Lamb Farms recognized with Environmental Stewardship Award

Courtesy of New York Beef Council

LIVERPOOL — The New York Beef Council has recognized a local dairy farm with the 2021 Environmental Stewardship Award.

The recognition is given annually to a beef producer with outstanding stewardship practices and conservation achievements.

Lamb Farms, a family dairy operation owned and operated by the Lamb and Veazey families, was honored for their stewardship.

The farm was founded in Oakfield in 1966. Ten years later, Leslie and Gordon Lamb added Jim Veazey as a partner on the farm. The farm continues operating under the management of both families.

Lamb Farms consists of five farms in New York and one farm in Ohio. The farm raises crops for feed on approximately 13,000 acres. Lamb Farms milks 6,500 cows and raises 7,500 heifers.

The home farm and satellite farm in Oakfield each have a rotary (carousel) milking parlor, and both are popular sites for visitors. Lamb Farms has had two methane digesters installed in recent years. This gas is captured and piped off-farm.

The operation produces feed for the cattle on their farm, growing acres of corn and alfalfa.  The farm is continuously improving its tillage and crop rotation practices to reduce soil erosion and eliminate nutrient runoff. A prime example is their use of a zone builder which through GPS technology only tills the soil exactly where the corn will be planted.

“Farmers are caretakers of their animals and the land. We care about implementing sound environmental practices that will allow future generations the same opportunities that we have had,” farm owners said in a statement. “Dairy farming is a natural way of recycling nutrients to produce a delicious product. The cows make manure, which we use to fertilize the crops that we grow to feed the cows. We work with a certified environmental planner to ensure that this is done in an environmentally responsible manner.”