Farm "Yabakei Farm" with 900 head capacity opens in Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, holding a ceremony on July 1st. Green Coop practices environmentally friendly circular dairy farming, producing 18 tons/day of direct-sale bottled milk.

The Green Coop Community General Incorporated Association (Headquarters: Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City, Representative Director: Yoko Hidaka, hereinafter "Green Coop"), composed of 16 consumer cooperatives mainly in western Japan, has jointly opened "Yabakei Farm," a farm with a capacity of 900 head, in Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, on July 1, 2026.

At the opening ceremony, greetings were given by Masanori Okuzuka, Mayor of Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture; Naritoshi Kaneko, Director of the Northern Oita Development Bureau; and Hideaki Hayashi, Speaker of the Nakatsu City Council, Oita Prefecture. Yoko Hidaka, Representative Director of Green Coop, expressed gratitude to those who contributed to the opening and spoke about the practice of environmentally friendly circular dairy farming and the production system for bottled milk.

Mayor of Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, Masanori Okuzuka; Director of the Northern Oita Development Bureau, Naritoshi Kaneko

Speaker of the Nakatsu City Council, Oita Prefecture, Hideaki Hayashi; Representative Director of the Green Coop Community General Incorporated Association, Yoko Hidaka

Yabakei Farm Opening Ceremony - Day's Events

Date: Wednesday, July 1

Address: 5174-19 Kinyoshi, Yabakei-cho, Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture

Distinguished Guests:

Masanori Okuzuka, Mayor of Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture

Naritoshi Kaneko, Director of the Northern Oita Development Bureau

Hideaki Hayashi, Speaker of the Nakatsu City Council, Oita Prefecture

Speakers:

Nobuhiko Wakisaka, President of Yabakei Farm Co., Ltd.

Fumio Tamama, Chairman of Shimogo Agricultural Cooperative

Shinobu Ihara, Chairman of Yabakei Dairy Cooperative

Yasumasa Kawahara, President of Kawahara Construction Co., Ltd.

Yoko Hidaka, Representative Director of the Green Coop Community General Incorporated Association

About Yabakei Farm

Overall view of Yabakei Farm

・Background of Yabakei Farm's Establishment

This farm, with a capacity of approximately 900 dairy cows, is opening in the mountainous area at an altitude of 420m in Yabakei, Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture. In the spring of 2021, faced with the possibility that "direct-sale bottled milk might become unavailable," Green Coop began discussions with Shimogo Agricultural Cooperative and its dairy farmers. In mid-July 2021, an agreement was reached to "construct a dairy farm with a capacity of 1,000 head necessary for the production of Green Coop's direct-sale bottled milk," and preparations have been underway.

Construction in progress

https://youtu.be/hpFxNWFNBgg?si=312jryg94P9ghR_z

・Environmentally Conscious Dairy Farming

Yabakei Farm is committed to environmental consideration and reducing greenhouse gas (methane gas) emissions. By introducing animal waste treatment machinery (aerobic fermentation treatment machinery) that requires fewer greenhouse gas emissions, is labor-saving, and has high processing capacity, we aim to achieve both greenhouse gas reduction and improved operational efficiency, while also expanding sales channels for the compost produced.

Yabakei Farm, opening in July with a capacity of 1,000 head, has obtained "Midori Certification" from Oita Prefecture

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000267.000123722.html

Practicing Symbiotic and Circular Dairy Farming

Green Coop is engaged in symbiotic and circular dairy farming. "Yabakei Farm," "Green Coop TMR Center," and "Green Coop Milk" are interconnected to advance circular dairy farming. For example, compost produced at Yabakei Farm is used to cultivate roughage for feed, and this roughage is processed into feed at the TMR Center. Raw milk from cows that consume this feed is produced as bottled milk at the Green Coop Milk factory through Shimogo Agricultural Cooperative and delivered to consumers (members). By collecting and washing used bottles for repeated use (reuse), a system for circulating resources is realized.

・Green Coop TMR Center "Dairy Cow Feed Production Base"

https://milk.greencoop.or.jp/tmrcenter/

・Green Coop Milk "Bottled Milk Factory"

https://milk.greencoop.or.jp/greencoopmilk/

・Green Coop's Direct-Sale Bottled Milk: Symbiotic and Circular Dairy Farming Project

https://milk.greencoop.or.jp/

Reference Materials

・Opening Ceremony and Media Briefing/Tour for "Yabakei Farm," a Farm with 900 Head Capacity, Held on July 1st

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000279.000123722.html

・"Green Coop Milk 1st Anniversary" Bottled Milk Factory Tour and Dairy Experience Tour

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000256.000123722.html

・Green Coop Conducts Dairy Experience and Training at a Farm in Yabakei Town (Ihara Farm)

https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000186.000123722.htm

Organization Overview

Green Coop Community General Incorporated Association

Hakata Daibako Building 4F, 1-5-1 Hakataekimae, Hakata-ku, Fukuoka City

Representative Director: Yoko Hidaka

https://www.greencoop.or.jp/

In 2018, the "Green Coop Community General Incorporated Association" was established together with 16 consumer cooperatives and various organizations in Kyushu (Fukuoka, Saga, Nagasaki, Oita, Kumamoto, Miyazaki, Kagoshima), Kinki (Osaka, Hyogo, Shiga), Chugoku (Tottori, Okayama, Shimane, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi), and Fukushima, including Green Coop Consumer Cooperative Federation and Green Coop Social Welfare Corporation, and labor cooperatives. They have been active as consumer cooperatives rooted in their respective regions, sharing and cooperating with what they have as if they were one Green Coop. Starting from the desire of mothers to "feed safe and secure food to their children," they aim to enrich their respective regions.