America’s Oldest Working Farm Goes “Back to the Future” With 21st Century Clean Energy Technologies!

Gerry Palano

Energy/Energy Efficiency Coordinator, Department of Agricultural Resources

View Gerry's Complete Bio

Agricultural Trivia Question of the Day: What and where is the oldest continuously working farm in America - since the beginning of the Colonial Period?

Answer: Appleton Farms in Hamilton/Ipswich - presently owned and operated by The Trustees of Reservations - became a farm circa 1635. The 1000-acre farm is now a diverse operation of dairy, livestock, vegetables, grain, and will soon add cheese-making.

Leaving Appleton Farms on a recent hot summer day after reviewing the latest completed DAR-supported agricultural energy and environmental projects with General Manager Wayne Castonguay, I realized how many times that day I just kept thinking and saying “Wow!” I ultimately attributed this to a combination of the farm’s history, its people and the type of passion that every so often makes one feel how great it is to be part of this world. What better way to summarize my experience there that day than with “Wow!” recall. Here goes:

Wow! #1: I think it’s pretty neat having the oldest working farm in America right here, only 20 miles north of Boston, off Route 1A. And it is meant to be visited and toured!

Wow! #2: Appleton Farms introduced to America the three staple breeds of the dairy industry: Jerseys, Guernseys, and Holsteins.

Wow! #3: Appleton boasts the second largest Consumer Supported Agriculture membership in all New England with over 800 members.

More Wows!: In the past three years alone, The Trustees of Reservations at Appleton Farms have:

1. Created a five-year energy and environmental plan to become more energy efficient and sustainable and eliminate their overall carbon footprint;
2. Replaced an older outdoor wood boiler serving the dairy parlor, farm office headquarters and soon-to-be cheese-making building with a new unit; all wood is site derived, all from already downed trees;
3. Installed a meteorological tower to assess the farm’s wind resource potential;
4. Begun a complete gutting and restoration of one of the farm’s oldest buildings, the “Old House,” the home for generations of Appletons. Originally built in 1794, the 4700 square foot building will now become the Trustees’ new Center for Agriculture and Environment and is being designed as a zero net energy facility, featuring solar thermal, lighting and electrical systems, biomass heating, heat recovery ventilation and rainwater recovery for bathroom toilet use.
5. Installed new energy efficient lighting and a “free” hot water refrigerant heat recovery tank system for their dairy barn and parlor;
6. Installed a new ground-mounted, evacuated tube, solar thermal hot water system to work in series with the “free” hot water heater above to provide required high temperature domestic hot water needs for their dairy and new cheese-making operations;

7. Through a Memorandum of Understanding with MassDEP and DAR, installed a storage tank, pump and vegetative strip system to filtrate milk house waste liquids. This includes ground water monitoring wells;
8. Installed a new MA Certified Outdoor Wood Boiler to replace an existing propane heater serving their primary greenhouse; also uses on-site derived wood, as noted above;
9. Have designed and engineered a 50 kW ground-mounted PV system to offset 100 percent of the farm’s annual needs; in financing procurement stage;
10. Have developed a software program to quantify the Farms’ carbon footprint, including measuring their own carbon sequestration.

And there is more come. Please stay tuned. In the meantime, CONGRATULATIONS to The Trustees of Reservations for their remarkable energy and environmental achievements and stewardship!

Comments

[Ed Graves]

WOW! :) I'm going to try to implement some of these tips at my house!

[Gerry Palano]

Mr. Graves,

Thank you so much for your interest and comment! Please let us know how you make out!

Best Regards,
Gerry Palano
DAR

[tom]

Mr Palano

Gerry

Thanks for this great article its really inspirational for my wife and myself

We purchased an old dairy farm in New Braintree, MA and are working toward restoring the old farm house and some of the barns.

Energy efficiency on also on our list and seeing what has been accomplished at the Appleton Farm is spurring us on.

Thanks again

Tom and Kristin

[Gerry Palano]

Tom and Kristin,

Thank you for your very kind comments and I'm excited you are inspired and considering energy efficiency on your farm. Please contact me at 617-626-1706 to see if DAR may be able to help assist. I want make sure you are aware of our MA Farm Energy Program (MFEP, http://www.berkshirepioneerrcd.org/mfep/index.php)- it's what we like to think as a one-stop-shop for farms wanting to get involved with energy improvements. MFEP provides technical assistance in the form of audits and consults, financial incentives and leveraging all other programs that we know of to provide additional support to help you. Thanks again!

[solar power hot water heaters]

A small solar panel is almost capable to power everything in home.