Echo Farm Puddings in Hinsdale, NH, supplies flavorful puddings made from the milk of their 70 Milking Shorthorns and Jerseys. Echo Farm produces about 1.4 million lbs. of milk annually, more than they need for their puddings. The rest is sold to AgriMark.

The farm is owned by first generation farmers Beth and Courtney Hodge. “I was 10 and Beth was 12 when we moved to New Hampshire, with the goal of getting a couple of horses. Our neighbors introduced us to cows. It’s a 4-H project gone haywire,” said Courtney.

In 1997 when they moved there with their family, “nothing was here but the horse barn.”

They now have a milking complex with a Lely robotic milking system that was installed eight years ago and three barns. Their farm is the first farm in the country to be certified humane by Humane Farm Animal Care, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit with a mission to improve the lives of animals in food production from birth to slaughter.

Courtney explained, “For a farm or product to be designated as Certified Humane, farms must fill out an application as well as several manuals detailing how you manage your herd and must pass on a farm inspection. This program focuses solely on the care and comfort of your animals and really makes you look at every aspect of your farm from the animal’s perspective. We chose to apply for this program to assure our customers that we give our animals the best care possible.”

Beth manages the dairy farm full-time with one other full-time worker and four part-time employees. Courtney manages the pudding operation full-time assisted by two other workers.

They offer vanilla, chocolate, butterscotch, tapioca, coffee caramel tapioca and rice pudding as well as seasonal spiced pumpkin, eggnog, gingersnap, white chocolate peppermint and maple pudding. They source many ingredients locally. The maple syrup comes from Bascomb’s Maple Farm in Acworth, NH. It was their father who came up with the idea to offer a niche market of puddings.

They currently buy all their feed for the cows on their 40-acre farm. That includes spent grain from the nearby brewery Branch & Blade Company Inc. in Keene, NH.

In the past, they received a value-added grant to assist with marketing and getting their product into stores.

The distributor Organic Natural and Conventional Food wholesale company picks up and distributes their puddings all over New England and New York, including to Whole Foods Markets, Brattleboro Food Co-op and other food coops. They just started supplying selective Hannaford Supermarkets in New England and New York.

What does Courtney like best about working at the farm? “Working with my family. My sister and I are very close. A lot of our work overlaps so we see a lot of each other.”

Her children, Colton (15) and Honor (11) Bornkessel, are very involved in the local Cows R Us 4-H club, led by their neighbor who introduced them to cows – Shelley Coombs – who is also an employee on their farm.

Echo Farm’s cows rose to the cream of the crop in the recent show circuit. Colton’s Milking Shorthorn, a winter calf born in December 2024, Popular Popparazzi (“Pop-pop”), won Reserve Junior Champion at the Franklin County Fair in Greenfield on Sept. 7.

Echo Farm was firmly represented at the Big E in West Springfield, MA, with many finalists in the winning line-ups. Pop-pop placed seventh in the Winter Heifer Calf division. Honor’s Milking Shorthorn Echo Farm Bender Xaphoon placed third in the Winter Yearling Heifer (not in milk) class at the Big E. Beth’s Echo Farm Bender Artemis placed fourth in the same class.

Honor and Colton’s Echo Farm Comanche Chit Chat placed fourth in the Fall Yearling Heifer (not in milk) class. Courtney’s Echo Farm Bender Malta placed third in the Summer Yearling Heifer class at Big E. Echo Farm’s Gold Mine RG Bender-EXP also placed third in the Get of Sire class, followed by their Top Shelf Royal Laser-ET in fourth place in the same class.

Echo Farm also placed fourth in the Junior Best 3 Females Class. And that’s not all.

At the Big E, they were awarded the 2025 New England Green Pastures Award by UNH Extension and the New England Green Pastures Program, recognizing the farm as the 2025 New Hampshire Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year.

“I’ve worked with them for a quite a few years. They are a great farm to work with. They are great supporters and advocates of agriculture. The award is well deserved,” said Carl Majewski, UNH Cooperative Extension rep in Cheshire County.

For more information, access cabotcreamery.com/blogs/community/echo-farm-pudding or certifiedhumane.org.