Connecticut Farmer Seth Bahler Receives Well-Deserved Recognition
In partnership with: Connecticut Department of Agriculture
For Seth Bahler, winning the 2023 Connecticut Outstanding Young Farmer award isn’t just about him; it’s about the employees and customers who keep Oakridge Dairy running strong.
“It all comes back to the people at the end of the day,” Bahler says. “People are what make this business successful.”
Along with Oakridge Dairy, Bahler runs The Modern Milkman, an innovative new home delivery service that brings fresh milk to 5,000 customers around Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts. With a new bottling and processing plant in the works, Bahler hopes that The Modern Milkman will continue to expand in the coming years.
“We want to get our quality milk out to all of New England,” Bahler says.
The Outstanding Young Farmer award recognizes farms that have made significant contributions to Connecticut agriculture, and Oakridge Dairy certainly fits the bill; the dairy alone produces around 12% of the state’s milk. Awarded by the Connecticut Agricultural Information Council every March, Gov. Ned Lamont presented Bahler with the award at the annual Ag Day at the Capitol in 2023.
Along with an annual Farm Day and regular tours of the facility, Oakridge Dairy helps educate the community about agriculture by letting them see firsthand how milk is processed.
“We try to be a part of the ag community in Connecticut,” Bahler says.
A fifth-generation farmer, Bahler is the steward of the same land that has been in his family since 1890 when his great-great-grandfather started the farm with a few cows on 12 acres. Since that time, Oakridge Dairy has grown to 1,500 acres plus an additional 1,500 rented from other farmers in the area.
“It’s our responsibility to be a good steward of what we’ve been given,” Bahler says.
For Bahler, the essential ingredients in the success of his businesses are the employees of Oakridge Dairy and The Modern Milkman, without whom none of it would be possible.
“We’re providing not only milk to the thousands of people that we serve; we’re providing for many families in our community with a paycheck,” Bahler says. “I think that’s what gets me up in the morning every day.”
See more: Connecticut’s Top Agricultural Products