In 2025, Bristol County Agricultural High School was awarded $75,000 through the NE-DBIC Catalyzing Regional Dairy Workforce Grant.
Known familiarly as Bristol Aggie, the public high school provides a hands-on agricultural education with a specific focus on workforce development and entry into post-secondary education. They currently manage a production dairy farm with 31 milking cows and ship milk to Agri-Mark. NE-DBIC funding supports the continued advancement of the school’s dairy program and agricultural workforce development initiatives.
As the dairy sector continues to see workforce-related challenges, programs like Bristol Aggie’s dairy offer a pathway to learn the myriads of skills needed to run a farm business. The experienced program faculty and staff have educational backgrounds in dairy science, veterinary science, and animal nutrition. Students engage in everything from herd care and milking to animal nutrition. They also get to collaborate with and learn from regional dairy farms, Future Farmers of America, and 4-H. This hands-on learning gives students the training and skills needed to enter the dairy workforce with a solid foundation from the get-go.
As farms across the Northeast modernize, the Catalyzing Regional Dairy Workforce grant allows Bristol Aggie to update their training – matching programming to real world farm modernization strategies.
The grant funds helped Bristol Aggie purchase an automatic feed pusher, SmaxTec bolus animal monitoring system, air and ventilation control and a pest management system for the dairy animal housing.
Liam Holloway, a Livestock Student, said, “It really just gives our cows the opportunity to be as healthy and happy as they can, which improves their lives and our education by showing what major practices are needed to sustain a modern dairy farm and I am so beyond thankful to have this opportunity.”
Already, the school has seen an improvement to feed efficiency, animal nutrition, and milk production.
Bristol Aggie’s Herd Manager, Joey Guimand, said, “This dairy grant has allowed us to bring modern technology and hands-on learning opportunities to our students while also improving the care, comfort, and wellbeing of our dairy cows. It’s an investment not only in agriculture today, but in the next generation of farmers.”
Bristol Aggie will continue implementing the grant and tracking learning outcomes through October 2026. Even after the grant period ends, the impacts will continue as students use the new equipment and expand their education at the school’s dairy farm. In a recent announcement, the school shared: “Beyond infrastructure improvements, this investment directly supports Bristol Aggie students by providing hands-on experience with modern dairy technologies, sustainability practices, and real-world farm management systems that are shaping the future of the dairy industry.”
NE-DBIC is investing in dairy workforce development in several areas. Learn more about these investments and the research behind them here: Designing a Regional Dairy Workforce Program for the Northeast.
