RI Department of Environmental Management

For Release: July 24, 2013
Contact: Gail Mastrati 222-4700 ext. 2402

DEM AND RI AGRICULTURAL COUNCIL ANNOUNCE THAT BAILEY BROOK FARM IN EAST GREENWICH HAS BEEN NAMED RI’s 2013 OUTSTANDING DAIRY FARM OF THE YEAR

PROVIDENCE – The Department of Environmental Management and the RI Agricultural Council announce that Bailey Brook Farm in East Greenwich has been named Rhode Island’s 2013 Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year by the Rhode Island Green Pastures Committee. Winning dairy farmers from each New England state will be honored at an awards banquet on September 13 at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA.

The Rhode Island Green Pastures Committee chose Bailey Brook Farm because of its outstanding relationship with the community, use of good management practices, and commitment to ensuring a viable agricultural industry in the West Bay. The farm is owned by three siblings – Rodney Bailey of East Greenwich, Gladys Bailey of East Greenwich, and Priscilla Crofts of North Stonington, CT. The picturesque Bailey Brook Farm is a focal point along Route 4 south in East Greenwich, just before the Frenchtown Road exit.

Bailey Brook Farm Family Members

Since 1980, Bailey Brook Farm has been a member of Agri-Mark Cooperative, the regional dairy cooperative which owns the Cabot brand, which picks up their milk every day and markets it to customers in southern New England. Part of their milk is also sold locally under the Rhody Fresh brand in conjunction with seven other local farms. The farm has been a member of the RI Dairy Farmers Cooperative, which produces Rhody Fresh Milk, since 2009. Rodney Bailey formed a partnership with his son, Paul, in 1998. Today, the Baileys milk 40 cows on their 225-acre farm. They also produce hay on 30 acres, silage corn on 20 acres, and have 25 acres of pasture. The Bailey family farms land on both Bailey Brook Farm and the adjacent Fry Farm on Route 2 in East Greenwich, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“The historic Bailey Brook Farm is one of Rhode Island’s finest dairy farms and we are pleased that it has been selected for this special award,” said DEM Director Janet Coit. “Including the Fry Farm, the Baileys farm some of the oldest, continually-farmed parcels in Rhode Island. The success enjoyed by the Bailey family and other dairy farmers who produce local milk products is helping to protect and preserve hundreds of acres of farmland that will support continued agricultural endeavors for this and future generations to enjoy.”

Rodney and Judy Bailey have been members of Rocky Hill Grange for more than 50 years, and have been very active in their local community. Judy served on the East Greenwich Town Council from 1990-1994, on the RI Agricultural Lands Preservation Commission for 18 years, and was a member of the RI State Board of Elections for 10 years.

The couple has four children including Kathy Burroughs, Paul Bailey, Cynthia LaPrise, and Iva Reynhout, and 10 grandchildren. Kathy Burroughs is currently president of the RI 4-H Club Foundation, and Cynthia LaPrise and her family started EMMA Acres Farm, which is a member of Agri-Mark and Rhody Fresh. EMMA Acres Farm won the Green Pasture Award in 2010.

The Bailey family is also very active with their local 4-H chapter, which introduces young people to agriculture. While growing up in the 1970s, all four of their children were members of 4-H. Today, six of their grandchildren have been involved in 4-H since 1999 and have shown their Jersey, Red, and White Holstein cows. Three granddaughters have been active members of Future Farmers of America and have served as chapter and state officers. Bailey Brook Farm is one of 15 dairy farms remaining in the state.

The Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year award is sponsored by the New England Green Pastures Committee, made up of agricultural interests such as state and federal agricultural offices and farm organizations. Rhode Island’s Green Pastures Committee is coordinated by DEM’s Division of Agriculture and the RI Agricultural Council, with members including the RI Dairy Farmers Cooperative, the RI Farm Bureau, the RI Farm Service Agency, and the Agri-Mark Cooperative.

Wright's Dairy Farm & Bakery

The RI Department of Environmental Management released the following press release announcing that the Rhode Island Green Pastures Committee has chosen Wright’s Dairy Farm in North Smithfield as the Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year.

The Department of Environmental Management announces that Wright’s Dairy Farm, Inc. of North Smithfield has been named Rhode Island’s 2011 Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year by the Rhode Island Green Pastures Committee. Winning dairy farmers from each New England state will be honored at an awards banquet in September at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, MA.
Wright’s Dairy is a fifth-generation family dairy farm that keeps the family tradition of producing quality dairy and bakery products alive every day. There are 10 immediate family members involved in the day-to-day operations, and they make a conscious choice each day to get along and work together for the good of the business. Fifty full and part-time employees work with the family members to accomplish the many varied tasks necessary to run the operation.
The farm’s 140 cows are milked twice daily in a new, double milking parlor that was acquired in 2009. All cows on the farm, starting with the calves to the milkers, have diets balanced by a nutritionist. They utilize high-quality forages to form the base of the rations and then complement these feeds with a balanced mixture of grains, vitamins, and minerals. Wright’s Dairy recently received a Vermont DHIA award for consistently producing high-quality milk. This year, the farm has started to see the results of a new breeding program. The heifers are calving in under 24 months of age, and peak milk has risen.
Wright’s Dairy is an institution for many Rhode Islanders. Customers who visited the dairy farm as children now bring their own children to buy milk and bakery items, and watch through the viewing window as the cows are milked. Milk is processed and sold on site. Milk travels via stainless steel pipeline from the milking barn to the dairy plant where it is pasteurized, homogenized, and bottled for sale in the farm’s retail store. Wright’s Dairy has also begun making its own ice cream, from the base to the finished product, using nothing but the finest ingredients. Beginning this month, quarts will be available for sale in the farm’s retail store. The farm has also partnered with an artisan cheese plant in Vermont to produce cheddar cheese curd and aged cheddar, which will also be available for purchase in the retail store.
Wright’s Dairy Farm uses the farm’s milk for puddings and custards and its heavy cream to make many real whipped cream cakes, pies and pastries. The bakery also produced a full line of muffins, cookies, brownies, chocolates and custom-decorated special occasion cakes.
The Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year award is sponsored by the New England Green Pastures Committee, made up of agricultural interests such as state and federal agricultural offices and farm organizations. Rhode Island’s Green Pastures Committee is coordinated by DEM’s Division of Agriculture, with members including the RI Dairy Farmers Cooperative, the RI Farm Bureau, the RI Farm Service Agency and the Agri-Mark Cooperative.

Eastern States Exposition

R.I. DEM News Release: Bailey Brook Farm Named 2013 Dairy Farm of the Year

Wright’s Dairy Farm has been named Rhode Island’s 2011 Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year