Kids & Family
Bailey Farm Named Best Dairy Farm In R.I.
Congratulations to Rodney and Paul Bailey, who have spent their lives working on the South County Trail farm.
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.
The 225-acre East Greenwich farm is operated by Rodney Bailey and his son Paul. It is a National Bicentennial-designated farm within the Fry Hamlet historic distinction (established in 1677 and on the National Historic Register).
The Baileys milk 50 cows of a herd of 80 Holsteins and Jerseys, and also devote some of their acreage to producing corn used to make Johnnycakes (which you can eat at the First East Greenwich Baptist Church's annual May Breakfast).
"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, Conn. The picturesque Bailey Brook Farm is a focal point along Route 4 south in East Greenwich, just before the Frenchtown Road exit," said a press release from the state Dept. of Environmental Management.
The Baileys milk 50 cows of a herd of 80 Holsteins and Jerseys, and also devote some of their acreage to producing corn used to make Johnnycakes (which you can eat at the First East Greenwich Baptist Church's annual May Breakfast).
"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, Conn. The picturesque Bailey Brook Farm is a focal point along Route 4 south in East Greenwich, just before the Frenchtown Road exit," said a press release from the state Dept. of Environmental Management.
The farm is one of only 15 dairy farms left in the state, said Judy Bailey, Rodney's wife. It's been a labor of love for both Rodney and Paul, she said.
"It means a great deal, the farming itself. They haven’t been in it to get rich," said Judy.
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"It’s all he knows. He was brought up working on it, working very hard," she said of Rodney, before realizing the same was true of her son Paul.
"He couldn’t wait to graduate [from high school] and work on the farm. It’s what he’s always wanted to do," Judy said.
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Father and son will travel to an awards banquet on Sept. 13 at the Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Mass., joined by winning dairy farmers from the five other New England states.
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