wrights dairy
DESCRIPTION
Interview with Elizabeth WrightTRANSCRIPT
WrightsDairyFarmWrightsDairyisa4thgenerationalfamilyfarm,
whichstartedbymilking5cowsandnowproudlymilksover130cows.Theybottleover270,000poundsofmilkamonthandsellitexclusivelyintheirbakeryandmarketshop.
LocatedinNorthSmithfield,RI
ProductionAcalfmustbetwoyearsold,beforeshecangetpregnantandbeginproducingmilk.Fromthispointon,thecalfwillcontinuetogetpregnanteveryyear,soshecontinuestoproducemilk.Wrightsfarmersmilktheircowseverytwelvehours;whileonefarmermilks,anotheroneisputtingdownfreshfeedandcleaningthebarn.BecauseWrights,isasmalloperation,theycanpaycloseattentiontotheircowsandkeepthemingoodhealth–withmostcattlelivingabout8years.Wrightswilluseantibioticstosaveacowslife,buttheyfollowpreventativemeasuresasbestastheycantoavoidthat.
Oncemilkleavesthecow,itisintheprocessingplantforabout24hours,andthenhasarounda2‐weekshelflife.Itisextremelyimportantthatthemilkischilledquickly,andhandledcarefullybeforeprocessing.Onceitiscooled,itisheatedatahightemperatureforjustaminute,tokillanybacteria,andthenisreturnedtothecoolstate.
In2009,Wright’sbuiltanewbarn,whichhousesadoubletenparallelrapidexitparlor.Thismodernsystemhelpsthefarmersusetheirtimemoreefficiently.Tencowswalkdownarowandenterindividualstagingareas.Adipisusedtothencleanandsanitizetheutter,andrelaxthecowandpromoteoxytocinrelease.Eachcowgivesaboutfivegallonspermilking,orabouttengallonsperday.Thisdigitalsystemreadsacollaroneachcowthatkeepstrackofhowmuchmilkshegivesandhowmuchwalkingshedoes.Thispedometerencouragesthefarmerstokeepatractofherwalkingtonoteonherhealth.
“It’saprivilege,it’saburden,it’sagreatthing,andit’salotofworkandpride.Buildingthenewparlorwasourcommitmenttocontinuetohavecowsand
producemilk.”–ElizabethWright
Feed
LandChallenges
Cowsarefedatotalmixedrationofcornsilage,hayandgrain.Theytesttheratiosfortheoptimalhealthofanimals.
Sincetheirlandison90acresofswampland,thecowsdonotgraze.However,theydogrowtheirowncorn,sotheycancontrolthequalityoftheirfeed.TheyalsoworkwiththeNRCStodevelopplanstomaintainrunofftoprotectthenearbywatershed.Mostmanureisusedforfertilizer,forthecornfield,orcompost.
WhatdoesFamilyFarmmeantoWrightsDairy?
2
CompetitionWrights’mostexpensivecostisfeedingtheanimals.Eventhoughtheygrowtheirowncorn–themoneytorentthatland,putgasinthetractors,paytheworkers,andequipmenttoprocessthecornisexpensive.Thebakeryshopisimperativeforthemtostayafloatasabusiness–theincomefromthebakeryprovidestheextramoneytobuythenewtractorandinvestinthenewtools.Currently,Wrightshasrelativelyconsistentsales–thesamefamiliescometopickupmilkregularly.Withinthestate,RhodyFresh,hasnotpresented
competitionbecauseWrightsalreadyhadadevotedcommunityandbrand.TheydoappreciatehowmuchattentionRhodyFreshdrawstodairyproductioninRI.Outsideofstate,technicallyanyonethatsellsmilkistheircompetition–theCVSdownthestreetortheconveniencestore.Though,attheseplaces,onecannotseetheanimalsorhowtheyarebeingtreated.So,Wrightspromotestheirmilkasbetterforthesereasons,andsimplythefreshnessandquality.Thisbrandinghasallowedthemtocontinuetofarmandproducemilk.
LookingForward
• Fourfulltimefarmersandoneparttime
• 70employeesresponsibleforcombinationofalltasksmilking,processing,bottling,baking,managingstore
• 10ofthe70employeesarefamilymembers;theyareresponsibleformostlyfarmingaspectsofthebusiness
Wrightscurrentlyproduces13,000gallonsofmilkaday
Labor
WheredoyouwanttoseeWrightsintenyears?
“Hopefully,stilldoingwhatitsdoing.Providingfoodatalocalleveltopeopleinthearea.Providinganeducationforpeopletocomeandseewheretheirfoodcomesfrom,theconnectiontomilkandhowtogetittothem,showingpeoplewhatitistofarm.KeepingWrightsadestinationandexperience”