News

Ferry Farms adds processing facility in Litchfield  

One Michigan dairy farm family has traded milking cows for a direct marketing and processing venture.

Scott and Ali Ferry are the fourth generation to operate the family’s farm in southern Michigan.

“The dairy industry changed significantly in the last decade or so and 14 years later, we have developed a new pathway and vertically integrating ourselves into the niche farm-to-table market,” Scott explains.

The Ferry’s now sell meat, dairy, and specialty items they produce directly to more than 2,500 locations including wholesale, retail, and restaurants.

“There’s opportunity and there’s a place in this industry for small family farms to be sustainable,” he says.

Their newest venture, Carnico Foods, will break ground this spring.

“We’ll be a USDA-inspected meat processing facility, so what that means is that we’ll be doing processing, packaging, co-packing, private labeling for other brands, and the more vague category that we’re excited to get into is flavor development,” Ali explains.

Carnico Foods received a $65,000 Food and Agriculture Investment Program grant from the state of Michigan to support construction efforts.

Brownfield interviewed the Ferry’s during the recent Michigan Pork Symposium where they were featured speakers.

Add Comment

Your email address will not be published.


 

Stay Up to Date

Subscribe for our newsletter today and receive relevant news straight to your inbox!