Page 4 - BusinessWest January 9, 2023

Udderly Innovative
Barstow’s Farm in Hadley Takes the Long View
“I thought about who was taking care of the place I came from that has been in my family for more than 200 years — and I wanted to be part of that story.”
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4 JANUARY 9, 2023
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BusinessWest
BY GEORGE O’BRIEN
at Yellowstone and Glacier National Park in Montana. And it was while on these assignments that she began to rethink what she would do with her life — and why.
“It finally hit me when I was in Glacier,” she said.
“I was a trail guide, and I saw these people donating money to preserve these places. And I thought, ‘if every- one’s giving to places like this, who’s taking care of the places we come from?’ I thought about who was taking care of the place I came from that has been in my fam- ily for more than 200 years — and I wanted to be part of that story.”
And with that decision, Barstow Manz would also become part — and she stressed that word part early and quite often, because this is truly a family affair — of one the region’s more intriguing business stories: Bar- stow’s Longview Farm.
It’s a story that includes most of the elements shaping the growth, evolution, and resilience of the local econ- omy today. That list includes entrepreneurship, innova- tion, technology, clean energy, tourism and hospitality,
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my cousins, being around large animals, and being around nature — it was an amazing way to grow up,” she recalled. “And then, as I got older and I started to see the numbers and realized that the farm was a lot of hard work and not an easy path to wealth, I thought that maybe I should go and do something else.”
She attended the University of New Hampshire — in part because of its renowned dairy program, although she chose a different major — and would later move west and work for the National Park Service, with stints
hile she grew up on her family’s dairy farm in Hadley and enjoyed that lifestyle, Denise Barstow Manz had no intention of making the 200-year-old operation a career.
“The farm was a place that was fun, and I had a really good time playing with
David Barstow and Denise Barstow Manz are part of the sixth and seventh generations now carrying on traditions — and creating new ones — at the family farm in Hadley.
Staff Photo