About the Farm
High Meadows of Hoosick, LLC
High Meadows of Hoosick, LLC is a certified organic dairy operation owned by Eric and Jamie Ziehm located in Hoosick Falls, NY shipping milk into Stonyfield in Londonderry, NH. The farm was started in 2018 and currently has 260 milking and dry cows along with 100 head of young stock. The herd is comprised of mostly Jerseys with a splash of Holsteins and crossbreeds. 300 acres are owned of which 260 are pastures. 550 acres are rented for forage production and 50 acres for bred heifer pasture. Cows are housed in a 3 row free stall barn when not grazing and milked in a swing 16 Dairymaster parlor.
Eric grew up on a small dairy farm and graduated college in 1999. Before starting High Meadows in 2018 Eric was a partner for 17 years with his brothers and father on their 1200 head conventional dairy. He gained grazing experience by starting with youngstock and soon experienced positive results with these animals as they flourished on grass instead of on concrete their whole life. Wanting to continue on the grazing and regenerative path, the chance came with a farm available nearby for sale and an organic milk market. Eric and Jamie had the opportunity to attend a Soil Health Academy in Iowa during the summer of 2021. Being surrounded by like minded individuals was both refreshing and energizing! Bringing home new ideas, implementing them and then seeing the positive effects is very rewarding!
October 3-5, 2023
Tuition of $1,375 includes:
• Regen Ag 101 course ($499.00 value), which we would like you to complete prior to the first day of class;
• In-person attendance at the SHA school, as well as course materials, snacks, water and lunch each day; and
• Access to future scheduled conference calls with the instructors.
Who Should Attend?
- Anyone wanting to transform their cropping, livestock farming, dairy, or horticulture operation into a highly efficient and profitable business and transform their quality of life. You will learn how to build soil as well as crop, animal, and economic health through a combination of classroom and field exercises. The school will tackle the biggest issues facing farmers of all types, from herd health and reproduction, to crop and cover crop success, to waste management and fertility, to economics and building true net wealth. Hands-on exercises will be heavily emphasized.
- Farmers of all sizes and types. Farming is a fast-paced, highly demanding profession and producers have the skill and revenue to accomplish great things. We hope to broaden your perspective on using your expertise and advantages with practical tools that increase your options, reduce vulnerability, and strengthen your resilience.
- Any producer that wants to know more about the “how do I get there from here”. Learn what can be done, how long it may take, and what it could look like along the way as well as how to approach a cost analysis.
This is a power-packed school that will change your perspective on what dairying and farming should be and can be. Taught by highly experienced and expert regenerative farmers and dairy producers.
What You Will Learn
- Practical Application of The Principles of Soil Health & Adaptive Stewardship
- Cropping & Cover Cropping Strategies for Building Soil Health and Nutrient Dense Feedstuffs, Food Crops, and Healthier Sod and Nursery Crops.
- Making Dairying and farming Highly Profitable& Highly Enjoyable
- High Level Observation and Decision-Making Skills
- Improving Cow Health and Performance While Reducing Inputs
- Strategies for Enhanced Net Margins
- The Practical Implications of Improved Soil Health, Including: Mitigating Effects of Wet or Dry Conditions, Increasing Harvest Windows, and Improving Animal and plant Performance
Topics Addressed
- Cropping rotations for enhanced profits, feed nutrient density, and soil health
- Strategies for significant input cost reduction
- Integrating livestock into cropping systems where feasible
- Grazing alternative forages (heifers, dry cows, beef cows) - crop residue, cover crops
- Maintaining animal comfort & performance while using the herd to advance soil health
- Manure and fertility management – Identifying and avoiding issues, effective application
- Soil health evaluation
- Building and maintaining livestock and crop health and optimal performance
- Addressing resource concerns
- Runoff-water quality
- Pollinator and other beneficial insect re-establishment
- Bird populations and diversity
- New enterprise and marketing opportunities which can arise as soil health and resiliency improve
Scholarship Money Available
We are committed to helping you finance this educational experience. If you want to attend one of our 3-day events, you are eligible for a scholarship. Our scholarships for this school were made possible by a donations from the following organizations as well as from private donors.
We encourage anyone with interest to apply. We will be giving special consideration to the following:
- Students
- Families or farms with more than one person attending
- Past SHA students
- Veterans
- Agricultural educators and influencers
- Minority, tribal, women and historically underserved individuals
For our Military Veterans Interested in this School:
Battlefields to Fertile Fields is offering $750 scholarships to our veterans. In addition, Cornell Small Farms Program’s Farm Ops project for U.S. military veterans who reside in New York State will provide a $500 scholarship plus reimbursement for lodging and a $300 stipend to offset related costs. Veterans will be responsible for only $125 of the $1375 tuition.
Learn more by visiting the Farm Ops scholarship page and looking for ‘Soil Health Academy: Regenerative Dairying with Grazing | October 3 – 5’
Local Farmers
NYS Veterans
Veterans
Ag Educators and Influencers | Minority | Tribal | Women | Historically Underserved
Students | Families | Farmers | Past SHA Students | Ag Educators and Influencers | Minority | Tribal | Women | Historically Underserved
Farm Location
High Meadows of Hoosick, LLC
187 Burgess Road
Hoosick Falls, NY 12090
Classroom Location
Hampton Inn, Bennington VT
51 Hannaford Square
Bennington, VT 05201
Hotel Information
We have a block of rooms reserved at the Hampton Inn in Bennington, VT until 9/2/2023. The rooms are $219 /night - reserved under Soil Health Academy. This school is during the fall foliage time in this area, so it's a busy time for the hotels. Don't wait until the last minute to secure accommodations, once this block is released, there may not be availability at this hotel.
Hampton Inn, Bennington VT
51 Hannaford Square
Bennington, VT 05201
Reserve a room in the SHA block HERE
or call: (802) 440-9862
Closest Airport
Albany International Airport (ALB)
Albany Shaker Rd
Colonie, NY 12205
(518) 242-2200
