It’s been a long time coming and Our Family Farms’ new bottling plant is now churning out milk in pretty new containers. At a recent grand opening at the Leyden-based Bree-Z-Knoll Farm, Angie Facey welcomed guests, including Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle, who pronounced June Dairy Month.

 

The $1.8 million, 4,500 square foot operation includes a creamery where the farm’s 120 happy cows step onto an automated milking station whenever they feel like it. The robots take it from there, collecting their fresh milk. The bottling plant fills quarts and pints of milk as well as heavy cream and half-and-half.

 

The project began in November 2021 with a $1 million state Food Security Infrastructure Grant. However, cost overruns related to the pandemic prompted Our Family Farms to seek capital from sources including the Franklin County CDC.

 

“Thank goodness the FCCDC was there to help us out,” Facey said at the event, “because we couldn’t find financing.”

 

“It’s incredibly exciting to see this project specifically because it does allow the farm to take control of their income stream and the price they receive for their product,” said Randle. “And we’re also seeing a lot of farms go this route, with diversification and value-added production because the costs of production are typically exceeding what they’re receiving for their milk.”