Bailey Brook Farm named R.I. dairy farm of the year

FAMILY MEMBERS WHO RUN East Greenwich-based Bailey Brook Farm stand in front of one of the property's buildings. The farm was named Dairy Farm of the Year by the Rhode Island Green Pastures Committee. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT
FAMILY MEMBERS WHO RUN East Greenwich-based Bailey Brook Farm stand in front of one of the property's buildings. The farm was named Dairy Farm of the Year by the Rhode Island Green Pastures Committee. / COURTESY R.I. DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Green Pastures Committee has named Bailey Brook Farm of East Greenwich the state’s Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year, the R.I. Department of Environmental Management announced Wednesday.

The farm will be honored in September along with winners from the other New England states at the Easter States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass.

The Green Pastures Committee chose the family-owned 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,” according to a release.

Members of the Bailey family have been active in local government, preservation efforts, and in the area’s 4-H chapter, which introduces young people to agriculture.

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The farm, owned by siblings Rodney Bailey, Gladys Bailey, and Priscilla Crofts, boasts 40 cows and supplies milk to the Agri-Mark Cooperative, which owns the Cabot brand, and to Rhody Fresh Milk. On their 225 acres, the Baileys also grow corn and hay. The family also cultivates the historic Fry Farm, which DEM Director Janet Coit called in a statement “some of the oldest, continually-farmed parcels in Rhode Island.”

The Baileys have earned accolades in the past. Rodney’s daughter Cynthia LaPrise and her family founded EMMA Acre Farms, which won the Green Pasture Award.

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