Exeter farm named R.I.’s 2016 Outstanding Dairy Farm

THE LAPRISE FAMILY, from left to right, Alex, Maggie, Scooter, Cynthia, Elizabeth and Matt. Owned by Scooter and Cynthia LaPrise,  EMMA Acres in Exeter has been named Rhode Island’s 2016 Outstanding Dairy Farm. The farm is named after the couple’s four children (Elizabeth, Matthew, Maggie, and Alexandra). / COURTESY EMMA ACRES
THE LAPRISE FAMILY, from left to right, Alex, Maggie, Scooter, Cynthia, Elizabeth and Matt. Owned by Scooter and Cynthia LaPrise, EMMA Acres in Exeter has been named Rhode Island’s 2016 Outstanding Dairy Farm. The farm is named after the couple’s four children (Elizabeth, Matthew, Maggie, and Alexandra). / COURTESY EMMA ACRES

PROVIDENCE – EMMA Acres in Exeter has been named Rhode Island’s 2016 Outstanding Dairy Farm by the Rhode Island Green Pastures Committee of which the R.I. Department of Environmental Management is a member.
“This awards program shines an important light on the value of dairy farming to our state, and I applaud EMMA Acres and the Green Pastures Committee for their commitment to the viability of this important local industry,” Ken Ayars, DEM chief of agriculture, said in a statement.
EMMA Acres is owned by Rhode Island natives and farming veterans Cynthia and Scooter LaPrise, who purchased the property in 1990.
The dairy farm is honored for the owners’ commitment to farming best practices, community ties, and dairy farming advocacy and growth.
Named after the couple’s four children (Elizabeth, Matthew, Maggie, and Alexandra), EMMA Acres is a member of the Rhode Island Dairy Farms Cooperative and the Agri-Mark Cooperative. The milk supplied from the farm’s 26 cows is used in Rhody Fresh Milk and Cabot dairy products. Also, its manure is sold to local farmers as fertilizer or compost.
The LaPrises will be honored along with other winning dairy farmers from each New England state in September at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass.
EMMA Acres was recognized with the same honor in 2010.
The New England Green Pastures Committee sponsors the Outstanding Dairy Farm of the Year award. The committee is made up of government and industry members. Membership in Rhode Island’s committee is overseen by the Rhode Island Agricultural Council and the DEM Division of Agriculture.
According to DEM, Rhode Island is one of the few states where the number of farms is increasing – there are now more than 1,200 farms. The state also leads the nation in the percent of farms selling directly to the public, DEM said.

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