Ed MacGlaflin grew up working on his grandfather’s farm. The family farming gene seems to have skipped his father’s generation, but it is more than evident in Ed who took a brief break to work in construction but quickly returned to farming. The MacGlaflins are originally from Connecticut but Ed headed north in 1996 in search of more land and settled on a farm with rolling hills just south of the Sugar River.
MacGlaflin’s herd is mostly Holstein with a few Jerseys at the request of his daughter, Anne. She helps out on the farm on weekends while her brother, Jason, seems destined to follow in his father’s footsteps, working full-time with his dad. The farm employs another eight full-time and Ed’s wife, Jill, a retired school teacher, also pitches in.
“Having a small family-owned farm is a lot of hard work. You won’t get rich, but if you’re willing to put the effort in, and enjoy working with animals, machinery, and crops, you can make a living,” says Ed. “The better care we can take of our cows and our land, the better quality milk they can produce. I drink more milk off this farm than anyone. It better be good.”
Hear Ed MacGlaflin talk about how he keeps their cows healthy and happy.