On the Bright Side: Farm gets Dairylea award

By Mark Boshnack
Staff Writer

October 25, 2008 04:00 am

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An Otego farm family has been recognized for more than 50 years of Dairylea Cooperative membership.

"It's quite an honor," said William Hewlett, 57, who runs Gretna Acres on state Route 7 with his brother Richard, 53. Their father, Robert, 83, is retired but still can be found working on the farm that milks about 70 Brown Swiss.

The award was one of two presented at Dairylea's annual meeting in Liverpool on Oct. 14. The family will be honored again at the annual district meeting to be held later this fall.

Dairylea is a farmer-owned agricultural marketing and service organization with more than 2,400 member farms located throughout the Northeast, according to its website.

"It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to keep a family business going for that long," William Hewlett said. "We're proud of what the co-op has done for us over the years."

That includes serving as a voice for the local farmers on the national level, he said.

"These longtime farm families have certainly contributed to the cooperative's success, and they deserve this special recognition for their many years of hard work," said co-op President Clyde Rutherford in a media release.

Otsego Farm Bureau President Steve Sinniger said that he has known "Bob" and his two sons for years.

"They do a great job," he said.

"I'm a loyal person," is how Robert Hewlett described the relationship that began in 1953, when he started his farm in Pleasant Valley.

When his father died in the 1960s, Robert took over that nearby farm, which had also been a Dairylea member. And when his sons wanted to get into the business, he bought the Otego farm in 1975.

But the relationship has not been one-way, he said.

"They are doing a pretty good job for farmers," Robert Hewlett said.

Not only do they process and sell the milk, but Dairylea helps farmers with savings on insurance and other necessities, he said.

"They do quite a lot," he said.

"It's our 50-year members that have made it possible for Dairylea to have endured as a cooperative for 100-plus years, Rutherford said.

The co-op was founded in 1907 as Dairymews League.

Those members, Rutherford added, "make our organization what it is today and what it will be tomorrow."