Photo / Courtesy, Maine Farmland Trust
The team at Brigeen Farms, with Bill Bullard on the farthest right, second row and Betsy Bullard third from left, second row.
October 10, 2024
10th-generation Maine dairy farmers win grant to modernize, upgrade infrastructure
Photo / Courtesy, Maine Farmland Trust
The Briggs family at Brigeen Farms in Turner. Betsy (Briggs) Bullard is third from right; Bill Bullard is fifth from right.
A family farm dating back to 1777 has received a $65,000 grant to upgrade infrastructure and technology, reduce costs and improve efficiencies of scale.
Betsy (Briggs) Bullard and her husband, Bill, are the 10th generation to operate Brigeen Farms, an 850-acre dairy farm in Turner.
The grant comes from th eMaine Farmland Trust.
“The goal for the future is simple: to continue to evolve and position the farm in such a way that it continues to offer the same opportunities for future generations,” the Bullards said.
To become eligible to apply for the grant, the Brigeen Farms team completed Farming for the Long Haul, the trust’s two-year business planning program. It's intended for experienced farmers and designed to help them improve the long-term success and financial resilience of their businesses.
Over the course of the program, Brigeen Farms received technical assistance to analyze the enterprise and developed a multiyear business plan to increase milk production and finance infrastructure improvements. The upgrades helped address labor, time and cost bottlenecks.
“Maine dairy farms are essential to our agricultural sector, stewarding vast acreages of farmland while contributing to rural jobs and economic opportunities throughout the supply chain,” said Tricia Rouleau, the trust’s farm network director.
“As one of Maine’s longest-running family dairies, Brigeen Farms is a cornerstone in the community and a significant producer of Maine milk.”
Over the past 25 years, Brigeen Farms has grown from 65 milking cows to a herd of 580 registered Holstein cows, plus more than 800 crop acres for feed production.
Wholesale milk is primary product for the farm, which sold 16.1 million pounds of it in 2023 through the Dairy Farmers of America Cooperative. But Brigeen Farms also has diversified to include Canty Cow Creamery, producing and selling frozen custard, and a small compost business.
Here's the plan
Under Brigeen Farms’ new business plan, the aim is to increase profitability and efficiencies of scale by growing the herd to 700 milking cows. By producing a higher volume of milk and investing in more efficient infrastructure, the farm expects to increase its income and reduce operating costs over the long term.
Through the Farming for the Long Haul program, Brigeen Farms also worked with a dairy expert on a financial analysis of a robotic, or voluntary, milking system to explore what such a transition might require.
As labor costs continue to increase and the number of available and interested farmworkers in the area declines, a priority in the business plan is to attract and retain employees with more opportunities to specialize and leverage newer technologies.
The financial analysis identified that the gradual introduction of a robotic milking system could help to address labor challenges, but would require upgrades to on-farm milk storage and handling, the power supply, as well as changes to the way the animals are housed, feed is stored and deliveries are made.
“The opportunity to learn from other successful Maine farm enterprise owners in workshop settings, as well as access targeted technical assistance funds for detailed business analyses has been extremely valuable as we chart the next steps for further modernization and improvement at Brigeen Farms,” said Betsy Bullard.
With the grant, Brigeen Farms plans to construct an operational hub facility with increased milk storage. The new milkhouse would allow for greater bulk tank storage capacity, including a mechanical and water system set up, electrical upgrades, greater trucking accessibility and easier employee workflow.
Investing in the future
As the Bullards plan for eventual retirement within the next 25 years, they said their goal is to position the business for a successful transfer to the next generation.
This is the eighth year that MFT has awarded implementation grants to farmers, totaling nearly $1.4 million to support projects that help farm businesses increase profitability and resilience to risk.
After completing Farming for the Long Haul, participants have the opportunity to apply for the grants and bring their business plan before a review committee of trust staff and industry experts. Awardees must source $65,000 in addition to the $65,000 matching grant, resulting in a total of at least $130,000 toward the implementation of their plan.
The grants and hundreds of hours of workshops, technical assistance and individual support delivered to farmers annually through the trust’s farm business planning programs, are financed through the Bingham Trust, Kennebec Savings Bank, Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education, Ram Island Conservation Fund and other supporters.
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