm. I proposed my ideas to Heritage Christian Services and here I am," she said. Gardner is also involved in helping to develop the "overall look of the farm. We are working on a plan to decide what plants to grow and how we grow them. We want to develop programs for our day program participants but also for public enjoyment. Next year, we will have a teaching garden outside the Visitor Education Center," said Gardner. The saying "many hands make light work" holds true at Springdale Farm. Over 30 disabled adults participate in the farm's day programs. Day program participants perform many farm chores such as feeding cows, cleaning milk tanks and gardening, all with the guidance of the 15 farm staff members. As the size and operation of the farm grows so does the workload and volunteer opportunities. "We are always looking for volunteers. Families or individuals can help at a one-time event or whenever their time permits," said Bonnell. Anyone interested in volunteering their time can contact Kelly Nash, Heritage Christian Home Volunteer Coordinator at 340-5780. Springdale Farm is open daily to the public and admission is free. The hours are Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m. The robotic dairy center is open Monday-Saturday and tours are available at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Admission to the milking center is $3 for adults ages 12-62, $2 for youths ages 3-11, and seniors ages 63 and older. A special rate of $8 is available for a family of four. Each Saturday in October, Springdale Farm will host Harvest Days. During this festival, a variety of fall activities including pumpkin picking and decorating, scarecrow making, and other harvest activities will be offered. Admission fees are $3 for adults ages 12-62, and $2 for youths ages 3-11 and seniors ages 63 and older. Other special events include a sheep shearing festival in April, Dairy Days in June and a kids camp in August. In December, Springdale Farm will host Christmas at Springdale. Milking goes high tech It's amazing and fascinating to watch - and, there isn't a three legged stool in sight. We are talking about the Astronaut robotic milking system. Developed by the Lely Company, the milking system was introduced in 1992 and, after over 100 million milkings in various locations, was installed in the Springdale Farm Dairy Barn, in Ogden, about a year ago. It is the first farm open to the public in the northeastern United States to feature a robotic milking system, formally known as the Reidman Robotic Milking Center. According to staffer Karen Warren, "The system, one of about 25 in America, is working very well." The robot system is unique in that it is an automated technique that lets the cow decide when it wants to be milked. To find out how it works, follow the sequence of pictures and read what happens.
Springdale Farm is a 200-acre public demonstration farm that provides agricultural and educational opportunities for visitors of all ages. Named for a spring located between two dales (hills), the farm has been actively used since 1830. It is owned by Monroe County and operated, since 1993, by Heritage Christian Services, a non-profit agency supporting more than 1,200 children and adults with developmental disabilities. The farm serves as a day program site for adults with special needs. Program participants care for the animals, maintain the grounds and assist in greeting more than 40,000 visitors a year. |
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Picture #2 shows the underside of a cow in the robotic station. When the cow wishes to be milked it enters a channel that directs it through a one-way gate to the station, which has a one-way gate at the other end. The machine identifies the cow by scanning a box on its collar; with a whirring sound a set of rotating brushes moves in and gently scrubs the teats; this is followed by a water spray that cleans them. It also stimulates milk letdown. Then laser lines are projected that locate the teats for the attachment of teat (suction) cups. The cylindrical cups are placed on the four teats, one at a time, and the cow is milked, to the staccato pop, pop, pop sound of an air pump, using a pulsing technique that simulates that used by a calf feeding from the teat. While all this is going on, the cow can eat a "treat," special grain feed which is likened to "candy."
In Picture #3, note the four flexible lines that feed the milk to a transparent collector tank. In the event the cow has recently given birth, the milk can be diverted to the containers on the right to feed her calf. Normal production for a cow is 3-5 gallons per milking; on average a cow is milked 2.6 times per day. (The machine won't milk a cow in the station if it has been milked in the past six hours. There's no treat, the gate opens and the cow leaves.)
The milk from the collector tank is pumped to a cooling tank, on the right in Picture #4, and then transferred to a hold tank, on the left in that picture. The milk is picked up every other day by Upstate Farms, who pasteurizes it and distributes it for sale.
