An opposition MP who said his constituents were fed up with the stink from a local dairy farm in Smith’s wants to amend the law to allow the importation of milk to the island.

Robert King, the One Bermuda Alliance MP for Smith’s North (Constituency 10), shared a complaint sent to the Ministry of Public Works and Environment last Friday, stating: “The smell from that cow farm has been a constant all summer and particularly bad all this week.

“This is so unfair. I ask again, why is this still an issue?”

However, a spokesman for Paul Almeida, who bought Green Land Dairy Farm in 2019, responded yesterday: “We are aware of the need to be a good neighbour and have taken steps to control smell; we also take all complaints seriously.”

He added: “We are also aware of the need for farming to help support Bermuda's food security and sustainability.”

Mr King, who raised the issue of Green Land Dairy Farm last year in the House of Assembly, was told on that occasion by Jaché Adams, the minister, that the farm operators had agreed in November 2025 to “resolve all related issues”.

The farm, which is on government land at the top of Store Hill, has persistently generated complaints from neighbours about its manure run-off as well as foul smells — notably in June, when a wave of manure poured on to the adjacent Railway Trail and flooded an adjacent property with animal waste.

Over the summer, Mr King said that there had been “little to no break in the smell”.

He added: “The Government recently discussed proposed changes to landlord-tenant legislation to protect tenants and landlords and yet it does not hold its own tenant accountable.

“The message being sent to the community is clear: tenants do not need to abide by the laws and regulations governing their tenancy because the Government does not.

“The Government needs to take the bold step of amending the Dairy Act to allow the importation of milk and to dismantle the dairy farm monopoly that is destroying the land and community that surrounds it.

“I will be seeking to amend the Dairy Act for this expressed reason. The land can be repurposed to a green farm that will promote health and reduce food costs for Bermudians.”

Green Land Dairy Farm outlined its clean-up methods yesterday to The Royal Gazette.

“We empty the pit regularly and transport the manure from the pit to Marsh Folly. We also run the digester,” it said.

The farm was asked about efforts by the Government to shore up barriers to keep run-off from breaching the farm perimeter and pouring on to the Railway Trail and adjacent properties. At present, a berm is in place to stem overflow.

In November 2025, a government request for quotations published online called for a contractor to install “a series of stone barriers and soakaways” to hold back the spillage.

The farm spokesman said there had been “no dealings with the Government regarding the construction of stone walls on the farm”.

He added: “The berm was constructed to prevent any run-off during heavy rain from reaching the trail and we have improved that again recently.”

The spokesman said Mr King had not reached out to Green Land Dairy to date to “discuss any of the concerns or issues that neighbouring residents may have with the farm”.

“GLD has, however, been contacted by several MPs who have shown a genuine interest in understanding the farm’s day-to-day operations.

“They have taken the time to visit the farm on several occasions, meet with the operators and learn more about how the farm functions.”

Mr King stuck to his guns this week, saying he had told Mr Adams of his intention to push for a rethink of the milk product importation ban.

The legislation in question was the 1997 Importation of Milk (Prohibition) Act, which replaced legislation set up in 1984 that had banned imports on a year-by-year basis.

Mr King said he had recently submitted public access to information requests on complaints about Green Land Dairy Farm, saying its operators had “repeatedly demonstrated that they are unwilling or unable to comply with government regulations, laws and agreements”.

Mr King added: “The Government must lead by the right example, not one that promotes lawlessness.”

The embargo on imported milk, which covers raw milk, pasteurised milk, ultra-pasteurised milk, ultra-heat-treated milk and manufactured milk, has drawn critics over the years.

This happened notably in 2025, when a shortage of fresh milk elicited a prominent local retail head, who declined to be named, to call for change.

They added that the ban “leaves Bermudians with no alternative choices, no competition and, now, no fresh milk at all”.