The High Lawn Story

Our 100-year quest for the world's best milk and cheese started with the love of a little girl.

Our story begins in the early 1920s, in the beautiful Berkshire hills of Western Massachusetts.

As an adolescent, Marjorie Field spent the years of her upbringing split between her home in New York City and memorable Berkshire summers here at High Lawn. Her parents had a vision to start an all Jersey cattle farm. They knew that Jerseys (named after the Isle of Jersey where the breed originates) produced the richest, creamiest milk out of all the breeds for drinking and for making butter.

After the passing of her mother in 1934, a newly married Marjorie and her husband Colonel George Wilde took over High Lawn with the desire to expand it.

With the rapid changing of the times and the Great Depression affecting lives near and far, Marjorie knew that she had an opportunity to not only share the nutritious milk from her Jersey herd with her community, but that she could better the Jersey line through special selection and breeding which would allow her herd to live longer, healthier, more productive lives.

“High Lawn Farm has been called ‘the cradle of the Jersey breed.’ It may be one of the greatest examples of cattle breeding ever witnessed — certainly one of the single-most-successful endeavors of the 20th century.”

— Jersey Journal, April 1990

Marjorie and the Colonel went on to win Master Breeder Awards from the American Jersey Cattle Club, first the Colonel in 1960 and then Marjorie in 1977. They also received a Dairy Shrine’s Distinguished Dairy Cattle Breeder Award in 1978 and were the first Jersey breeders to ever receive this prestigious award. Jersey cattle owners all over the world know the name High Lawn Farm, all because of Marjorie.

Certain cow families in the present herd trace direct lineage across 15 generations to the original herd Marjorie knew as a child.

Breeding stock from High Lawn are widely sought by Jersey farmers seeking to improve milk production, and our cows have been shipped across the Americas and even as far as India for breeding purposes! We’re proud to say that more than 100,000 Jersey cows can trace their heritage back to High Lawn Farm.

On September 26th, 1997, Marjorie left us at the age of 87. But her loving spirit and presence is forever felt on the grounds here. 

Today, nearly 100 years later, our farm is still owned and loved by the Wilde family.

We joyfully carry on Marjorie and the Colonel’s vision and dedication to the integrity and quality of our herd.

Our Jersey girls graze on fresh grass in the summer months, have waterbeds to sleep on in heated barns for the winter, are never given rBST, and almost all of their winter feed comes straight from our own corn and hayfields – which guarantees the best quality.

So here’s the way we see it: Our Jerseys have always been cared for in the same, extra-special way. And in return, their gift to us is the most delicious, nutrient-dense, 100% natural milk. Our team of artisans finds great joy in exploring new ways to express the freshness of our pure Jersey milk. We like to think that that love is the foundational ingredient in every High Lawn dairy product.

With just a single sip of our rich milk or cream, a chewy bite of one of our artisanal farmstead cheeses, or a slathering of our slow-churned butter on your favorite toasty slice, we guarantee that you’ll be able to taste the Jersey difference. Always handcrafted with love, as it’s always been, right here at our Berkshires farmstead.

There’s a bunch of reasons why we love Jerseys so much.

Their milk is packed with nutrients and the abundance of vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats don’t just make it a healthier choice for you and your family, they translate into the taste as well — giving the milk a rich and creamy texture that’s naturally sweet.

And these smaller, brown cows use less land and resources, which contributes to a more sustainable operation, leaving a smaller carbon footprint. 

Oh, and did we mention that Jerseys are the friendliest, most personable breed of cow? Their curious and loving disposition certainly plays a part in the delightfully lush quality of the milk they produce…or at least we like to think so!

queen of quality

Jersey Quality Certification

Since 2008, the Queen of Quality™ mark has been placed on products made from 100% pure Jersey milk. It distinguishes Jersey milk from all others and tells you that you are purchasing some of the finest, most healthful milk on the market.

The Jersey breed of dairy cattle naturally produces milk with higher concentrations of protein and calcium than average milk. More protein and calcium not only boosts the nutrition of Jersey products, but it also adds a richer taste, even to skim milk. And, Jerseys are the most efficient breed in converting feed into milk nutrients, producing 17% more protein and 20% more calcium per unit of feed than do average cows.

When you purchase High Lawn Farm products with the Queen of Quality™ mark, you can be sure they come from the finest quality milk naturally, healthfully, and efficiently produced by Jersey cattle.

In the heart of the Berkshires, the 1500 unspoiled acres of High Lawn Farm provides an idyllic setting to raise our Jersey herd and produce our Jersey milk and milk products.

We grow most of the feed for our cows at the farm.

Corn, alfalfa, and grass are the main crops supporting the health and nutrition of our Jerseys. Our herd enjoys the pastures from late spring through late fall, or as long as the grass is growing here in the Berkshires.

Our Jerseys eat well, and they eat a lot! A Jersey cow’s basic ration may contain grass, alfalfa, hay, haylage, corn silage, minerals, and grain. And we plant corn, alfalfa, and grass annually as an essential part of their feed.

We use 100% of our cow manure as a fertilizer

for our corn and forage crops and when needed, we supplement manure fertilization with commercial fertilizers to perfectly balance the needs of the soil for healthy crop production.

The entire herd receives regular attention from our veterinarian and our nutritionist to ensure the feed ration is in balance for each individual’s health.

We never use any synthetic growth hormones, commonly known as rBST hormones, to increase our milk production.

In rare instances that a cow is ill, she is separated from the herd, and just as you would for your sick child, an antibiotic may be prescribed. No milk is used until her system is clear of all traces of antibiotics.

We do not use any animal byproducts in our cows’ diet.

Our Jerseys are part of our family and they:

• have waterbeds to sleep on

• have their udders cleaned with every milking

• graze seasonally (remember, we live in the Northeast!)

• are never given rBST

• are given antibiotics only when absolutely necessary

• have some of the best views in the Berkshires — or anywhere!

Because we take such good care of our herd, our cows have a life expectancy that is twice that of many other dairy farms. The beautiful Berkshires and fresh air likely contribute to their longevity.

The High Lawn Way is happy, healthy, award-winning Jersey cattle, since 1923. 

Our cows are milked at-will.

And at-will really means at the cow’s choosing! Our state-of- the-art Lely Astronaut robotic milking system allows for the cows to be milked gently and quickly when they’re ready. They line up on their own, and there’s always a line waiting patiently. They receive a snack while they’re there. See a video of the cows at the Lely (right).

A recent New York Times article illustrates the benefits of the system. The farm described in the article, in upstate New York, has seen the same results from installing the robotic system that we have — our Jerseys are happier, more relaxed, and playful, and we actually get to spend more time with them, rather than, as the farmer in the  article says, at their hind end milking.

We also have robots — they look a little like a modified R2-D2, but they don’t talk! — that help us clean and nudge food to the cows. 

In 2015 High Lawn Farm completed construction of an entirely new, state-of-the-art milk processing facility. With computer-controlled management of every step, the facility is designed to bring the highest quality, freshest product to the market, and with the new loader and conveyor reduces much of the manual labor employees had been responsible for.

The raw milk enters the plant and is continually tested and graded through the pasteurization process. Strict temperature control and monitoring take place during this important stage. This is the process invented by Louis Pasteur 150 years ago to kill harmful pathogens, and as always High Lawn uses a lower allowable temperature to maintain safety, quality, and taste. 

Once the milk has been pasteurized it is then passed onto the bottling line where nearly every step of the process is automated. Clean, new bottles are labeled, filled, and capped during this phase. Each bottle is hand-inspected and packed and the final product is stored immediately in the refrigeration room until it ships. To ensure complete sterility and cleanliness, incoming milk crates are sterilized before re-use.

The processing plant is an important milestone in High Lawn’s proud 100-year history, allowing a more streamlined delivery of the best Jersey milk to market.

About Our Beef Cattle

Our herd of Angus/Jersey beef crosses are bred, born, and raised on-site alongside our Jersey girls.

All of our cows are humanely raised, without any additional growth hormones and steroids.

Our cattle graze pastures of grass seasonally and are fed a ration of hay, silage (chopped and fermented corn), and haylage (fermented hay), all of which are grown on High Lawn Farm property.

About our Meat

What makes our beef unique is that our beef cattle are crossbred with a dairy breed, Jersey.

A 2022 study by Dale R. Woerner at Texas Tech University showed that meat from beef/dairy crosses is more tender than conventional beef breeds and has superior flavor to conventional beef breeds. This is due to increased back fat, and marbling from crossing the two breeds together.

We’ve been dedicated to preserving the Berkshire landscape as well as our beautiful farmland and buildings for nearly 100 years. We are committed to not only keeping the Berkshires green but also partnering with our neighbors and supporting the principles of organizations like Berkshire Grown.

Here are some of the organizations we partner with and support in the Berkshires:

• Adams Agricultural Fair

• Berkshire 4-H Youth Fair

• Berkshire Bounty

• Berkshire Grown

• Berkshire Pride

• Dairy Challenge

• Dalton CRA

• Girls Inc.

• Great Barrington Rotary Club

• Lee Founders Day

• Lee Wildcat Baseball

• Lenox Memorial Middle & High School Alpine Ski Team

• Muddy Brook PTA

• New England Jersey Breeders Association

• Northeast All Breeds Spring Show

• Western Massachusetts Labor Action

At High Lawn, we love to have children and adults experience the life of our family-owned, small dairy farm, one of the few remaining in Massachusetts. It’s vitally important that we all know where our food comes from and that we understand the process behind its production. Too often we become disconnected from the reality of the source of the very food we’re eating.

Students of all ages visiting with their school will be greeted by one of our High Lawn Farm team, then walk down to the barns to meet the cows and calves—our Jerseys are the friendliest of the bovine kingdom— and to see our state-of-the-art robotic milking system. Non-stop questions and answers happen throughout! Of course, the visit would not be complete without samples of High Lawn products.

We wish we could welcome schools and other visitors at any time, but because we’re a busy, working dairy, all tours must be pre-arranged. To schedule a visit for your school, just call our office at 413-243-0672. Our office staff will be delighted to arrange a tour for you.