Freund’s Farm: Learning what makes cows happy

EAST CANAAN — The Northwest Conservation District held its annual meeting at Freund’s Farm on Thursday, Aug. 9, and honored planner Tom McGowan for his contributions to protecting and preserving land and water in Litchfield County. 

Before the awards dinner, Matthew Freund and his son, Isaac, a graduate of Housatonic Valley Regional High School, gave a tour of the farm that has been in their family for several generations. 

Matthew and his brother, Ben, are the grandsons of the man who he said “at one point owned this entire valley.” His grandfather was at one point “a farm dealer” — but the property that would eventually become the Freund farm was not part of the original Freund parcel; it was purchased from the Warners, Matthew Freund explained.

He and a group of about a dozen or so Conservation District members and other interested visitors walked the large property and had a chance to view some of the many different businesses that are helping the farm thrive.

 CowPots, tomatoes

The farm is known for its tomatoes, including many grown in the large new greenhouse (“We’ll pull about 20 tons of tomatoes from this barn this year,” Matthew Freund said).

The barn is also famous for the CowPots seed-starting containers made from cow manure. Matthew and Isaac Freund showed the robotic machinery used to make the pots,which are sold worldwide under the CowPots name and other company names. The robots used to make and organize the pots run on solar power “but we’re hoping that eventually all the power will come from the cows,” Freund said. 

 Happy cows make more milk

The tour continued then to the massive main dairy barn, which is home to 300 cows and which also holds the robotic milking center. 

A large round robot silently glides up and down the outside aisle in the dairy barn, sweeping up grain that has fallen to the ground and “fluffing it” so it’s more attractive to the cows.

“They eat more that way,” Isaac Freund said. “And the more they eat, the more milk they make.” 

The air is fresh and clean, thanks to open side panels and an extensive venting system on the roof of the building.

The cows can choose to go in and have themselves milked by the robots whenever they are ready; the visitors had a chance to watch the animals enter the milking area on their own and then watched as gallons of milk began to flow into containers. 

“The machines brush the teats, stimulate them for lactation and then clean off the teats afterward.”

Each animal has a small computer on its body that Isaac Freund said is like a FitBit. It constantly relays information to the farm staff about the cow’s health and well-being. 

The cows are no longer put out to pasture, which Isaac Freund said makes the animals happier. 

“They do what they want all day,” he said. “They eat when they want, they go to the milker and get milked when they want. There is very little human participation in the process. They no longer have the stress that came with the move from barn to pasture and back.

“Cow comfort was our number one priority in designing this barn.”

Also during the tour, the Freunds talked about their efforts to protect the land and the Blackberry River. 

 Awards for protection efforts

Following the tour, a large group met in the barn behind the farm market for dinner and the annual Northwest Conservation District awards. One of the five conservation districts in the state, the association is tasked with helping protect land and water quality in Litchfield County. 

The recipient of the group’s  2018 Lifetime Achievement Award was Tom Mcgowan, the town planning consultant for many years for the town of Salisbury. 

He has also been the executive director for the Sunny Valley Foundation, Weantinoge Heritage Land Trust and Lake Waramaug Task Force for more than 30 years. 

The 2018 Conservation Farmers Award was given to Freund’s Farm “in recognition of the Freund family’s decades of sustainable and innovative farm products and practices and their commitment to preserving and promoting agriculture and farming through education and stewardship.”

The 2018 Conservation Volunteer Award went to John Baker in recognition of his “many years of dedication and hours of volunteer service for the protection of the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees in the Litchfield Hills;” and for his years of volunteering at the district’s annual Earth Day plant sale at the Goshen fairgrounds. 

The list of other projects Baker has worked on was lengthy and included everything from planting seedlings to overseeing the 36-acre Wigwam Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (which has two American chestnut orchards).