1 00:00:00,433 --> 00:00:02,966 (upbeat music) 2 00:00:07,066 --> 00:00:09,033 - [Narrator] From the congestion of the Kittery Malls, 3 00:00:09,033 --> 00:00:11,800 take a right along Maine Route 101 Northwest 4 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:15,733 on Wilson and Goodwin Roads to Route 236. 5 00:00:15,733 --> 00:00:17,233 This is farming country 6 00:00:17,233 --> 00:00:19,133 and it has been for several centuries. 7 00:00:22,900 --> 00:00:24,900 - [Man] When I was younger there were many farms 8 00:00:24,900 --> 00:00:26,933 on Wilson Road and Goodwin Road. 9 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,033 Starting down at Kittery is the Pettigrew Farm. 10 00:00:30,033 --> 00:00:33,033 And then there was Nelson Pearson, 11 00:00:34,700 --> 00:00:38,700 The Johnsons, and across the street from the Johnsons 12 00:00:38,700 --> 00:00:41,700 was Woodland Dairy and Hy Rowan. 13 00:00:41,700 --> 00:00:45,300 He milked cows and he also processed milk. 14 00:00:45,300 --> 00:00:48,800 And then, the Moulton Farm, Larry Cashmere, 15 00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:50,533 who still operates that today. 16 00:00:51,700 --> 00:00:52,933 Still has cattle there. 17 00:00:54,533 --> 00:00:56,866 And then the next one would be our own. 18 00:00:56,866 --> 00:00:59,366 And then Schultz was milk cows. 19 00:00:59,366 --> 00:01:04,133 Before him was Frost in there that milked. 20 00:01:04,133 --> 00:01:07,533 (lively harmonica music) 21 00:02:06,700 --> 00:02:09,100 - [Narrator] In 1771, Daniel Goodwin 22 00:02:09,100 --> 00:02:12,500 joined other farmers on this winding country road. 23 00:02:12,500 --> 00:02:16,000 He raised 15 children and had 91 grandchildren, 24 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:18,400 many of whom settled along the same road that was 25 00:02:18,400 --> 00:02:21,333 eventually named for the many Goodwin families. 26 00:02:21,333 --> 00:02:23,866 (upbeat music) 27 00:02:30,366 --> 00:02:32,733 If you were driving here 50 years ago, 28 00:02:32,733 --> 00:02:35,100 the scenery would look much as it does today. 29 00:02:36,500 --> 00:02:38,233 During the growing season, the road is bordered 30 00:02:38,233 --> 00:02:41,266 with fields of alfalfa and corn and pastures 31 00:02:41,266 --> 00:02:43,733 of grass later to be cut for hay and silage. 32 00:02:43,733 --> 00:02:46,166 These crops feed dairy cows. 33 00:02:47,666 --> 00:02:50,200 50 years ago there were eight or nine dairy farms 34 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:53,166 along this eight mile stretch of winding road. 35 00:02:53,166 --> 00:02:55,100 Many of the farmhouses and some of the fields 36 00:02:55,100 --> 00:02:56,566 and a few of the barns remain. 37 00:03:01,733 --> 00:03:03,733 Now there are just two dairy farms, 38 00:03:03,733 --> 00:03:05,733 the last two in this area of Maine. 39 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:13,800 Five generations of the Pettigrew family operated 40 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:16,400 the first farm at the east end of Wilson Road. 41 00:03:22,800 --> 00:03:25,600 The Pettigrews were self sufficient for most of their needs. 42 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:27,433 In addition to a small dairy herd, 43 00:03:27,433 --> 00:03:29,800 the family raised barn yard animals for meat 44 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:31,666 and also had a large vegetable garden 45 00:03:31,666 --> 00:03:33,333 and a variety of fruit trees. 46 00:03:34,566 --> 00:03:37,000 Home canned vegetables, hams, turkeys, chickens, 47 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:38,566 sheep and root crops sustained 48 00:03:38,566 --> 00:03:40,566 the family through the winter. 49 00:03:40,566 --> 00:03:42,733 Many of the long gone farms along this road 50 00:03:42,733 --> 00:03:44,500 operated in a similar fashion. 51 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:49,633 Willis Pettigrew was the last working farmer 52 00:03:49,633 --> 00:03:51,633 but he stopped in the 1960s. 53 00:03:51,633 --> 00:03:54,166 Like many other farmers, Willis eventually tired 54 00:03:54,166 --> 00:03:56,433 of milking his cows twice a day in addition 55 00:03:56,433 --> 00:03:58,600 to working at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. 56 00:04:00,633 --> 00:04:03,900 Today, Willis' granddaughter has a dog kennel here. 57 00:04:06,900 --> 00:04:09,233 Just up the road is the Pearson place, 58 00:04:09,233 --> 00:04:12,033 farmed most recently by Nelson Pearson, Sr., 59 00:04:12,033 --> 00:04:14,333 who died in 2008. 60 00:04:14,333 --> 00:04:15,966 He grew up on the farm and eventually 61 00:04:15,966 --> 00:04:17,633 bought it from his mother. 62 00:04:17,633 --> 00:04:19,233 She had operated the farm herself 63 00:04:19,233 --> 00:04:22,300 for a number of years after her husband died. 64 00:04:22,300 --> 00:04:25,366 - My family bought the farm in 1921. 65 00:04:25,366 --> 00:04:30,366 And it had not been used as a farm 66 00:04:32,900 --> 00:04:37,133 for probably 30 years, it'd been going down hill. 67 00:04:37,133 --> 00:04:39,866 So, they end up clearing the land that was growing up 68 00:04:41,033 --> 00:04:45,033 and bringing it up to a more modern type farm. 69 00:04:45,033 --> 00:04:50,033 My father bought the farm from his mother about 1947 70 00:04:51,466 --> 00:04:55,133 and he kept farming and modernizing 'til about '89, 71 00:04:56,300 --> 00:04:58,666 he sold the main part of the land. 72 00:04:58,666 --> 00:05:02,433 He kept a few cows into the early 90s. 73 00:05:02,433 --> 00:05:07,100 And he hayed the property up until about 2000, 2001. 74 00:05:08,933 --> 00:05:12,033 He also had worked out, 75 00:05:12,033 --> 00:05:14,133 he worked in the woods when he was young 76 00:05:14,133 --> 00:05:17,300 to help bring in extra money for them. 77 00:05:17,300 --> 00:05:20,300 And, my mother worked on the farm. 78 00:05:20,300 --> 00:05:25,300 She also was a delivery mail, for the post office. 79 00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:32,600 My father was a true animal lover, we'll say. 80 00:05:32,600 --> 00:05:35,133 He hated to see his cows go into slaughter. 81 00:05:35,133 --> 00:05:40,133 He was a non-sentimental animal lover. 82 00:05:42,366 --> 00:05:46,600 (video camera buzz drowns out man) 83 00:05:49,633 --> 00:05:54,633 - He had 38 milking cows and then he had 84 00:05:55,800 --> 00:06:00,100 young stock usually around 50 to 55 head. 85 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:05,600 He had, I think it was about 120-some acres all together, 86 00:06:07,833 --> 00:06:12,500 some pastureland, mostly hay and corn. 87 00:06:15,266 --> 00:06:17,866 - [Narrator] Now the Pearson place is no longer a farm. 88 00:06:17,866 --> 00:06:20,700 Its barn is empty but its pastures remain productive 89 00:06:20,700 --> 00:06:22,633 as others continue to hay the fields. 90 00:06:24,966 --> 00:06:27,433 (motor hums) 91 00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,766 In 2010, Young Alex Tobey of South Berwick was haying, 92 00:06:36,766 --> 00:06:39,100 making large rolled bails for the current owner 93 00:06:39,100 --> 00:06:41,000 who has the fields mowed and bailed 94 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,600 and uses the hay for his cattle in North Berwick. 95 00:06:45,033 --> 00:06:47,466 (birds call) 96 00:06:49,266 --> 00:06:52,200 A half mile beyond the Pearson Farm is the Johnson Farm. 97 00:06:53,633 --> 00:06:56,766 The current Pearsons and Johnsons are related. 98 00:06:56,766 --> 00:06:58,600 Their grandmothers were friends in Sweden 99 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:00,966 and emigrated to the United States. 100 00:07:00,966 --> 00:07:03,166 The women married Swedish men and the families 101 00:07:03,166 --> 00:07:05,366 first settled in Massachusetts. 102 00:07:05,366 --> 00:07:07,666 In 1921, the Pearsons bought an old 103 00:07:07,666 --> 00:07:09,666 rundown farm on Wilson Road. 104 00:07:10,833 --> 00:07:12,166 The Johnsons often visited the farm 105 00:07:12,166 --> 00:07:15,000 and their son, Chester, enjoyed helping out. 106 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:16,833 Eventually, he studied agriculture 107 00:07:16,833 --> 00:07:19,333 at the University of Massachusetts. 108 00:07:19,333 --> 00:07:22,400 He also got to know the Pearson's daughter, Elsa. 109 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,166 They married and began a farm in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. 110 00:07:26,166 --> 00:07:28,266 Chet and Elsa then bought an abandoned farm 111 00:07:28,266 --> 00:07:31,700 on Wilson Road in 1947 and built a barn. 112 00:07:33,166 --> 00:07:35,333 They raised nine children and operated award-winning 113 00:07:35,333 --> 00:07:39,166 Rustlewood Farm together, until Elsa's death in 2003. 114 00:07:40,500 --> 00:07:42,566 In an oral history interview, Chester Johnson 115 00:07:42,566 --> 00:07:44,433 recalled the beginning of that farm. 116 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:48,500 - We moved to Maine in '47. 117 00:07:50,033 --> 00:07:53,700 Well this farm was George Haye's farm, 118 00:07:53,700 --> 00:07:55,666 and actually hadn't been farmed, 119 00:07:55,666 --> 00:07:57,400 I think he was the last one that mowed it, 120 00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,266 he said he hadn't mowed it for 22 years 121 00:07:59,266 --> 00:08:01,433 and I don't think it had been farmed 122 00:08:01,433 --> 00:08:04,000 for maybe like about 35 years, 123 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,133 but the land was still in pretty good shape and 124 00:08:07,133 --> 00:08:10,333 Nels let me use his tractor, well in fact 125 00:08:10,333 --> 00:08:11,733 he did most of the plowing. 126 00:08:11,733 --> 00:08:14,400 Then we moved up here and Nels let me 127 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:16,133 use the field across the road that 128 00:08:16,133 --> 00:08:18,800 was Hy Rowan's that he had used. 129 00:08:19,933 --> 00:08:22,100 That shows how farmers treat one another. 130 00:08:22,100 --> 00:08:24,633 I really appreciated that. 131 00:08:24,633 --> 00:08:26,466 He helped me build the barn and then 132 00:08:26,466 --> 00:08:28,400 he wanted all the way over to York 133 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:30,400 and rented a field over there. 134 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,733 He let me use that one field, so, 135 00:08:34,900 --> 00:08:37,233 that's the history of North Kittery 136 00:08:37,233 --> 00:08:38,666 as far as I'm concerned. 137 00:08:38,666 --> 00:08:41,833 We moved up with three kids and wound up with nine. 138 00:08:41,833 --> 00:08:44,600 (crowd laughs) 139 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:48,433 There's two still on the farm working with me now. 140 00:08:48,433 --> 00:08:50,500 I was told there were 29 dairy farms 141 00:08:50,500 --> 00:08:53,833 in the early '30s in Kittery, and now 142 00:08:54,933 --> 00:08:56,566 we're the only one left. 143 00:08:56,566 --> 00:08:58,566 - [Narrator] Today, Richard Johnson and his wife, 144 00:08:58,566 --> 00:09:00,800 Beth, operate Rustlewood Farm. 145 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:03,166 Brother David Johnson, also works on the farm 146 00:09:03,166 --> 00:09:05,133 along with several part time people 147 00:09:05,133 --> 00:09:08,500 who help with field work, milking and equipment maintenance. 148 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:18,466 - They moved up in '47 with three kids and I think 20 cows. 149 00:09:18,466 --> 00:09:20,700 They just built a brand new barn 150 00:09:20,700 --> 00:09:23,966 before they moved all the cows up. 151 00:09:23,966 --> 00:09:26,500 (upbeat music) 152 00:09:51,466 --> 00:09:52,500 Too many people can't say this, 153 00:09:52,500 --> 00:09:55,000 but I've never had another job. 154 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:58,300 I've spent my entire life working on this farm. 155 00:09:58,300 --> 00:10:03,300 I've always enjoyed the farm, always had chores to do 156 00:10:04,333 --> 00:10:06,500 from little grasshopper all the way up. 157 00:10:07,700 --> 00:10:10,133 My job here in the summertime as a kid, 158 00:10:10,133 --> 00:10:12,233 I used to let the cows out there. 159 00:10:12,233 --> 00:10:14,800 They used go out to pasture day and night. 160 00:10:15,966 --> 00:10:20,233 We actually own 320 acres of land. 161 00:10:20,233 --> 00:10:23,833 It's not all open land, it's a lot of woods and swamps, 162 00:10:23,833 --> 00:10:28,833 got a couple ponds and streams and wetlands. 163 00:10:30,900 --> 00:10:33,000 We also rent probably another 100 acres 164 00:10:34,466 --> 00:10:39,300 and I actually have 250 acres tillable of field land 165 00:10:40,466 --> 00:10:42,666 that I actually use, crop every year, 166 00:10:42,666 --> 00:10:47,500 between corn silage and raising alfalfa and grass. 167 00:10:49,466 --> 00:10:52,733 I either make silage out of the grass 168 00:10:52,733 --> 00:10:54,900 or dry it down to make bailed hay. 169 00:10:58,833 --> 00:11:01,600 - I remember when I was like 13, 170 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:05,933 I started milking cows but previous, 171 00:11:07,333 --> 00:11:09,066 I guess I would just come up here with my mom 172 00:11:09,066 --> 00:11:10,366 and get to kind of like hang out 173 00:11:10,366 --> 00:11:13,700 and ride my bike around, that sort of thing. 174 00:11:13,700 --> 00:11:17,466 I definitely learned what hard work is, for sure. 175 00:11:17,466 --> 00:11:20,466 And it's just, you know, not a lot of people 176 00:11:20,466 --> 00:11:24,200 get to live on a farm and enjoy it 177 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:26,433 and it's beautiful up here. 178 00:11:31,466 --> 00:11:34,533 - A lot of it is hands-on experience. 179 00:11:34,533 --> 00:11:36,466 I've seen about everything you could 180 00:11:36,466 --> 00:11:38,700 possibly see with cows. 181 00:11:38,700 --> 00:11:40,566 I have a veterinary that comes in, 182 00:11:40,566 --> 00:11:44,366 does preg checks with an ultrasound. 183 00:11:44,366 --> 00:11:47,366 He can detect a pregnancy at 28 days. 184 00:11:47,366 --> 00:11:51,200 Other than that, I do all the health work of the cows. 185 00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:55,466 I vaccinate 'em, I dehorn em, I hoof trim em. 186 00:11:55,466 --> 00:11:57,700 Whatever it takes to kind of keep them healthy. 187 00:11:57,700 --> 00:12:02,633 We feed them a balanced diet of corn, hay and grain. 188 00:12:04,000 --> 00:12:07,266 We grow about 60 acres off corn, probably another 60 acres 189 00:12:08,700 --> 00:12:10,466 of alfalfa and the remainder of it 190 00:12:10,466 --> 00:12:15,466 is grass that we use to chop up and make silage. 191 00:12:17,600 --> 00:12:21,633 Anything that we chop we store in Ag-Bags, 192 00:12:21,633 --> 00:12:24,100 they call 'em, they look like a great big 193 00:12:24,100 --> 00:12:26,800 white caterpillar, as my youngest boy would say. 194 00:12:27,666 --> 00:12:31,133 And, the bags are 200 feet long, 195 00:12:31,133 --> 00:12:33,133 they're nine feet in diameter and 196 00:12:33,133 --> 00:12:34,933 they're folded like an accordion 197 00:12:34,933 --> 00:12:37,600 and the machine that have will actually 198 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,433 pack it right into the bag and push 199 00:12:40,433 --> 00:12:43,500 the machine ahead as it's packing it. 200 00:12:43,500 --> 00:12:46,200 And it basically packs it to keep the air 201 00:12:46,200 --> 00:12:49,100 out of it, to keep an air tight seal 202 00:12:49,100 --> 00:12:52,600 and it stays good for quite a while 203 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:56,500 until there's a hole pole poked into the Ag-Bags from, 204 00:12:56,500 --> 00:12:58,833 crows are the biggest problems. 205 00:12:58,833 --> 00:13:02,266 Crows with corn silage, they're buggers. 206 00:13:03,500 --> 00:13:07,533 The corn is a real good energy source for cows. 207 00:13:07,533 --> 00:13:09,866 I mostly use the corn for the cows 208 00:13:09,866 --> 00:13:13,900 because I have plenty of grass for the heifers. 209 00:13:15,500 --> 00:13:18,366 Corn and alfalfa make a real good combination. 210 00:13:18,366 --> 00:13:21,000 Alfalfa is a good protein source 211 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,033 and corn is a good energy source. 212 00:13:23,033 --> 00:13:25,833 The two combined makes a real good ration 213 00:13:25,833 --> 00:13:28,533 for dairy cows, milking cows. 214 00:13:28,533 --> 00:13:30,400 They're stored all separately, 215 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:32,766 but when they're fed to the cows, 216 00:13:32,766 --> 00:13:34,000 they're all mixed together. 217 00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:38,000 When a cow takes a bite, a mouthful of feed, 218 00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:40,566 they're basically getting all the same stuff 219 00:13:40,566 --> 00:13:42,066 through every mouthful. 220 00:13:42,066 --> 00:13:46,666 We still do buy a commercial grain to balance it off. 221 00:13:46,666 --> 00:13:49,700 - We met at church and he finally caught up to me 222 00:13:49,700 --> 00:13:53,700 and asked me out, and when he told me he was 223 00:13:53,700 --> 00:13:56,533 a dairy farmer, I just thought he was pulling my leg. 224 00:13:56,533 --> 00:13:59,166 I didn't believe him, you know, until he actually 225 00:13:59,166 --> 00:14:01,300 took me to the farm and showed me around. 226 00:14:01,300 --> 00:14:03,000 I was like totally amazed. 227 00:14:09,233 --> 00:14:12,900 I register the cows like his mother used to do. 228 00:14:12,900 --> 00:14:15,900 That puts them into the Holstein association, 229 00:14:15,900 --> 00:14:19,233 gives them a name and number, it's kind of like a pedigree, 230 00:14:20,566 --> 00:14:23,300 who their mother and father, or dam and sire are. 231 00:14:23,300 --> 00:14:25,400 And it just kind of gives the information 232 00:14:25,400 --> 00:14:27,900 and makes them a little bit more valuable 233 00:14:27,900 --> 00:14:30,066 to people that may want to buy them. 234 00:14:31,400 --> 00:14:36,400 I do all the bookwork and see all the bills 235 00:14:37,566 --> 00:14:40,000 and pay everybody, all the help and 236 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:43,466 the guys that come up and do our haying for us. 237 00:14:43,466 --> 00:14:46,566 And basically keep his head screwed on tight, 238 00:14:46,566 --> 00:14:48,800 so that he can keep on farming. 239 00:14:48,800 --> 00:14:50,900 Feed him, feed and water him (laughs). 240 00:14:50,900 --> 00:14:52,066 I have to take care of the farmer 241 00:14:52,066 --> 00:14:53,900 so the farmer can take care of the cows. 242 00:14:53,900 --> 00:14:56,266 Yeah, I mean, it's a constant paycheck 243 00:14:56,266 --> 00:14:59,433 but that paycheck can vary so very greatly 244 00:14:59,433 --> 00:15:04,466 due to host of things, market value, 245 00:15:05,666 --> 00:15:07,800 what's going over as exports and imports. 246 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:12,800 It just seems like when farmers are not getting 247 00:15:13,966 --> 00:15:15,700 a good price for the milk, then they start 248 00:15:15,700 --> 00:15:18,400 adding more cows on to make more milk 249 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:20,233 and that's a problem because then you have 250 00:15:20,233 --> 00:15:22,333 a glut of milk and then you have, 251 00:15:22,333 --> 00:15:24,333 you know, a lot of cheese sitting around 252 00:15:24,333 --> 00:15:26,900 and butter and all that excess 253 00:15:26,900 --> 00:15:29,033 and that just brings your prices back down. 254 00:15:29,033 --> 00:15:33,866 Over the last 2009, it's been horrendous 255 00:15:33,866 --> 00:15:35,833 and a lot of farms had to go out of business 256 00:15:35,833 --> 00:15:38,000 because they just couldn't make it. 257 00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:40,700 So, it's a constant battle. 258 00:15:40,700 --> 00:15:42,900 And something that farmers definitely have to 259 00:15:42,900 --> 00:15:44,666 figure out what they're gonna do, 260 00:15:44,666 --> 00:15:48,166 dairy farmers I should say, how they're gonna control 261 00:15:48,166 --> 00:15:51,133 that milk so that they can get a decent price 262 00:15:51,133 --> 00:15:54,366 and that will sustain them through, you know, 263 00:15:54,366 --> 00:15:56,866 different varying times. 264 00:15:56,866 --> 00:16:01,400 - We used to hay a lot, and then we found out 265 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,600 that actually chopping and making silage 266 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:07,566 is a lot quicker, a lot less manual labor. 267 00:16:07,566 --> 00:16:09,566 I've been doing a lot of haying and selling 268 00:16:09,566 --> 00:16:11,866 the hay for horse hay or whatever. 269 00:16:11,866 --> 00:16:15,966 And I hire a lot of local neighborhood kids 270 00:16:15,966 --> 00:16:19,066 or whatever to help pick up the hay in the summertime 271 00:16:19,066 --> 00:16:21,066 and get a pretty good crew together 272 00:16:21,066 --> 00:16:24,033 and they kinda enjoy that at times. 273 00:16:24,033 --> 00:16:26,766 (engine rumbles) 274 00:16:29,866 --> 00:16:33,933 I sell most all the baled hay, the dry hay. 275 00:16:33,933 --> 00:16:37,700 I've actually baled as many as 5,000 bales. 276 00:16:39,100 --> 00:16:42,300 We have Holsteins, they're black and white, 277 00:16:42,300 --> 00:16:43,700 they're all registered. 278 00:16:43,700 --> 00:16:47,033 The actually probably average weight of our Holstein 279 00:16:47,033 --> 00:16:50,866 is anywheres between 14-1700 pounds. 280 00:16:50,866 --> 00:16:53,033 My cows right now are giving anywheres 281 00:16:53,033 --> 00:16:55,433 from 70 to 80 pounds of milk a day. 282 00:16:55,433 --> 00:17:00,433 And a gallon of milk is 8.6 pounds. 283 00:17:01,600 --> 00:17:04,933 If a cow gave 86 pounds, that would 284 00:17:04,933 --> 00:17:07,100 be 10 gallons of milk that's they give. 285 00:17:07,100 --> 00:17:08,933 And I do have cows that are giving that. 286 00:17:08,933 --> 00:17:11,500 I got some cows giving over 100 pounds of milk. 287 00:17:13,633 --> 00:17:15,866 - I have 10 Jersey cows and was 288 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:22,333 selling some raw milk here till last year 289 00:17:22,333 --> 00:17:24,600 and then I teamed up with Richard Johnson 290 00:17:24,600 --> 00:17:29,600 and Richard now milks my cows and he breeds 'em 291 00:17:30,966 --> 00:17:32,766 and they calve, they come back to the farm here 292 00:17:32,766 --> 00:17:35,666 and calve and I raise the calves for him. 293 00:17:35,666 --> 00:17:38,200 So, we're kind of working team work together. 294 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:40,166 He helps me out financially with it 295 00:17:40,166 --> 00:17:41,666 and I'm able to keep the cows. 296 00:17:42,933 --> 00:17:45,866 - Right now I have 70 milking cows 297 00:17:45,866 --> 00:17:48,833 and when you have 70 milking cows, you always have 298 00:17:48,833 --> 00:17:51,466 some that are what we call dry cows. 299 00:17:51,466 --> 00:17:54,200 In other words, they're on vacation. 300 00:17:54,200 --> 00:17:56,333 There's a period of 50 days where you don't 301 00:17:56,333 --> 00:17:59,600 actually milk em, and then after 50 days, 302 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:01,833 they'll be having their baby or calf, 303 00:18:01,833 --> 00:18:03,533 and then when they're due to calf, 304 00:18:03,533 --> 00:18:05,033 they'll actually start bagging up 305 00:18:05,033 --> 00:18:08,366 and it will, the udder will become full 306 00:18:08,366 --> 00:18:12,833 and swollen and uncomfortable and (laughs) 307 00:18:12,833 --> 00:18:14,433 and when they calf, you start milking em 308 00:18:14,433 --> 00:18:17,166 and some of them don't like but they 309 00:18:17,166 --> 00:18:19,666 appreciate it afterwards (laughs). 310 00:18:19,666 --> 00:18:20,900 - [Narrator] Richard Johnson breeds 311 00:18:20,900 --> 00:18:22,733 his dairy cows using semen delivered 312 00:18:22,733 --> 00:18:24,166 by Amy Jasmine. 313 00:18:24,166 --> 00:18:27,500 - The semen comes from bulls housed in 314 00:18:27,500 --> 00:18:30,833 Ithaca and in Shawano in Wisconsin. 315 00:18:30,833 --> 00:18:35,266 We have, we contract certain bulls 316 00:18:35,266 --> 00:18:37,100 and we also have our own dairy herd 317 00:18:37,100 --> 00:18:39,100 out in Wisconsin that we do a lot 318 00:18:39,100 --> 00:18:42,166 of research with on the semen and on the bulls. 319 00:18:42,166 --> 00:18:44,833 (machine whirs) 320 00:18:56,833 --> 00:18:58,233 I Will say that the smaller farms, 321 00:18:58,233 --> 00:19:02,300 the herds this size, they're managed well 322 00:19:02,300 --> 00:19:04,300 and those are the ones that are 323 00:19:04,300 --> 00:19:07,733 better able to stay in it, so it has gotten 324 00:19:07,733 --> 00:19:09,900 a lot better over the last year. 325 00:19:09,900 --> 00:19:11,933 The milk prices have gone up. 326 00:19:11,933 --> 00:19:14,800 The only question is, it's always a question 327 00:19:14,800 --> 00:19:16,900 hopefully they'll stay there so they can 328 00:19:16,900 --> 00:19:19,666 (laughs) keep going and make a living 329 00:19:19,666 --> 00:19:22,833 not just break even, but actually make a profit. 330 00:19:24,066 --> 00:19:28,500 - After a cow calves, the first six milkings 331 00:19:28,500 --> 00:19:32,000 we discard, it basically is colostrum milk, 332 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:34,000 that milk goes to feed the calves. 333 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:37,633 We feed em with a bottle and nipple 334 00:19:37,633 --> 00:19:40,400 (clears throat) we found out if you take 335 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:42,733 a new born calf and let it suck on the mother, 336 00:19:44,066 --> 00:19:46,733 you really don't know just how much milk 337 00:19:46,733 --> 00:19:48,566 the calf is getting in and they actually 338 00:19:48,566 --> 00:19:51,500 should get about a gallon of milk 339 00:19:51,500 --> 00:19:54,233 within the first two hours of birth 340 00:19:54,233 --> 00:19:56,833 but you only, most cows give a lot more 341 00:19:56,833 --> 00:19:58,733 than what the calf can drink, 342 00:19:58,733 --> 00:20:00,166 so we discard the rest of it. 343 00:20:01,500 --> 00:20:03,566 - The average working lifespan of a veterinary now 344 00:20:03,566 --> 00:20:08,133 is 30 years and three months and I've done it for 46. 345 00:20:08,133 --> 00:20:10,300 I absolutely love what I do. 346 00:20:10,300 --> 00:20:14,466 Many of my young farmers now have advanced degrees 347 00:20:14,466 --> 00:20:18,633 in bovine nutrition, bovine genetics 348 00:20:18,633 --> 00:20:22,766 agronomy, type of thing and so I'm dealing 349 00:20:22,766 --> 00:20:26,600 with a much higher educated population. 350 00:20:27,900 --> 00:20:32,633 My work in many respects is consulting, 351 00:20:33,866 --> 00:20:38,133 more than hands on, I've got Rick trained 352 00:20:38,133 --> 00:20:40,566 to do a lot of things and helping 353 00:20:40,566 --> 00:20:43,000 with delivery of calves coming, 354 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:45,300 that I used to have to run and do myself. 355 00:20:45,300 --> 00:20:49,666 I have him trained in preventative health care. 356 00:20:49,666 --> 00:20:51,566 He's very very good at it. 357 00:20:52,733 --> 00:20:54,433 Rick Johnson and this Johnson Farm 358 00:20:54,433 --> 00:20:58,400 is one of the good farms in Northern New England 359 00:20:58,400 --> 00:21:01,033 and a few years back, they won 360 00:21:01,033 --> 00:21:03,400 what was called the Green Pastures Award 361 00:21:03,400 --> 00:21:06,166 which is the top dairy farm in the state of Maine. 362 00:21:06,166 --> 00:21:08,733 (upbeat music) 363 00:21:10,833 --> 00:21:12,500 - [Narrator] Across the street from the Johnson Farm 364 00:21:12,500 --> 00:21:14,700 is the former Woodland Dairy. 365 00:21:14,700 --> 00:21:16,133 Harry Cook started the business, 366 00:21:16,133 --> 00:21:18,066 but it was later acquired by Hy Rowan, 367 00:21:18,066 --> 00:21:19,133 who lived and worked there with 368 00:21:19,133 --> 00:21:20,700 his wife and 10 children. 369 00:21:20,700 --> 00:21:22,566 They had a dairy herd in processed milk 370 00:21:22,566 --> 00:21:24,166 acquired from other farmers. 371 00:21:24,166 --> 00:21:26,500 The dairy closed in the 1960s. 372 00:21:26,500 --> 00:21:28,233 Robert Rowan, the youngest children, 373 00:21:28,233 --> 00:21:30,133 and his daughter Jenna live there now 374 00:21:30,133 --> 00:21:31,966 and both of them work part time milking 375 00:21:31,966 --> 00:21:33,733 for the Johnsons. 376 00:21:33,733 --> 00:21:37,300 - Dad had a pasteurizing plant down the stairs 377 00:21:39,233 --> 00:21:42,800 and he pasteurized milk and delivered it door to door 378 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:45,800 and delivered on Saturday and on my days off 379 00:21:45,800 --> 00:21:49,800 I used to go with him and deliver milk. 380 00:21:49,800 --> 00:21:51,833 Father had Holsteins. 381 00:21:51,833 --> 00:21:53,300 - Holsteins? - He had some golden 382 00:21:53,300 --> 00:21:55,533 Guernseys to start with, but as everybody knows, 383 00:21:55,533 --> 00:21:57,300 the Holsteins give more milk, and so they 384 00:21:57,300 --> 00:22:01,033 he gradually switched over to all Holsteins. 385 00:22:04,633 --> 00:22:07,466 It's called green cut where he went from 386 00:22:08,633 --> 00:22:09,900 the chopper, green cut everything, 387 00:22:09,900 --> 00:22:13,200 and take it back to the bunk silo, 388 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:14,966 unload it, and then a tractor would 389 00:22:14,966 --> 00:22:17,933 ride over it back and forth to pack it down. 390 00:22:19,366 --> 00:22:23,566 (cows moo) (machine whirs) 391 00:22:23,566 --> 00:22:26,733 - [Jenna] So I've been milking the cows for 10 years. 392 00:22:26,733 --> 00:22:28,533 I started when I twas 14 years old, 393 00:22:28,533 --> 00:22:31,300 learned how to milk a cow and 394 00:22:31,300 --> 00:22:33,066 I've been using obviously the machines 395 00:22:33,066 --> 00:22:35,433 that they have here, so I help out 396 00:22:35,433 --> 00:22:38,133 milking, just the milking portion. 397 00:22:38,133 --> 00:22:41,033 Yeah, originally I was very frightened. 398 00:22:41,033 --> 00:22:42,466 I was very frightened of the cows, 399 00:22:42,466 --> 00:22:45,200 and they can kick, so it can hurt 400 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:49,133 and at times I've been hurt, but a lot 401 00:22:49,133 --> 00:22:51,900 of people ask me if I like farming 402 00:22:51,900 --> 00:22:54,233 and enjoy the cows and more so I really 403 00:22:54,233 --> 00:22:56,033 like helping out Ricky, he has a lot to do 404 00:22:56,033 --> 00:22:58,866 on the farm and it's a good job 405 00:22:58,866 --> 00:23:00,133 and such like that, so it's good, 406 00:23:00,133 --> 00:23:02,833 hard honest work and boss taught me a lot 407 00:23:02,833 --> 00:23:06,100 about what it is to work and the work ethic here. 408 00:23:06,100 --> 00:23:07,933 Definitely has one of those here, so. 409 00:23:09,300 --> 00:23:11,966 (machine whirs) 410 00:23:14,266 --> 00:23:17,133 - Been driving, hauling milk since 1965 411 00:23:18,300 --> 00:23:21,233 and it's been a long time, really. 412 00:23:21,233 --> 00:23:24,266 On this road, I've been driving on this road there 413 00:23:24,266 --> 00:23:27,433 for quite a few years, had about five, 414 00:23:27,433 --> 00:23:31,700 six farms I used to pick up then on this road. 415 00:23:31,700 --> 00:23:35,800 One of them was David Leavitt and Larry Cashmere, 416 00:23:36,933 --> 00:23:40,933 and Freddy Schultz, and Mr Johnson over here 417 00:23:42,033 --> 00:23:45,300 and then his, there's another farm 418 00:23:45,300 --> 00:23:47,333 down the road's a relation to him 419 00:23:47,333 --> 00:23:50,200 over there down the road and 420 00:23:52,133 --> 00:23:54,866 I've picked up a lot of milk in my days. 421 00:23:54,866 --> 00:23:58,333 Years ago, a big farm, that was two, 422 00:23:58,333 --> 00:24:01,500 three thousand pounds of milk, now it's 423 00:24:01,500 --> 00:24:05,333 a big farm is 30,000, that's half a truck load. 424 00:24:05,333 --> 00:24:10,000 That's the way it is now, 'cause they had to 425 00:24:10,000 --> 00:24:13,266 put up more volume so they could make it. 426 00:24:15,566 --> 00:24:18,533 But I've seen a lot of farms go out of business. 427 00:24:18,533 --> 00:24:21,566 (machine beeps) (machine whirs) 428 00:24:21,566 --> 00:24:23,900 Yeah, got 16 farms and one day and put it 429 00:24:23,900 --> 00:24:27,600 in a 3500 gallon tank, we thought 430 00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:30,833 that was pretty good (laughs) but now 431 00:24:30,833 --> 00:24:35,833 we're hauling 69,000 pound on a 22 wheeler 432 00:24:36,666 --> 00:24:38,766 and so that's pretty good. 433 00:24:39,833 --> 00:24:42,366 Today's going to Franklin, Mass, 434 00:24:42,366 --> 00:24:45,600 over at Garelick and that's where 435 00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:48,166 I've been hauling every other day I go there. 436 00:24:49,600 --> 00:24:52,200 Hood's, sometimes we go over to Hood's 437 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:54,833 when they need it in Portland. 438 00:24:56,533 --> 00:25:01,566 And West Lynn in Lynn, Mass, we go there. 439 00:25:02,900 --> 00:25:04,466 Started six o'clock this morning 440 00:25:05,833 --> 00:25:08,066 and I won't get back to garage until 441 00:25:08,066 --> 00:25:09,733 probably about eight o'clock tonight 442 00:25:09,733 --> 00:25:13,266 if everything goes good (laughs) 443 00:25:13,266 --> 00:25:17,266 and so it is, you know, that's milk business. 444 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,400 You never know. (machine whirs) 445 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:23,066 - [Narrator] Larry and Nancy Cashmere moved 446 00:25:23,066 --> 00:25:25,666 to the Moulton Farm in 1973. 447 00:25:25,666 --> 00:25:27,800 He is descended from Major Joseph Hammond 448 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:30,600 who arrived in South Eliot in 1670. 449 00:25:31,766 --> 00:25:33,100 Later members of the Hammond family 450 00:25:33,100 --> 00:25:35,666 spread to East Eliot and York. 451 00:25:35,666 --> 00:25:37,733 A Hammond daughter married a Moulton, 452 00:25:37,733 --> 00:25:39,566 beginning the Moulton farm. 453 00:25:39,566 --> 00:25:42,733 Sylvester Moulton built the current house in 1840. 454 00:25:44,300 --> 00:25:45,966 Although no longer dairy farming, 455 00:25:45,966 --> 00:25:47,800 Cashmere still has a small herd. 456 00:25:47,800 --> 00:25:50,100 More pets than anything else, and he does 457 00:25:50,100 --> 00:25:52,400 custom sawing with a portable rig. 458 00:25:52,400 --> 00:25:54,933 His 150 acres of fields and woods 459 00:25:54,933 --> 00:25:56,633 stretches from Goodwin Road to the 460 00:25:56,633 --> 00:25:58,800 marshes of the York River. 461 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:00,466 Larry hopes that one day, his land 462 00:26:00,466 --> 00:26:02,500 will be preserved as open space. 463 00:26:03,500 --> 00:26:06,366 - We moved here in 1973. 464 00:26:07,900 --> 00:26:09,133 Over the course of three years, 465 00:26:09,133 --> 00:26:12,033 we got the place ready to start milking cows 466 00:26:12,033 --> 00:26:14,800 and so in '76 we started shipping milk, 467 00:26:14,800 --> 00:26:16,633 in September of '76. 468 00:26:19,866 --> 00:26:23,200 I had the bright idea I wanted to be a dairy farmer. 469 00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:26,000 (laughs) I did it till '99. 470 00:26:27,966 --> 00:26:29,966 Yeah, and it got to a point where 471 00:26:29,966 --> 00:26:34,300 I decided the price of milk goes down, 472 00:26:34,300 --> 00:26:35,633 the kids were all gone. 473 00:26:37,033 --> 00:26:39,133 It's just too much work for the two of us. 474 00:26:40,833 --> 00:26:44,533 So I figured now's the time to get rid of the animals. 475 00:26:46,466 --> 00:26:48,966 We had 91 milkers and we had 90 heifers 476 00:26:48,966 --> 00:26:51,500 so we had about 180, 181 head. 477 00:26:53,166 --> 00:26:56,133 I think it was bigger than Johnsons even, yeah. 478 00:26:56,133 --> 00:26:59,300 Johnsons at the time about 160 head, I believe. 479 00:27:00,400 --> 00:27:02,933 Yeah, they're my pets, there's 20 of em. 480 00:27:04,133 --> 00:27:05,533 Nah, just I don't know, I just like 481 00:27:05,533 --> 00:27:07,800 having em around (laughs) I don't know. 482 00:27:09,033 --> 00:27:11,133 Everybody asks me, why do I keep em 483 00:27:11,133 --> 00:27:13,500 I don't know, I still grow corn, 484 00:27:13,500 --> 00:27:16,533 I still crow 19 acres of corn. 485 00:27:16,533 --> 00:27:18,966 I still maintain the fields. 486 00:27:20,100 --> 00:27:22,200 Back in the '70s we bought some land 487 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,633 so it's up to a area of 150 acres. 488 00:27:27,033 --> 00:27:29,600 Not much for row furnace, it all goes down back. 489 00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:31,366 I don't know so much of the saw mill's just 490 00:27:31,366 --> 00:27:33,433 something to do, something else to do. 491 00:27:33,433 --> 00:27:37,033 I enjoy cutting wood, I need to cut wood 492 00:27:37,033 --> 00:27:40,733 for my own use, people come around 493 00:27:40,733 --> 00:27:44,533 like they have some logs cut out for themselves. 494 00:27:44,533 --> 00:27:47,266 They like the thicker number, especially 495 00:27:47,266 --> 00:27:50,200 for your older homes, they require a little bit 496 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:52,033 thicker than what there is today. 497 00:27:55,533 --> 00:27:57,200 - [Narrator] In Eliot the rolling fields 498 00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:59,866 of David and Jeannie Leavitt, once a dairy farm 499 00:27:59,866 --> 00:28:02,000 and now a productive haying operation, 500 00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:03,766 catches the eyes of passers by. 501 00:28:04,966 --> 00:28:06,600 The beauty of the roadside hay field 502 00:28:06,600 --> 00:28:09,333 belies its utilitarian purpose. 503 00:28:09,333 --> 00:28:11,433 The story of the Leavitt family is typical 504 00:28:11,433 --> 00:28:13,966 of many former diary farms. 505 00:28:13,966 --> 00:28:16,633 (machine whirs) 506 00:28:21,633 --> 00:28:23,300 - I started in 1958. 507 00:28:24,533 --> 00:28:27,300 My father had decided he did not wanna 508 00:28:27,300 --> 00:28:29,266 milk cows anymore, my brother and I 509 00:28:29,266 --> 00:28:32,800 didn't want the cows to go and we agreed to 510 00:28:32,800 --> 00:28:34,100 keep milking them even though we were 511 00:28:34,100 --> 00:28:36,466 still in high school, I was a senior at the time 512 00:28:36,466 --> 00:28:37,766 my brother was a freshman. 513 00:28:39,666 --> 00:28:41,500 I graduated from high school, I also 514 00:28:41,500 --> 00:28:44,266 played baseball through the fall season. 515 00:28:44,266 --> 00:28:46,433 My brother would milk nights so I could do that 516 00:28:46,433 --> 00:28:50,000 and that was the very beginning. 517 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,700 (machine whirs) 518 00:28:55,666 --> 00:29:00,566 My father lost his farm in a disastrous fire in 1956. 519 00:29:02,333 --> 00:29:05,000 (fire crackles) 520 00:29:06,233 --> 00:29:10,100 He was not comfortable with borrowing money 521 00:29:10,100 --> 00:29:12,866 and the credit that had been extended to him 522 00:29:12,866 --> 00:29:14,833 to get going again and he wanted out 523 00:29:15,666 --> 00:29:17,533 and that's when my brother and I 524 00:29:17,533 --> 00:29:19,733 decided to milk the cows. 525 00:29:19,733 --> 00:29:24,733 In 1963, I purchased the cattle and the machinery from him 526 00:29:25,900 --> 00:29:28,500 and then later on, I purchased the farm 527 00:29:28,500 --> 00:29:31,933 I think about 1965, didn't have a house on it, 528 00:29:31,933 --> 00:29:35,200 my father kept his house, but I bought the barns 529 00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:39,500 and all the land, and then about 530 00:29:41,033 --> 00:29:44,033 1967, Jeanne and I built a new house 531 00:29:44,033 --> 00:29:46,033 down where the new barn was located 532 00:29:47,166 --> 00:29:51,166 and I bought other land and added to that 533 00:29:51,166 --> 00:29:54,400 and at one time I owned about 232 acres 534 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,666 of which about 105 were crop land. 535 00:29:57,666 --> 00:30:01,100 It grew all the feed for the dairy herd that we had 536 00:30:01,100 --> 00:30:03,333 and we only had to buy the grain. 537 00:30:03,333 --> 00:30:05,666 After we got rid of the cows, we sold some 538 00:30:05,666 --> 00:30:09,033 of that land off, so that the present operation 539 00:30:09,033 --> 00:30:12,333 is 131 acres left here and about 60 540 00:30:12,333 --> 00:30:16,000 to 65 of that is crop land that we hay. 541 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:20,000 When we first got married, Jeanne worked 542 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:21,666 on the Air Base Exchange. 543 00:30:21,666 --> 00:30:23,333 When she was pregnant with the first child 544 00:30:23,333 --> 00:30:27,100 she came back on the farm, worked on the farm with me. 545 00:30:27,100 --> 00:30:29,666 (upbeat music) 546 00:30:32,866 --> 00:30:34,400 - It's been nice being a farmer's wife 547 00:30:34,400 --> 00:30:36,733 raising our children here. 548 00:30:36,733 --> 00:30:41,266 They've worked hard, kept em out of trouble. 549 00:30:42,733 --> 00:30:44,233 They've learned a lot of things 550 00:30:44,233 --> 00:30:45,700 that they've been able to take with em 551 00:30:45,700 --> 00:30:48,833 into their adult life and they've all 552 00:30:48,833 --> 00:30:52,500 got different jobs now that don't pertain 553 00:30:52,500 --> 00:30:54,333 to the farm but they seem to come back 554 00:30:54,333 --> 00:30:57,600 and help us on the farm. 555 00:30:57,600 --> 00:30:59,100 So they still enjoy it. 556 00:31:06,433 --> 00:31:08,733 - My farming knowledge and genes 557 00:31:08,733 --> 00:31:10,433 would go back through my mother's 558 00:31:10,433 --> 00:31:13,566 side of the family, her father John S. Barnard 559 00:31:13,566 --> 00:31:15,600 came to Eliot in 1906 and he bought 560 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:18,566 the airport property, it was about 260 acres 561 00:31:18,566 --> 00:31:21,500 in that at the time, he was an orchard farmer, 562 00:31:21,500 --> 00:31:23,066 he had other businesses, he milked 563 00:31:23,066 --> 00:31:24,800 a few cows and did a lot of things 564 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,500 but my mother grew up on that hill over there 565 00:31:28,500 --> 00:31:32,733 at the airport and she married the farmer, 566 00:31:32,733 --> 00:31:34,500 Mills Goodwin, who owned this farm 567 00:31:34,500 --> 00:31:38,566 out here on Goodwin Road, and he only lived 568 00:31:38,566 --> 00:31:42,100 a year and he died and she became 569 00:31:42,100 --> 00:31:44,333 the sole owner of the place. 570 00:31:44,333 --> 00:31:46,433 And my grandfather that was called on there, 571 00:31:46,433 --> 00:31:49,233 he milked his cows at the airport 572 00:31:49,233 --> 00:31:51,733 and he came over and took care of her herd of cows 573 00:31:51,733 --> 00:31:54,633 and eventually he moved his over here 574 00:31:54,633 --> 00:31:56,500 and he still, he ran the whole place 575 00:31:56,500 --> 00:32:01,466 which was probably 350-400 acres of land 576 00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:05,633 that he farmed and. 577 00:32:05,633 --> 00:32:08,500 My father started working for him 578 00:32:08,500 --> 00:32:11,533 and eventually married my mother 579 00:32:12,700 --> 00:32:15,733 and everything was going great because 580 00:32:15,733 --> 00:32:17,233 my grandfather was running the place 581 00:32:17,233 --> 00:32:19,300 my father was just really a hired hand around here 582 00:32:19,300 --> 00:32:21,566 but when my grandfather died, he became 583 00:32:21,566 --> 00:32:25,200 the soul operator and he did not like that. 584 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:26,800 He really didn't. 585 00:32:27,966 --> 00:32:29,200 I can remember now when I was a kid 586 00:32:29,200 --> 00:32:31,133 following him round the barn, he used to 587 00:32:31,133 --> 00:32:33,133 turn his hat around backwards when 588 00:32:33,133 --> 00:32:34,366 he was milking the cows and he'd lean up 589 00:32:34,366 --> 00:32:36,566 on the flanks and he was singing away 590 00:32:36,566 --> 00:32:38,666 over and over he said once I was happy, 591 00:32:38,666 --> 00:32:41,000 but look at me now, I'm tied to the tail 592 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,633 of this old brown cow (laughs) 593 00:32:43,633 --> 00:32:46,933 and so when I came along and he had 594 00:32:46,933 --> 00:32:49,466 an opportunity to get out and it took him 595 00:32:49,466 --> 00:32:51,366 20 years, he had a 20 year detour 596 00:32:51,366 --> 00:32:52,800 on what he wanted to do before he 597 00:32:52,800 --> 00:32:56,500 before I came along and took over the farm 598 00:32:56,500 --> 00:32:58,233 and he could leave and he went on 599 00:32:58,233 --> 00:32:59,800 to work for the state of Maine 600 00:32:59,800 --> 00:33:02,300 as a field man for the Tax Bureau 601 00:33:02,300 --> 00:33:04,533 but when Jeanne got more involved 602 00:33:04,533 --> 00:33:06,533 in the operation, we decided to 603 00:33:06,533 --> 00:33:09,400 go with registered Holsteins and 604 00:33:10,700 --> 00:33:12,366 that's when we decided we'd set a number 605 00:33:12,366 --> 00:33:14,866 that we would milk just 40 and just 606 00:33:14,866 --> 00:33:17,566 try to keep improving the herd and culling out 607 00:33:17,566 --> 00:33:20,133 the less desirable ones. 608 00:33:20,133 --> 00:33:22,200 We didn't feed much hay. 609 00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:25,400 We'd feed maybe four, five, six pounds of hay 610 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:29,033 per cow per day, we chopped all the first crop 611 00:33:29,033 --> 00:33:31,600 put it in the silos and we could do that 612 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:34,100 earlier in the year and it made better feed, 613 00:33:34,100 --> 00:33:37,766 higher protein and we used to grow alfalfa 614 00:33:37,766 --> 00:33:42,766 for the protein and that is a hard crop 615 00:33:44,566 --> 00:33:46,533 to make in the hay anyway, so that's the only thing 616 00:33:46,533 --> 00:33:48,300 this part of the country you can do with it 617 00:33:48,300 --> 00:33:49,633 is to make it into silage. 618 00:33:50,800 --> 00:33:52,300 We used that for the protein source 619 00:33:52,300 --> 00:33:54,566 and then we grew corn silage for the energy. 620 00:33:54,566 --> 00:33:57,700 Then we blended those two in a feed wagon 621 00:33:57,700 --> 00:33:59,733 and we fed it right on top of the ground 622 00:33:59,733 --> 00:34:02,533 to the cows at the feed bunk and they stood out there 623 00:34:02,533 --> 00:34:06,333 in the sleet, the rain, snow, wind whatever 624 00:34:06,333 --> 00:34:07,433 and they ate (laughs). 625 00:34:12,433 --> 00:34:15,200 When we first started, we hired part-timers. 626 00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:17,766 Larry Cashmere took in work for us 627 00:34:17,766 --> 00:34:20,266 for two years, he milked once a day for us 628 00:34:20,266 --> 00:34:23,600 that helped, then following him, 629 00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:25,333 Robert Rowan worked here. 630 00:34:25,333 --> 00:34:27,366 Paul Randalf comes to mind as one of em. 631 00:34:30,166 --> 00:34:31,933 - I went to work for Frank Sergeant, 632 00:34:31,933 --> 00:34:34,466 who lived over on the Beech Road and 633 00:34:35,600 --> 00:34:37,033 Frank took me over one day to see 634 00:34:37,033 --> 00:34:41,300 David Leavitt and David Leavitt gave me a job. 635 00:34:41,300 --> 00:34:44,000 I was 11 years old and I worked 636 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:46,700 every day after school and Saturday 637 00:34:46,700 --> 00:34:51,300 and Sundays and I enjoyed it immensely. 638 00:34:52,533 --> 00:34:54,933 (cock crows) 639 00:34:57,700 --> 00:34:59,300 - We had full time help. 640 00:34:59,300 --> 00:35:00,800 We had the time off, but we didn't have 641 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,666 as much money to travel or do what we wanted 642 00:35:03,666 --> 00:35:06,933 and it just, the farm wasn't big enough 643 00:35:06,933 --> 00:35:09,833 to support two families with it 644 00:35:10,900 --> 00:35:12,833 and we milked cows for 30 years 645 00:35:14,166 --> 00:35:16,433 and then in the 1980s, the dairy business 646 00:35:16,433 --> 00:35:21,166 turned down, for us anyway, and we decided 647 00:35:21,166 --> 00:35:24,000 that it was time to take the money out 648 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:27,533 and we sold the herd. 649 00:35:27,533 --> 00:35:30,100 (upbeat music) 650 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:42,833 Well after we sold the cows, I thought 651 00:35:42,833 --> 00:35:44,200 I was gonna retire (laughs). 652 00:35:45,566 --> 00:35:48,566 Well I found out that I didn't like that particularly, 653 00:35:48,566 --> 00:35:53,400 and also pay the taxes and keep things up 654 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:56,433 that we needed and wanted, I needed 655 00:35:56,433 --> 00:35:59,166 more income, so we decided to go back 656 00:35:59,166 --> 00:36:02,900 into the haying business and there's a pretty good 657 00:36:02,900 --> 00:36:04,166 market in this part of the country 658 00:36:04,166 --> 00:36:06,000 for a small bale of hay, for the horse people 659 00:36:06,000 --> 00:36:08,433 and alpacas and sheep and goats and 660 00:36:09,433 --> 00:36:13,433 a lot of small farms buy hay and 661 00:36:13,433 --> 00:36:17,900 that has become profitable for a side line. 662 00:36:17,900 --> 00:36:20,400 It would be hard to make a full living on it 663 00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:22,333 but on our small farm, it's very good 664 00:36:22,333 --> 00:36:27,333 supplemental income and in 2011, 665 00:36:28,233 --> 00:36:29,733 we put 8100 bales of hay. 666 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:33,233 Up until just a short time ago, 667 00:36:33,233 --> 00:36:36,566 I did that haying pretty much myself. 668 00:36:36,566 --> 00:36:39,100 We took in, we bought an automatic bail wagon 669 00:36:39,100 --> 00:36:41,333 which picks that hay up in the field 670 00:36:41,333 --> 00:36:44,066 and sets it into the barn and 671 00:36:44,066 --> 00:36:46,000 you don't have to stack it. 672 00:36:46,000 --> 00:36:48,166 The mulch barn we still stack by hand 673 00:36:48,166 --> 00:36:50,733 and my kids were called in to help on that 674 00:36:50,733 --> 00:36:53,733 and they did so, but at one time, 675 00:36:53,733 --> 00:36:57,100 I mowed the hay, I tended the hay 676 00:36:57,100 --> 00:36:59,733 I raked the hay, I baled the hay and hauled the hay 677 00:36:59,733 --> 00:37:01,733 and that hay wasn't touched by human hands 678 00:37:01,733 --> 00:37:02,833 until we loaded in on a truck and 679 00:37:02,833 --> 00:37:05,400 sold it to customers. 680 00:37:05,400 --> 00:37:08,000 (upbeat music) 681 00:37:37,866 --> 00:37:39,166 - [Narrator] Just beyond the Leavitt farm 682 00:37:39,166 --> 00:37:41,533 is the home of Eleanor Pearsall. 683 00:37:41,533 --> 00:37:43,666 For several decades, she and her husband David 684 00:37:43,666 --> 00:37:45,666 sold and serviced Case farm tractors 685 00:37:45,666 --> 00:37:47,700 and related farming equipment. 686 00:37:47,700 --> 00:37:50,133 Born 84 years ago in the house 687 00:37:50,133 --> 00:37:52,666 where she now lives, Eleanor remembers when 688 00:37:52,666 --> 00:37:55,466 nearly every place on Goodwin Road was a farm. 689 00:37:55,466 --> 00:37:56,400 (upbeat music) Most of them owned 690 00:37:56,400 --> 00:37:57,833 by families named Goodwin. 691 00:38:00,133 --> 00:38:03,066 - One day my husband came in and he said 692 00:38:03,066 --> 00:38:06,133 you know, he said, the man from Massachusetts 693 00:38:06,133 --> 00:38:09,200 from Rowley that repairs Case tractors 694 00:38:09,200 --> 00:38:10,700 keeps coming in here, he keeps 695 00:38:10,700 --> 00:38:13,366 coming down to repair Mr. Blake's tractors, 696 00:38:13,366 --> 00:38:16,366 he has two Case tractors and he's getting tired 697 00:38:16,366 --> 00:38:17,866 of coming all this way to put in 698 00:38:17,866 --> 00:38:20,566 a 50 cent bolt, so he came in and he said 699 00:38:20,566 --> 00:38:22,400 to my husband, why don't you take on 700 00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:24,766 the Case franchise tractor business. 701 00:38:24,766 --> 00:38:26,566 So my husband came in and he said 702 00:38:26,566 --> 00:38:28,366 how would you like to get into tractor business 703 00:38:28,366 --> 00:38:30,233 and I said my, I don't know anything about it 704 00:38:30,233 --> 00:38:32,300 but I guess we could, and I pictured 705 00:38:32,300 --> 00:38:34,900 one tractor In the yard out here. 706 00:38:34,900 --> 00:38:37,366 Little did I know they came by 12s. 707 00:38:37,366 --> 00:38:41,133 They came by 12 agricultural and 12 industrial. 708 00:38:41,133 --> 00:38:43,033 They came by 12 manure spreaders, 709 00:38:43,033 --> 00:38:46,866 12 plows, 12 bailors, 12 rakes, 710 00:38:46,866 --> 00:38:50,400 and I had panic city when I of course 711 00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:54,400 saw the invoices coming in, but we made a go of it. 712 00:38:54,400 --> 00:38:56,533 I worked nights nursing and then I'd work 713 00:38:56,533 --> 00:38:58,366 in the garage in the parts department all day. 714 00:38:58,366 --> 00:39:02,500 I didn't know a bailor needle from 715 00:39:02,500 --> 00:39:05,166 the plowshare, but I sure learned (laughs). 716 00:39:06,866 --> 00:39:08,133 - [Narrator] John Sullivan was 717 00:39:08,133 --> 00:39:09,866 a farm worker in his youth, but he spent 718 00:39:09,866 --> 00:39:11,866 his working life elsewhere. 719 00:39:11,866 --> 00:39:13,266 What remained for him was a love 720 00:39:13,266 --> 00:39:15,166 of tractors and eventually, he began 721 00:39:15,166 --> 00:39:16,800 to buy old tractors and restore them. 722 00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:19,333 One or two tractors have led to many more, 723 00:39:19,333 --> 00:39:21,866 mostly bright green John Deeres. 724 00:39:24,100 --> 00:39:26,500 - Well, when I worked down here on this farm, 725 00:39:26,500 --> 00:39:31,500 I used the John Deere, that John Deere B here, 726 00:39:32,366 --> 00:39:34,633 the John Deere A, he used that, 727 00:39:34,633 --> 00:39:38,300 and I used the John Deere B and 728 00:39:38,300 --> 00:39:40,766 when I got out of Simplex, went to 729 00:39:40,766 --> 00:39:43,133 the Navy Yard to work, there was a guy 730 00:39:43,133 --> 00:39:47,100 in there looking for a cut down tractor 731 00:39:47,100 --> 00:39:48,933 and the guy in the machine shop 732 00:39:48,933 --> 00:39:51,700 said he had a regular tractor. 733 00:39:51,700 --> 00:39:54,933 He said it was a John Deere, this guy 734 00:39:54,933 --> 00:39:56,866 said I don't want it, would you like it, 735 00:39:56,866 --> 00:39:59,500 you like John Deeres, so I went up 736 00:39:59,500 --> 00:40:02,466 to look at it and ended up buying that. 737 00:40:02,466 --> 00:40:05,600 While we was waiting for the coil to dry 738 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:08,500 in the oven to get it started, 739 00:40:08,500 --> 00:40:11,200 we went over to his father's, which was 740 00:40:11,200 --> 00:40:14,500 Fred Oback, and he had another John Deere, 741 00:40:14,500 --> 00:40:16,966 the same model with a mowing machine on it 742 00:40:16,966 --> 00:40:21,966 out in the barn so we looked at that and 743 00:40:23,133 --> 00:40:24,600 then he said we've got another one 744 00:40:24,600 --> 00:40:27,133 for what we use for parts out in the pasture, 745 00:40:27,133 --> 00:40:29,466 so I went and looked at that and ended up 746 00:40:29,466 --> 00:40:32,700 buying all three of em and bringing em home. 747 00:40:32,700 --> 00:40:35,866 I sold one, used the other one for parts 748 00:40:35,866 --> 00:40:40,766 and I ended up buying John Deere Ls and LAs, 749 00:40:40,766 --> 00:40:43,333 I had about six of them for a while but 750 00:40:43,333 --> 00:40:46,033 I didn't like them too good and I bought 751 00:40:46,033 --> 00:40:49,966 these big As what I use in the parade. 752 00:40:49,966 --> 00:40:54,133 Got one there that's 1936, I pulled it all apart 753 00:40:54,133 --> 00:40:57,100 sand blasted it, primed it and painted it 754 00:40:57,100 --> 00:41:00,533 and put new fenders, tires, rings, 755 00:41:00,533 --> 00:41:04,500 valve job and done it all over I used that 756 00:41:04,500 --> 00:41:08,033 in parades, shows all the time 757 00:41:08,033 --> 00:41:12,200 and I got a John Deere 40 that I just done 758 00:41:12,200 --> 00:41:16,166 redone last year, I got a John Deere H 759 00:41:16,166 --> 00:41:18,533 in the shed, one of the first ones 760 00:41:18,533 --> 00:41:22,066 I ever bought there, and I got a couple 761 00:41:22,066 --> 00:41:25,000 more John Deere As hanging around here. 762 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:29,900 And I bought a Kubota way back when they 763 00:41:29,900 --> 00:41:32,666 first came out to mow my lawn with. 764 00:41:32,666 --> 00:41:36,400 I ended up I got three of them now 765 00:41:36,400 --> 00:41:39,366 and I got a Silver King in the shed. 766 00:41:39,366 --> 00:41:43,366 I got a Gibson in the shed and I got 767 00:41:45,033 --> 00:41:47,533 seven pedal tractors, all different makes 768 00:41:47,533 --> 00:41:50,333 here and there, yep (laughs). 769 00:41:52,600 --> 00:41:55,033 - Bert Tuttle knew farmers were a thirsty bunch 770 00:41:55,033 --> 00:41:57,733 so in 1903, he bought a used cider press 771 00:41:57,733 --> 00:41:59,833 and began King Tut's Cider Mill, 772 00:41:59,833 --> 00:42:02,466 turning out barrels of cider for local consumption. 773 00:42:03,600 --> 00:42:05,100 Now, more than a hundred years later, 774 00:42:05,100 --> 00:42:06,800 Bert's grandson, Ken, continues 775 00:42:06,800 --> 00:42:09,333 the family tradition using the original press 776 00:42:09,333 --> 00:42:11,400 in the original building. 777 00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:12,900 From late September through the end 778 00:42:12,900 --> 00:42:14,933 of the year, Tuttle produces choice, 779 00:42:14,933 --> 00:42:17,000 sweet cider from crisp Maine apples. 780 00:42:19,466 --> 00:42:22,000 - Yep, my grandfather bought the mill used 781 00:42:22,000 --> 00:42:25,100 and he put it together in 1903, so I'm not sure 782 00:42:25,100 --> 00:42:27,166 how old the thing really is, but it's been 783 00:42:27,166 --> 00:42:28,966 running every yeah since. 784 00:42:28,966 --> 00:42:31,000 (machines whir) 785 00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:33,600 And we had a farm, we had about 200 acres 786 00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:36,833 of dairy farm and he put the mill in 787 00:42:36,833 --> 00:42:39,633 just to make cider for the farmers. 788 00:42:39,633 --> 00:42:42,400 (machine clacks) 789 00:42:43,466 --> 00:42:45,100 Every farm had their own orchard 790 00:42:45,100 --> 00:42:48,433 so he was only open for four weeks 791 00:42:48,433 --> 00:42:50,566 out of the year just while the apple season 792 00:42:50,566 --> 00:42:53,500 was going on. (machine whirs) 793 00:42:55,900 --> 00:42:58,066 He had a saw mill, and the slabs 794 00:42:58,066 --> 00:43:00,466 from the saw mill used to run the press here 795 00:43:00,466 --> 00:43:04,166 which was run by steam. (machine whirs) 796 00:43:06,566 --> 00:43:08,466 He was a conductor on the PD&Y, 797 00:43:08,466 --> 00:43:10,300 which is the Portsmouth, Dover and York 798 00:43:10,300 --> 00:43:14,000 railroad line, or trolley line, out back here 799 00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:16,666 and he wired into that for electricity 800 00:43:16,666 --> 00:43:19,633 back in the 30s and busted up the boiler 801 00:43:19,633 --> 00:43:22,733 and started using electric motors, 802 00:43:22,733 --> 00:43:25,033 which mad it a lot easier, more convenient. 803 00:43:25,033 --> 00:43:30,033 (machine whirs) (machine hisses) 804 00:43:35,400 --> 00:43:37,133 We buy apples from all over the area, 805 00:43:37,133 --> 00:43:38,800 we don't have our own orchards. 806 00:43:38,800 --> 00:43:41,500 (machines clack) 807 00:43:43,633 --> 00:43:45,133 Dump em in, grind em up. 808 00:43:45,133 --> 00:43:47,800 (machine whirs) 809 00:43:54,333 --> 00:43:55,933 And then there's a 50 ton press 810 00:43:55,933 --> 00:43:59,333 that squeezes the juice out in the cheese cloths. 811 00:43:59,333 --> 00:44:02,100 (machine clacks) 812 00:44:08,133 --> 00:44:10,800 (machine whirs) 813 00:44:14,266 --> 00:44:17,033 (machine clacks) 814 00:44:19,200 --> 00:44:20,900 And the juice is transferred to a 815 00:44:20,900 --> 00:44:24,800 bottling facility and we bottle it 816 00:44:24,800 --> 00:44:27,166 into gallons and half gallons and pints. 817 00:44:27,166 --> 00:44:29,866 (machine clacks) 818 00:44:40,400 --> 00:44:43,066 And it goes out into the store and under refrigeration. 819 00:44:43,066 --> 00:44:45,300 We're only open weekends, so any time, 820 00:44:45,300 --> 00:44:47,200 come on down and the end of September 821 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:49,700 till Christmas, and get some of 822 00:44:49,700 --> 00:44:51,633 the best cider in the country (laughs). 823 00:44:54,266 --> 00:44:55,600 - [Narrator] Most farmers say farming 824 00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:56,866 is in their blood. 825 00:44:56,866 --> 00:44:58,533 They begin working on the family farm 826 00:44:58,533 --> 00:45:00,800 as youngsters, and eventually acquire the farm 827 00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:02,933 when their parents retire. 828 00:45:02,933 --> 00:45:05,633 For Fred Schultz, farming came later in life. 829 00:45:05,633 --> 00:45:08,200 He caught lobsters as a high school student, 830 00:45:08,200 --> 00:45:10,166 graduated from college, and then worked 831 00:45:10,166 --> 00:45:12,100 in Portsmouth for his father's frankfurter 832 00:45:12,100 --> 00:45:13,766 and sausage making business. 833 00:45:14,933 --> 00:45:16,833 In the 1960s, he and his wife Tony, 834 00:45:16,833 --> 00:45:19,100 bought an old farm in Eliot. 835 00:45:19,100 --> 00:45:21,466 Soon they became farmers too. 836 00:45:21,466 --> 00:45:23,533 Fred mainly works alone, although he often 837 00:45:23,533 --> 00:45:25,033 has assistance with milking. 838 00:45:26,600 --> 00:45:30,333 - My father had horses, race horses 839 00:45:30,333 --> 00:45:32,100 and I learned the value of 840 00:45:35,400 --> 00:45:40,366 the attraction of trying to breed better animals and 841 00:45:43,933 --> 00:45:48,600 just really take an enjoyment from 842 00:45:48,600 --> 00:45:50,600 the care of the animals and the nourishment 843 00:45:50,600 --> 00:45:53,000 of em and trying to do everything 844 00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:57,766 as good as you can to make as comfortable 845 00:45:57,766 --> 00:46:02,200 and productive an animal as you can and 846 00:46:02,200 --> 00:46:04,000 when I was a kid in high school, 847 00:46:04,000 --> 00:46:08,033 every summer I caught lobsters. 848 00:46:08,033 --> 00:46:11,000 That's very similar, doesn't sound similar, 849 00:46:11,000 --> 00:46:13,400 probably to the average person, but 850 00:46:13,400 --> 00:46:16,166 it's similar in that you're on your own, 851 00:46:17,366 --> 00:46:19,500 every day you gotta get up and do something 852 00:46:19,500 --> 00:46:21,833 and make something out of the day 853 00:46:21,833 --> 00:46:26,166 and it's your responsibility and 854 00:46:26,166 --> 00:46:29,166 really if you start with that, you can do something. 855 00:46:29,166 --> 00:46:34,100 1968 I was in college and casting around 856 00:46:35,433 --> 00:46:38,400 looking while at the same time I was working 857 00:46:38,400 --> 00:46:42,066 for my father, I was finishing college at night. 858 00:46:45,866 --> 00:46:48,000 I kinda thought I had a career with 859 00:46:48,000 --> 00:46:51,600 my father's business, he had a very successful 860 00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:56,333 sausage business, but as I 861 00:46:58,566 --> 00:47:01,066 as time went on and I really grew 862 00:47:01,066 --> 00:47:03,500 to like the place I increasingly became 863 00:47:03,500 --> 00:47:07,100 attracted to this way of life and I started 864 00:47:07,100 --> 00:47:11,500 in earnest in 1976 on my own. 865 00:47:11,500 --> 00:47:14,200 (machine whirs) 866 00:47:19,133 --> 00:47:22,633 Chester Frost bought the little parcel 867 00:47:26,100 --> 00:47:31,100 over there in about 1860 and then he added 868 00:47:34,400 --> 00:47:38,566 this major piece, the Gowan piece in 19 869 00:47:38,566 --> 00:47:43,566 about 1900 and the other one was 870 00:47:44,733 --> 00:47:46,866 from a Shapley, in the Shapley years, 871 00:47:46,866 --> 00:47:49,100 their cemetery is across the street there 872 00:47:50,466 --> 00:47:54,833 and they constructed those two barns over there. 873 00:47:54,833 --> 00:47:56,400 So I started out with purebreds, 874 00:47:56,400 --> 00:47:59,766 they are purebred, but I start keeping 875 00:47:59,766 --> 00:48:00,800 the papers up 876 00:48:03,733 --> 00:48:05,533 this is the second herd I've had 877 00:48:05,533 --> 00:48:07,400 and the second herd I didn't have time 878 00:48:07,400 --> 00:48:11,133 really to do it, but I know the lineage 879 00:48:11,133 --> 00:48:13,300 of all of em, I keep a record of that 880 00:48:13,300 --> 00:48:17,666 and right now there's about 80 head 881 00:48:17,666 --> 00:48:21,000 on the farm, there's about 45 cows 882 00:48:23,233 --> 00:48:28,233 and 45 milking cows as they say. 883 00:48:29,400 --> 00:48:30,666 The bankers always wanna know how many 884 00:48:30,666 --> 00:48:34,233 milking cows you have, how many young stock. 885 00:48:34,233 --> 00:48:36,633 There's about 40/45 milking cows 886 00:48:36,633 --> 00:48:39,800 we were miking this morning 37 cows 887 00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:44,800 produced about 2300/2400 pounds of milk today 888 00:48:45,966 --> 00:48:48,900 yesterday, so and there's probably about 889 00:48:53,033 --> 00:48:56,400 so that means there's about 40 young stock. 890 00:48:56,400 --> 00:48:58,800 There's two animals right over there in heat 891 00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:02,300 that's one of the primary jobs I have is 892 00:49:02,300 --> 00:49:07,300 to keep them bred and keep em reproducing. 893 00:49:08,700 --> 00:49:11,233 (upbeat music) 894 00:49:13,533 --> 00:49:16,033 Generally, you try to keep a cow 895 00:49:16,033 --> 00:49:20,433 as long as you can, you enjoy sustaining the cow, 896 00:49:20,433 --> 00:49:22,433 seeing the cow go through the cycles 897 00:49:22,433 --> 00:49:26,033 of calving, milking, breasting, 898 00:49:27,233 --> 00:49:31,600 starting it again and you try your damnedest 899 00:49:31,600 --> 00:49:35,566 to keep em happy and healthy. 900 00:49:40,033 --> 00:49:43,700 But it's a constant learning experience. 901 00:49:45,433 --> 00:49:47,433 It's constantly challenging. 902 00:49:50,033 --> 00:49:51,266 And you get the feelings sometimes 903 00:49:51,266 --> 00:49:53,566 you don't do as good a job as you should 904 00:49:53,566 --> 00:49:56,800 or you can't and you have to pay for it. 905 00:50:02,433 --> 00:50:03,933 It's very important what you get done 906 00:50:03,933 --> 00:50:06,366 at this time of year, get your first 907 00:50:07,966 --> 00:50:10,100 crop off on hay as soon as you can 908 00:50:10,100 --> 00:50:12,233 to make the best feed you can for em 909 00:50:14,033 --> 00:50:17,700 to get your corn planted and get things 910 00:50:17,700 --> 00:50:21,200 set up for the whole year. 911 00:50:22,533 --> 00:50:25,033 So a day like today you get up, 912 00:50:25,033 --> 00:50:28,533 it's the same as every day and you first 913 00:50:28,533 --> 00:50:30,133 take care of your cows, that's the way 914 00:50:30,133 --> 00:50:33,433 I look at it, is the cows come first. 915 00:50:38,266 --> 00:50:39,700 - And when we got married, that's when 916 00:50:39,700 --> 00:50:41,300 he informed me that some day he's going 917 00:50:41,300 --> 00:50:43,866 to have a farm, oh I guess it must have been 918 00:50:43,866 --> 00:50:47,566 probably 10 years later, we did have a farm 919 00:50:47,566 --> 00:50:51,933 and we didn't have cows then, it was 920 00:50:51,933 --> 00:50:56,066 a real mess, the farm, the house was a mess and 921 00:50:56,066 --> 00:50:58,933 after a couple of years fixing the house up 922 00:50:58,933 --> 00:51:03,933 and the fields a little, we, I decided 923 00:51:05,600 --> 00:51:09,633 we probably should have a cow, so we got a cow 924 00:51:09,633 --> 00:51:14,333 and we named her Blossom and from there 925 00:51:14,333 --> 00:51:17,600 Fred liked it and used to visit 926 00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:20,666 Dave Leavitt's farm and Frank Sergeant's farm 927 00:51:20,666 --> 00:51:25,666 and to learn about farming because Fred has 928 00:51:27,700 --> 00:51:31,166 an education, he's a English major 929 00:51:31,166 --> 00:51:35,100 and he also has a degree in sociology 930 00:51:36,700 --> 00:51:39,966 but he didn't have any knowledge of farming 931 00:51:39,966 --> 00:51:43,700 and cows and animal husbandry so 932 00:51:44,933 --> 00:51:47,100 then we had five cows and he started 933 00:51:47,100 --> 00:51:49,000 milking em all himself, he still worked 934 00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:52,933 in Portsmouth and we got to about 15 cows 935 00:51:52,933 --> 00:51:54,666 he stopped working in Portsmouth 936 00:51:55,633 --> 00:51:57,800 and we'd milk the cows. 937 00:51:57,800 --> 00:52:00,100 At that time, I think Fred was doing 938 00:52:00,100 --> 00:52:04,266 all the milking and the two older children 939 00:52:04,266 --> 00:52:07,000 and I would do chores, we'd take care of calves 940 00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:11,666 and clean the aisles and help feed and 941 00:52:13,566 --> 00:52:15,966 then of course as the years went by 942 00:52:15,966 --> 00:52:18,333 we got more and more cows and then 943 00:52:18,333 --> 00:52:21,666 at one point I started milking and as the girls 944 00:52:21,666 --> 00:52:24,000 got older, they started milking and then 945 00:52:24,000 --> 00:52:28,333 our son came along and eventually 946 00:52:28,333 --> 00:52:30,666 all the children had chores in the morning 947 00:52:30,666 --> 00:52:33,066 before they went to school, so they'd get up 948 00:52:33,066 --> 00:52:34,833 in the morning and run out and do their chores 949 00:52:34,833 --> 00:52:37,833 and come in and take their clothes off and 950 00:52:39,233 --> 00:52:41,900 wash themselves up because they didn't wanna smell 951 00:52:41,900 --> 00:52:44,500 and go off and then at night, when they came home 952 00:52:44,500 --> 00:52:48,800 from school, we used to eat supper early. 953 00:52:48,800 --> 00:52:50,866 We'd eat around four, 4:30, and then 954 00:52:50,866 --> 00:52:54,166 we'd go do the chores, because otherwise, 955 00:52:54,166 --> 00:52:56,733 we didn't know what time we would get in at night 956 00:52:56,733 --> 00:53:00,000 because there's always something happening in the barn. 957 00:53:00,000 --> 00:53:02,600 (upbeat music) 958 00:53:08,466 --> 00:53:11,400 - Today I'm gonna do, I'm gonna chop that 959 00:53:14,133 --> 00:53:17,800 grass feed I made three, four days ago. 960 00:53:17,800 --> 00:53:22,833 It's really finest kind of feed. 961 00:53:24,500 --> 00:53:27,133 We've had this dry weather and I cut it 962 00:53:27,133 --> 00:53:30,400 really a great pleasure to make feed like that 963 00:53:30,400 --> 00:53:32,066 in comparison to, for example, 964 00:53:32,066 --> 00:53:34,500 last year it just seemed to rain all the time 965 00:53:34,500 --> 00:53:36,633 it was tough and so 966 00:53:39,800 --> 00:53:42,000 it's all about after you get your cows 967 00:53:42,000 --> 00:53:43,733 taken care off, getting in the middle 968 00:53:43,733 --> 00:53:47,666 of the day, your equipment maintained 969 00:53:47,666 --> 00:53:49,133 and operating right. 970 00:54:00,333 --> 00:54:02,300 And the other thing is the cows 971 00:54:02,300 --> 00:54:05,166 have to out every day for a certain amount 972 00:54:05,166 --> 00:54:08,166 of time and depending on how hot it is, 973 00:54:08,166 --> 00:54:09,666 like today it looks like it's gonna be 974 00:54:09,666 --> 00:54:12,300 real nice, I'm gonna put em out in the afternoon. 975 00:54:12,300 --> 00:54:16,166 So they don't like wind, they don't like 976 00:54:16,166 --> 00:54:20,400 hot sun, and they don't like a hard rain, so. 977 00:54:22,200 --> 00:54:23,633 You kinda work around that. 978 00:54:27,333 --> 00:54:32,300 They're like you and I that you can see 979 00:54:32,300 --> 00:54:34,633 they look forward when the weather's good, 980 00:54:34,633 --> 00:54:36,000 when the weather's nice, you can see 981 00:54:36,000 --> 00:54:37,466 they look forward to getting out, 982 00:54:37,466 --> 00:54:42,466 walking around, you know bumping each other, 983 00:54:43,633 --> 00:54:45,000 being in the herd and you can see 984 00:54:45,000 --> 00:54:49,866 they enjoy it, I always have in the summertime, 985 00:54:51,900 --> 00:54:54,633 when you have that hot weather, 986 00:54:54,633 --> 00:54:58,166 it's hot all day and the barn is 987 00:54:58,166 --> 00:55:01,233 you try to keep it, as much air going through 988 00:55:01,233 --> 00:55:03,166 the barn as you can, it's comfortable, 989 00:55:03,166 --> 00:55:06,866 but it's not like outside and it's quite a feeling 990 00:55:06,866 --> 00:55:09,566 that at night, when they're milked 991 00:55:11,033 --> 00:55:14,233 and you put, I try to when the weather's right 992 00:55:14,233 --> 00:55:17,066 to turn em out all night and they just love it. 993 00:55:17,066 --> 00:55:19,933 They march out and I have feed for em 994 00:55:19,933 --> 00:55:23,633 outside in those racks and they just 995 00:55:23,633 --> 00:55:25,533 march out, take a drink of water 996 00:55:25,533 --> 00:55:28,700 and the air is so different, you can just 997 00:55:28,700 --> 00:55:30,933 appreciate how much they like it. 998 00:55:34,233 --> 00:55:36,866 All right, all right, all right, come on. 999 00:55:39,966 --> 00:55:40,800 Ready. 1000 00:55:46,566 --> 00:55:49,266 Come on. (cow moos) 1001 00:55:49,266 --> 00:55:54,266 Come on. (bucket clangs) 1002 00:55:58,300 --> 00:55:59,133 Come on. 1003 00:56:01,166 --> 00:56:02,433 - [Narrator] What does the future hold 1004 00:56:02,433 --> 00:56:04,100 for other farms on this winding road? 1005 00:56:05,200 --> 00:56:07,966 From Route 1 in Kittery to Route 236, 1006 00:56:07,966 --> 00:56:10,266 there are nearly 1000 acres of open land 1007 00:56:10,266 --> 00:56:12,266 along route 101. 1008 00:56:12,266 --> 00:56:14,266 With good highways near by, Kittery 1009 00:56:14,266 --> 00:56:16,100 and Eliot residents can easily commute 1010 00:56:16,100 --> 00:56:17,866 to jobs in Portsmouth and Dover 1011 00:56:17,866 --> 00:56:20,600 and even Portland, Manchester, and Boston. 1012 00:56:20,600 --> 00:56:23,300 Prime, open land no longer farmed or hayed 1013 00:56:23,300 --> 00:56:25,366 becomes ripe for residential development. 1014 00:56:27,100 --> 00:56:28,466 What happened to those other farms 1015 00:56:28,466 --> 00:56:30,500 on Wilson and Goodwin roads? 1016 00:56:30,500 --> 00:56:32,300 Some farmers worked until they died 1017 00:56:32,300 --> 00:56:34,166 or got too old to work the long hours 1018 00:56:34,166 --> 00:56:36,500 necessary to maintain the farm. 1019 00:56:36,500 --> 00:56:38,333 If there were no family members to carry on 1020 00:56:38,333 --> 00:56:40,800 then the farmer's family sold off the cows 1021 00:56:40,800 --> 00:56:42,566 and the farm closed. 1022 00:56:42,566 --> 00:56:44,933 Other farmers, perhaps tired of the long hours 1023 00:56:44,933 --> 00:56:46,466 and low pay just gave up farming 1024 00:56:46,466 --> 00:56:48,500 and in many cases, went to work 1025 00:56:48,500 --> 00:56:50,933 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. 1026 00:56:50,933 --> 00:56:53,100 The Pearson Farm lasted more than 1027 00:56:53,100 --> 00:56:56,033 half a century, but it too finally ended. 1028 00:56:56,033 --> 00:56:57,866 Its fields sold to other farmers 1029 00:56:57,866 --> 00:57:00,766 and its milking shed became a machine shop. 1030 00:57:00,766 --> 00:57:03,066 Nelson Pearson Jr. is not optimistic 1031 00:57:03,066 --> 00:57:05,700 about the future of dairy farming in Maine. 1032 00:57:05,700 --> 00:57:10,266 - It really started, earlier, I mean a small 1033 00:57:10,266 --> 00:57:13,900 10 cow, 12 cow operation replaced by 20 cows. 1034 00:57:13,900 --> 00:57:15,233 Everybody said you got 20 cows 1035 00:57:15,233 --> 00:57:17,933 you can make a living, so they had 20 cows 1036 00:57:17,933 --> 00:57:20,566 and then they went, they said well it was 32 1037 00:57:20,566 --> 00:57:24,666 was the magic number, so people worked the 32, 1038 00:57:24,666 --> 00:57:27,933 other ones dropped out, and then of course the 1039 00:57:29,366 --> 00:57:33,000 Boat Tank pickup came and was quite an investment 1040 00:57:33,000 --> 00:57:37,200 to most farms and then there was a 1041 00:57:38,566 --> 00:57:43,400 and equipment changed, faster, more expensive equipment 1042 00:57:43,400 --> 00:57:48,433 plus help and it slowly couldn't keep up. 1043 00:57:50,100 --> 00:57:52,833 People kept dropping out and an awful lotta 1044 00:57:53,900 --> 00:57:55,400 people that were dairy and they slowly 1045 00:57:55,400 --> 00:57:59,200 fell by the wayside, well now there's only a few left. 1046 00:57:59,200 --> 00:58:01,100 - The farming community here in Northern 1047 00:58:01,100 --> 00:58:03,900 New England, there were many more farms, 1048 00:58:03,900 --> 00:58:07,933 now there are, the number's a lot less 1049 00:58:07,933 --> 00:58:09,933 but the number of cattle probably 1050 00:58:09,933 --> 00:58:12,066 is the same or even more. 1051 00:58:12,066 --> 00:58:15,833 When I got out of veterinary college in '66, 1052 00:58:15,833 --> 00:58:18,733 probably the average number of cows 1053 00:58:18,733 --> 00:58:21,433 on the dairy farm was 25 or 30. 1054 00:58:21,433 --> 00:58:24,133 The smallest farm that I take care of now 1055 00:58:24,133 --> 00:58:29,133 milks 65 and I have several that milk 500. 1056 00:58:30,266 --> 00:58:34,066 I have many that milk a hundred to 200. 1057 00:58:34,066 --> 00:58:36,666 Here at the Johnson Farm, I mean 1058 00:58:36,666 --> 00:58:39,566 back in '66 they were probably milking 1059 00:58:39,566 --> 00:58:43,400 40 cows, now they milk 99, so for every farm 1060 00:58:43,400 --> 00:58:45,666 that went out, the other farms expanded 1061 00:58:45,666 --> 00:58:48,900 and so the number of cattle probably 1062 00:58:48,900 --> 00:58:51,400 hasn't changed really much of any. 1063 00:58:51,400 --> 00:58:54,266 Today, I will make four stops. 1064 00:58:54,266 --> 00:58:58,433 In 1966, a normal day perhaps was 12 stops. 1065 00:58:58,433 --> 00:59:00,900 - [Narrator] Fred Schultz has a passion for farming. 1066 00:59:00,900 --> 00:59:02,400 He enjoys working with the cows 1067 00:59:02,400 --> 00:59:04,633 and producing fields of high quality corn, 1068 00:59:04,633 --> 00:59:06,733 hay and alfalfa. 1069 00:59:06,733 --> 00:59:08,166 His children have other careers, 1070 00:59:08,166 --> 00:59:10,033 so the farm likely will end when Fred 1071 00:59:10,033 --> 00:59:12,166 is no longer able to manage it. 1072 00:59:12,166 --> 00:59:14,400 He has no plans for the farm's future. 1073 00:59:16,966 --> 00:59:19,666 - Well right now, it would go to my wife 1074 00:59:19,666 --> 00:59:23,400 and she would probably, she would no doubt 1075 00:59:23,400 --> 00:59:28,433 sell off the cows and in concert with 1076 00:59:29,600 --> 00:59:32,666 my four other children, I've got four children 1077 00:59:32,666 --> 00:59:36,300 that have good judgment, they're all adults now and 1078 00:59:37,400 --> 00:59:39,566 they're all competent but none of them 1079 00:59:40,700 --> 00:59:43,166 have any interest in, well my son would 1080 00:59:43,166 --> 00:59:45,466 like to see it stay a farm, but 1081 00:59:46,500 --> 00:59:49,666 when you combine that with the 1082 00:59:50,800 --> 00:59:53,133 necessity to do something with this 1083 00:59:53,133 --> 00:59:56,800 because you know, a place once someone stops caring 1084 00:59:56,800 --> 00:59:59,066 for it, it starts to fragment. 1085 01:00:03,233 --> 01:00:05,633 I know that if a person wants to have 1086 01:00:05,633 --> 01:00:08,466 a dairy farm here, you have to have 1087 01:00:08,466 --> 01:00:11,733 the person with the mindset and the skills to do it. 1088 01:00:11,733 --> 01:00:16,000 Especially the mindset because a person 1089 01:00:16,000 --> 01:00:19,400 needs to be feels responsible for these animals 1090 01:00:19,400 --> 01:00:22,500 an empathy for them and enjoyment from them. 1091 01:00:29,166 --> 01:00:30,466 - [Narrator] Dave Leavitt cares for 1092 01:00:30,466 --> 01:00:33,500 his fields like a golf course greens keeper. 1093 01:00:33,500 --> 01:00:35,900 He has been at it for more than 50 years 1094 01:00:35,900 --> 01:00:37,800 but each time he hays requires at least 1095 01:00:37,800 --> 01:00:39,500 five trips across the fields, 1096 01:00:39,500 --> 01:00:41,966 usually on hot, sunny days. 1097 01:00:41,966 --> 01:00:44,133 Even driving the tractor is hard work. 1098 01:00:44,133 --> 01:00:45,900 Often he cuts his fields three times 1099 01:00:45,900 --> 01:00:47,200 in the season. 1100 01:00:47,200 --> 01:00:48,733 What will happen to the farm when he is 1101 01:00:48,733 --> 01:00:50,233 no longer here to manage it? 1102 01:00:51,466 --> 01:00:55,633 - My feelings and maybe not my wife's feelings 1103 01:00:56,800 --> 01:00:58,533 completely, but if something happened to me 1104 01:00:58,533 --> 01:01:01,233 'cause she would own the farm, if something 1105 01:01:01,233 --> 01:01:02,533 happened to both of us, it would be 1106 01:01:02,533 --> 01:01:05,100 divided up among our four children equally 1107 01:01:05,100 --> 01:01:08,000 in some method, probably have to survey it 1108 01:01:08,000 --> 01:01:09,633 and give em each a part of it 1109 01:01:09,633 --> 01:01:11,300 'cause we gave em the thing as a whole, 1110 01:01:11,300 --> 01:01:12,366 they'd fight over it. 1111 01:01:14,700 --> 01:01:19,200 I don't know if there's a future for it 1112 01:01:19,200 --> 01:01:21,733 as far as agriculture, I think probably 1113 01:01:21,733 --> 01:01:24,600 more recreational and I've got a couple 1114 01:01:24,600 --> 01:01:28,866 of kids that are somewhat interested in that and 1115 01:01:29,933 --> 01:01:31,200 that's kinda what we 1116 01:01:33,466 --> 01:01:36,933 are looking at right now, but I don't wanna do 1117 01:01:36,933 --> 01:01:39,466 anything to it that would tie their hands. 1118 01:01:39,466 --> 01:01:42,233 When I received it, I had the freedom 1119 01:01:42,233 --> 01:01:44,033 to do what I wanted with it, you have to 1120 01:01:44,033 --> 01:01:47,966 make the changes that come along in life 1121 01:01:47,966 --> 01:01:50,733 and I would want the same for them. 1122 01:01:50,733 --> 01:01:52,200 That they could do what they thought 1123 01:01:52,200 --> 01:01:54,466 they had to do to make it pay and make it gold. 1124 01:01:55,700 --> 01:01:57,466 Whether any one of em could make a living 1125 01:01:57,466 --> 01:01:59,733 on it without any outside income, I don't know. 1126 01:02:05,100 --> 01:02:07,266 Every farmer wants his farmer to continue 1127 01:02:07,266 --> 01:02:09,000 wants somebody in the family to run it, 1128 01:02:09,000 --> 01:02:10,766 want it to succeed, especially when you have 1129 01:02:10,766 --> 01:02:12,266 a herd of registered Holsteins, you hope 1130 01:02:12,266 --> 01:02:14,466 they'll take it over, they can keep breeding 1131 01:02:14,466 --> 01:02:19,433 the cattle and continue, but in this area 1132 01:02:20,600 --> 01:02:23,100 it just isn't easy to stay farming. 1133 01:02:24,633 --> 01:02:26,700 - So like I say, I have enjoyed it, 1134 01:02:26,700 --> 01:02:28,466 I don't wanna leave it, I wanna stay here 1135 01:02:28,466 --> 01:02:32,000 the rest of my life, it's really a nice place to live. 1136 01:02:32,000 --> 01:02:34,600 (somber music) 1137 01:02:43,800 --> 01:02:45,033 - [Narrator] For Richard Johnson, 1138 01:02:45,033 --> 01:02:46,366 the continuation of the family farm 1139 01:02:46,366 --> 01:02:47,900 has been difficult. 1140 01:02:47,900 --> 01:02:49,333 He was a partner with his father 1141 01:02:49,333 --> 01:02:52,533 and an older brother, but Chester died in 2007 1142 01:02:52,533 --> 01:02:54,633 and the brother wanted out of farming, 1143 01:02:54,633 --> 01:02:57,533 although he remained a part-owner of the property. 1144 01:02:57,533 --> 01:03:00,266 That left Richard alone to operate the farm. 1145 01:03:00,266 --> 01:03:03,333 Richard loves farming and he loves the farm land. 1146 01:03:03,333 --> 01:03:05,200 To settle financial issues and preserve 1147 01:03:05,200 --> 01:03:07,533 the farm for the future, Richard has begun working 1148 01:03:07,533 --> 01:03:10,333 with Kittery Land Trust to sell the development rights 1149 01:03:10,333 --> 01:03:12,566 and create an agricultural easement. 1150 01:03:12,566 --> 01:03:14,333 The process is complicated and will take 1151 01:03:14,333 --> 01:03:15,666 several years to complete. 1152 01:03:15,666 --> 01:03:17,333 The farm includes streams that flow 1153 01:03:17,333 --> 01:03:19,433 into Spruce Creek and the York River 1154 01:03:19,433 --> 01:03:21,700 and it has acres of both fields and forests. 1155 01:03:21,700 --> 01:03:24,033 As time passes, this land will remain 1156 01:03:24,033 --> 01:03:26,866 and important natural resource for Kittery. 1157 01:03:26,866 --> 01:03:28,333 - This is kinda like a dream come true, 1158 01:03:28,333 --> 01:03:33,333 this conservation easement, I've always fought along 1159 01:03:34,500 --> 01:03:37,933 the way growing up to not let somebody 1160 01:03:37,933 --> 01:03:40,666 build here or buy that or put a road down 1161 01:03:40,666 --> 01:03:43,000 through the fields or whatever, I always wanted 1162 01:03:43,000 --> 01:03:46,100 to maintain the original acres. 1163 01:03:46,100 --> 01:03:50,100 If this went to houses, I think it would have been 1164 01:03:50,100 --> 01:03:52,166 a domino effect going right up the road 1165 01:03:52,166 --> 01:03:56,033 with all the other field land that the 1166 01:03:56,033 --> 01:03:58,266 other farmer's have, but hopefully, 1167 01:03:58,266 --> 01:03:59,733 with this conservation easement, 1168 01:03:59,733 --> 01:04:01,400 it might be just the opposite, 1169 01:04:01,400 --> 01:04:04,300 time will tell and I'm sure later on 1170 01:04:04,300 --> 01:04:06,633 down the road, it will be the best thing 1171 01:04:06,633 --> 01:04:07,733 that ever happened. 1172 01:04:09,900 --> 01:04:12,400 - To get back to your grass roots 1173 01:04:12,400 --> 01:04:14,233 is something that is necessary 1174 01:04:14,233 --> 01:04:16,333 for all of us, I mean you can't forget 1175 01:04:16,333 --> 01:04:18,800 what came before because otherwise, 1176 01:04:18,800 --> 01:04:20,666 what are we gonna have in the future? 1177 01:04:20,666 --> 01:04:22,633 Somebody's gotta farm, somebody's gotta fish, 1178 01:04:22,633 --> 01:04:25,766 somebody's gotta cut lumber and do 1179 01:04:25,766 --> 01:04:27,666 those kinds of things that are basic, 1180 01:04:27,666 --> 01:04:32,633 but very necessary, we can't live without that. 1181 01:04:33,733 --> 01:04:35,500 It just, it's so beautiful, I just can't 1182 01:04:35,500 --> 01:04:38,566 imagine seeing it turned into anything else. 1183 01:04:38,566 --> 01:04:41,500 And we wanna protect that beauty 1184 01:04:41,500 --> 01:04:43,966 and I'd rather see it growing something 1185 01:04:43,966 --> 01:04:45,566 than growing houses. 1186 01:04:45,566 --> 01:04:46,900 - [Narrator] Wilson and Goodwin Roads 1187 01:04:46,900 --> 01:04:48,733 bisect a large portion of the remaining 1188 01:04:48,733 --> 01:04:51,566 open space in Kittery and Eliot. 1189 01:04:51,566 --> 01:04:54,000 Along this winding road, for several centuries, 1190 01:04:54,000 --> 01:04:55,733 people have cared for their land as 1191 01:04:55,733 --> 01:04:59,066 they grew crops, hayed fields, raised animals 1192 01:04:59,066 --> 01:05:01,333 and carefully cut their wood lots. 1193 01:05:01,333 --> 01:05:04,300 When we began to film this story in 2009, 1194 01:05:04,300 --> 01:05:06,366 the future of the open land along Route 101 1195 01:05:06,366 --> 01:05:09,800 was unknown, now the recent decision 1196 01:05:09,800 --> 01:05:12,133 of the Johnsons, ensures that their undeveloped 1197 01:05:12,133 --> 01:05:14,133 fields and woodlands will always border 1198 01:05:14,133 --> 01:05:15,633 at least part of the road. 1199 01:05:16,966 --> 01:05:19,633 (machine whirs) 1200 01:05:25,633 --> 01:05:27,733 Land protection can happen quickly, 1201 01:05:27,733 --> 01:05:29,466 but farm land lost to development 1202 01:05:29,466 --> 01:05:31,566 can never be reclaimed. 1203 01:05:31,566 --> 01:05:34,000 Eliot's open space plan is calling attention 1204 01:05:34,000 --> 01:05:36,166 to the need for land protection. 1205 01:05:36,166 --> 01:05:38,566 Organizations such as the Kittery Land Trust 1206 01:05:38,566 --> 01:05:40,133 and the Great Works Land Trust 1207 01:05:40,133 --> 01:05:42,700 provide a means for individuals and communities 1208 01:05:42,700 --> 01:05:45,966 to permanently set aside important and threatened acreage 1209 01:05:45,966 --> 01:05:48,833 for environmental protection, water resources, 1210 01:05:48,833 --> 01:05:51,500 habitat preservation and scenic beauty. 1211 01:05:53,400 --> 01:05:56,400 These historical farms may be forgotten in time, 1212 01:05:56,400 --> 01:05:58,000 but the preservation of their acres 1213 01:05:58,000 --> 01:06:00,366 will be a continual reminder of the foresight 1214 01:06:00,366 --> 01:06:02,800 of the people in the 21st century 1215 01:06:02,800 --> 01:06:05,433 and maybe, just maybe, many years from now, 1216 01:06:05,433 --> 01:06:07,733 others will come to these fertile lands 1217 01:06:07,733 --> 01:06:10,000 and, like the 20th century Pearsons 1218 01:06:10,000 --> 01:06:12,233 and Johnsons, they will bring the old farms 1219 01:06:12,233 --> 01:06:16,066 back to life, continuing a tradition along Route 101. 1220 01:06:22,300 --> 01:06:24,866 - [Deidre] One, two, three, four. 1221 01:06:24,866 --> 01:06:28,366 ("Dig" by Deidre Randall) 1222 01:06:37,533 --> 01:06:38,700 ♪ Dig 1223 01:06:38,700 --> 01:06:40,033 ♪ Dig 1224 01:06:40,033 --> 01:06:43,400 ♪ Down in the soil 1225 01:06:43,400 --> 01:06:46,533 ♪ Almost time to till the fields ♪ 1226 01:06:46,533 --> 01:06:50,366 ♪ So you change the tractor's oil ♪ 1227 01:06:50,366 --> 01:06:53,100 ♪ Down in your heart 1228 01:06:53,100 --> 01:06:56,566 ♪ Down where you steep 1229 01:06:56,566 --> 01:07:00,100 ♪ You have always known 1230 01:07:00,100 --> 01:07:03,500 ♪ How to dig deep 1231 01:07:03,500 --> 01:07:06,600 ♪ The corn goes in 1232 01:07:06,600 --> 01:07:09,933 ♪ Comes up green 1233 01:07:09,933 --> 01:07:13,266 ♪ Wind shakes the tassels high 1234 01:07:13,266 --> 01:07:16,966 ♪ As far as the eye can see 1235 01:07:16,966 --> 01:07:20,266 ♪ Down in your heart 1236 01:07:20,266 --> 01:07:23,500 ♪ Down where you know 1237 01:07:23,500 --> 01:07:26,800 ♪ You have got a way 1238 01:07:26,800 --> 01:07:31,800 ♪ Of making things grow 1239 01:07:32,700 --> 01:07:37,000 ♪ It's been your family's land 1240 01:07:37,766 --> 01:07:42,266 ♪ For 200 years 1241 01:07:46,833 --> 01:07:50,700 ♪ Who'll be next in line 1242 01:07:50,700 --> 01:07:55,666 ♪ To keep the farm 1243 01:07:58,600 --> 01:08:01,600 ♪ Heavy hoof 1244 01:08:01,600 --> 01:08:04,900 ♪ Copper bell 1245 01:08:04,900 --> 01:08:08,333 ♪ You raise them up 1246 01:08:08,333 --> 01:08:12,166 ♪ You treat them well 1247 01:08:12,166 --> 01:08:17,166 ♪ Up at the farm it's three a.m. ♪ 1248 01:08:18,766 --> 01:08:23,400 ♪ That Jersey Delilah is calving again ♪ 1249 01:08:54,366 --> 01:08:57,266 ♪ Earth and land 1250 01:08:57,266 --> 01:09:00,566 ♪ Land and sky 1251 01:09:00,566 --> 01:09:04,133 ♪ Once it's gone won't get it back ♪ 1252 01:09:04,133 --> 01:09:08,400 ♪ No matter what you try 1253 01:09:08,400 --> 01:09:11,600 ♪ Down in your heart 1254 01:09:11,600 --> 01:09:15,633 ♪ Down where you steep 1255 01:09:15,633 --> 01:09:18,433 ♪ You have always known 1256 01:09:18,433 --> 01:09:23,433 ♪ How to dig deep 1257 01:09:24,333 --> 01:09:28,266 ♪ It's been your family's land 1258 01:09:28,266 --> 01:09:33,233 ♪ For 100 years 1259 01:09:37,966 --> 01:09:42,500 ♪ Who'll be next in line 1260 01:09:42,500 --> 01:09:45,400 ♪ To keep the farm