Canaan View Dairy showcases the value of opening doors for new and beginning farmers.
Canaan View Dairy, formed in the fall of 2022 and is a partnership of Lloyd Vaill and Amy Vaill of Lo-Nan Farms, and Ethan Arsenault. Ethan Arsenault knew from an early age that he wanted to be a dairy farmer. Since high school he has worked on and around dairy farms and when an opportunity was presented in 2022 for him to co-own a dairy farm business with his earliest mentors in Connecticut, he was eager to jump in with both feet. What’s exciting for this new dairy business is that it’s set on a sturdy foundation of a 70 year old dairy farming operation. The Freund family began milking cows in 1949 and the farm transitioned to the partnership in September 2022. Canaan View Dairy will build upon the Freund’s dairy farming legacy with new ideas, ambitions, and goals.
Animal care and environmental stewardship continue to be central tenets to the farm’s success. Using robotic milking machines, cows choose when and how often they get milked. They enjoy rotating brushes that provide head scratches and back massages as well as 24-hour access to water, feed and waterbeds! The farm’s free stall barn was designed with cow comfort top of mind.
The farm continues to rely on renewable energy with 1,200 solar panels that generate enough electricity to meet their needs. They have the longest continuously running methane digester in the country which also supplies renewable power to the farm. The manure is a valuable resource beyond providing renewable energy. It is also used as fresh bedding for the cows, fertilizer to grow the crops and is formed into CowPots. A truly unique innovation on this farm, CowPots are biodegradable, plantable pots made from composted manure. The Canaan View Dairy team cares for the cows that provide the manure that are formed into CowPots.
