Alice Newth, ‘Shepherd’ of UMass Livestock and Animal Science Program, is Retiring
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Whether it was assisting in the birth of piglets to sows, like current resident “Hamma Montana,” or driving through a snowstorm to care for the livestock on campus closure days, Alice Newth has been a reliable and caring presence at the UMass Equine and Livestock Research and Education Farm in Hadley for more than 40 years.
Now, with her impending retirement, the barns and fields that serve as the hands-on instruction sites of UMass Amherst’s livestock and animal science programs will seem empty without her ubiquitous presence. Her legacy includes helping shape generations of students through hands-on livestock management instruction and creating coursework and daily training experiences that extended far beyond a typical college schedule.
Growing up in rural Harvard, Massachusetts, Newth was surrounded by dogs, ample land and a pony that led her to study animal science at UMass. After earning her bachelor’s degree in 1982, she worked at the university’s dairy farm, which was at the time located off River Road in South Deerfield, near the current Joseph Troll Turf Research Center.
“I worked a few part-time research jobs: a feeding-breeding trial, a calf trial and a beef trial. Most of them were at the dairy, and one was at the old youngstock barn where the Mullins Center now stands,” recalls Newth.
When the dairy cows were sold in the mid 1990s, Newth moved to the 130-acre Hadley Farm on North Maple Street, first to the horse barn and later to the livestock barn that houses pigs, goats, and sheep. There, she converted a former stall near the barn’s side entrance into her current office—a now sturdy space filled with barn coats, overalls, boots, and a desktop computer displaying a photo of sheep as its home screen. By the office door sits a tabletop cat bed for Thomas, the farm’s feline indoor pest-control manager, who is often found sleeping on the job.
“When I started here it had a drop ceiling and a cement floor, so if I ever opened any of the windows and had the door closed, the breeze would come in, flip the drop ceiling and drop debris on me,” Newth recalled with a chuckle.
Tucked away nearby are wrapped EweMass blankets made from the wool shorn from the Hadley Farm’s sheep, which roam in the fields and in the “EweTube,” a white dome-like structure behind the barn.
Every spring during “Shearing Day” (which was held on April 27 this year), a local professional shearer trims the sheep while Newth and staff members move the animals, skirt, sort, and pack the fleeces. It’s one of Newth’s hardest but favorite days of work with the barn’s staff members, including Bella Whalen.
A 2024 graduate of the animal science management program, Whalen has served as assistant livestock manager for over a year. As a high school student in West Springfield, she knew she wanted to attend UMass and work with animals, but initially was unsure of her career path until she met Newth. Whalen enrolled in the Dorset Sheep Management course and became a teaching assistant in the fall of 2021.
“For me personally, I had never worked with sheep before I came UMass,” said Whalen. “You start off as a beginner and then you end up feeling much more confident as an animal handler. Alice just made amazing classes.”
In addition to the sheep management course, Newth helped students form Dorset sheep and poultry clubs designed for animal science and pre-veterinary students seeking more informal practical experience. Whalen said Newth also developed those clubs into curriculum courses.
“All these things are because of Alice,” Whalen said. “And it’s more than just the classes. It’s everything in the barn. It would not be what it is if it wasn’t for her. I couldn’t imagine this place without Alice’s touch.”
Bob Skalbite, another former student and teaching assistant of Newth’s who now serves as director of farms and facilities for the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment (CAFE), echoes the influence and work ethic Newth has instilled in the program and the people around her.
“By 6:45 a.m. Alice is there. She’ll say hello to the superintendent and then she’ll be at the barn ready to greet the students at 7 a.m. Then it’s feeding and chores and checking on animals and doing treatments until 9 a.m,” Skalbite said. “Then, she may be on the tractor all day or decide today’s the day we’re going to clean out manure or depending on the season, she may be shoveling snow away from the doorways. In the afternoon, she might be on the computer checking emails, in meetings with faculty, or on a webinar. By 3:30, 4 o’clock, if she’s still there tinkering with something, we’ll say ‘Alice, it’s time—you got to go home.’”
Skalbite added, “I don't think I've ever worked with somebody who is more dedicated to her work and the program than Alice, nor have I ever met somebody who has done more to try to bring people together in a workplace with a sense of community and belonging.”
For her part, Newth said she feels fortunate to have worked in a teaching environment that forms such tight and lasting connections. In retirement, she said she will miss “the people”—including the students, many of whom stay in touch, return to visit the farm, or have invited her to their weddings and other special life events.
“I’m going to miss the kids the most,” Newth said. “I’ve been working with some really nice people over the years, but I think that the students are the most fun. They get so excited about actually getting to do things like delivering a lamb or piglet. As an educator, you feed off of that enthusiasm.”
Asked about her retirement plans, Newth said she looks forward to traveling with her husband, Greg, in their camper van, sleeping in occasionally, and perhaps owning a dog again someday. Other than that, she says her plans are up in the air.
“I’ve got some other friends who are retired. I'll ask them what to do.”