About Us
A Sustainable Dairy Farm
Our Family
It all started…
When a boy from the Bronx met the farmer’s daughter and they decided to start a dairy farm together in 1949, and there began Freund’s Farm.
Eugene and Esther were progressive in the ways they managed their dairy farm, from adopting the newest technologies and preserving the farmland through management practices. Esther even tested an early concept for a methane digester back in the 1970’s.
Today…
7 decades later, the 2nd and 3rd generations of our farm family manage 2 farm businesses. Matt, the esteemed CowPots inventor and his daughter Amanda oversee CowPots production on the farm.
The Canaan View Dairy team cares for the cows on the dairy farm that provide the manure that we form into CowPots which are then used at our family’s retail store, Freund’s Farm Market & Bakery to grow the produce and flowers that our farm and community enjoy all summer! This synergy is key to our sustainability.
Made by Farmers, for Growers
A brief visit to our dairy farm and CowPots factory, meet the people and learn why we make CowPots.
Sustainable Dairy Farm Videos
Animal Care is Sustainability
The cornerstone to a dairy farm’s success is the health and wellness of animals. When we make cow care our first priority, everything else falls into place.
Crops and Manure Practices
Sustainability ties into how, when and where we grow our crops and apply manure as fertilizer to our land. This land is the foundation to growing a thriving and sustainable dairy farm.
Sustainable Nutrition for Your Plate
Sustainability is more than how we grow crops and cows, it’s also about the choices you have for what goes on your plate.
Mixing Dairy into our Farmhouse Meals
Mama Freund bakes up some buttermilk shortcake biscuits. How and when we use dairy is part of our family’s sustainable food choices.
About the Dairy Farm
The dairy farm team cares for the herd of Holstein cows by using the newest technologies, including Lely milking robots and rumination collars which track each cow’s activity, like Fitbits.
The farm manager works closely with a dairy nutritionist and veterinarian to ensure that the animals have a complete and balanced diet. All of the forages are grown on our fields to feed the 300 milking cows supplemented by grains and minerals. Animal health and nutrition is an important component to sustainability on this dairy farm.
The dairy farm participates in the National Dairy FARM Program, a 3rd party verifiable animal well-being program.
- Solar Panels – capture energy to power the dairy farm and CowPots production facility.
- Corn fields are no-till – improving carbon sequestration from the soil.
- Recycling water – using well water to cool the milk then passing that tempered water to the cows.
- Methane digester – biogas produced from manure offsets the use of propane and heating oil.
- Nutrient Management Plan and Forestry Stewardship Plan – guides the activities at Freund’s Farm for managing soil health and forest longevity.
- CowPots – exports excess nutrients from sustainable farm to where they’re needed (your garden) and replaces non-renewable planting containers like plastic and peat with a biodegradable pot alternative.
Some other favorite videos – Farm Tours and Features
UConn students put together a film showcasing the diversity of Connecticut agriculture. This video features how diversification supports our farm’s sustainability goals.
Take a virtual farm tour. We are a real life dairy farming family. You can meet our baby calves, hear about our cows’ diet, watch the milking robots, see what a cow Fitbit looks like and learn a bit about cow poop! Hosted by New England Dairy.
Theresa describes her culinary confections in the bakery, Rachel takes you through the greenhouse and Amanda describes the production and use of CowPots to meet their sustainability goals at Freund’s Farm on RFDTV’s FarmHer episode.
Forbes came to our dairy farm to feature how technology is important to cow care and producing high quality food on a modern dairy farm.