Wright's Dairy Farm in Rhode Island: History, What It Makes, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Wright's Dairy Farm in North Smithfield, Rhode Island, has been in the Wright family since 1914 and is now run by the fifth generation. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management named it the state's 2019 Outstanding Dairy Farm, and it employs 82 people on a working dairy, creamery and bakery. It is a leading example of vertical integration on a small-state dairy.
| Location | North Smithfield, Rhode Island |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1914 by George and Leonna Wright |
| Sectors | Dairy; on-farm creamery; bakery; ice cream |
| Scale | 150 cows, 100 milked twice daily, and 82 employees, as reported in 2019 |
| Why it is elite | 2019 Outstanding Dairy Farm in Rhode Island; fifth-generation family business |
| Ownership | Wright family; eight family members in daily operations in 2019 |
| Official website | Wright's Dairy Farm website (domain shown in Rhode Island Monthly) |
History of Wright's Dairy Farm
George and Leonna Wright started the farm as a homestead dairy in 1914. In the 1930s, when Rhode Island made pasteurization mandatory, George invested in equipment and opened a small processing plant. In the late 1970s, Ed Wright and Claire Boudreault ended home delivery and opened the first retail store, and a continuous pasteurization system arrived in the 1980s.
A double milking parlor was built in 2009. Farm Credit East helped finance the conversion of an old barn into a bakery, and consultants assessed return on investment before the expansion. Fifth-generation family members now manage dairy and bakery operations.
What Wright's Dairy Farm Grows and Raises
The farm keeps Holstein cows, each with a numbered collar linked to a system that tracks production, activity and temperature. Raw milk is separated, clarified, homogenized, pasteurized and bottled on site, and the bulk tank holds 2,000 gallons, with about 5,000 gallons processed weekly in 2019 reporting.
The bakery produces cream pies, cream puffs and other products known as Claire's Classics, and ice cream is sold from a vintage trailer called The Wright Scoop and from a year-round Providence location.
How Wright's Dairy Farm Makes Money
Retail milk and cream
About 80 percent of processed milk went to the farm's retail shop in a 2019 profile, which keeps the margin with the family instead of a processor.
Bakery and ice cream
The bakery, the ice cream trailer and a Providence shop turn milk into higher-value products and draw visitors.
Wholesale
The farm has been expanding wholesale milk sales to coffee shops, bakeries and small grocery stores, per the 2019 award coverage.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Wright's Dairy Farm
The first lesson is vertical integration: bottling, baking and selling directly let a small herd support 82 jobs. The second is to match capital to a clear plan; the family worked with a lender that checked return on investment before the bakery conversion.
The third is to build a brand around family recipes and a visit-worthy farm.
A dairy that bakes its own cream puffs is operating at a level of luxury most farms can only dream of, and Wright's makes it look easy. At farm.FM we think farm satire should come with a pie, and the Wrights have already met that standard. Our farm humor desk has no ranch humor that beats a vintage ice cream trailer, and our farm jokes about Holsteins in collars are filed under respect.
Readers who want the full experience can pair the jokes with Tractor Tunes, the country music for farmers that farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, plays between stories. This author page is a fine starting point.
How to Contact Wright's Dairy Farm
Website: https://wrightsdairyfarm.com/
Address and phone were not confirmed on the operation's own site for this page. Retail hours and ice cream locations change seasonally; check the farm's site before traveling.
Wright's Dairy Farm Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Wright's Dairy Farm - The operation's website
- 2019 Outstanding Dairy Farm - Providence Business News on the award
- Wright's Dairy Farm and Bakery - Farm Credit story on the bakery financing
- USDA NASS Rhode Island 2022 Census profile - State farm counts and sales
- Rhode Island DEM Division of Agriculture - State agriculture programs
Wright's Dairy Farm FAQ
Where is Wright's Dairy Farm?
In North Smithfield, Rhode Island.
When was it founded?
1914, and it is now a fifth-generation family business.
What award did it win?
Rhode Island's 2019 Outstanding Dairy Farm.
What does it sell?
Bottled milk and cream, bakery items and ice cream.
Wright's Dairy Farm shows how a Rhode Island dairy can add a creamery, a bakery and ice cream to a small herd. For the climate, programs and markets behind it, read our Rhode Island farms guide and the other profiled operations.