It was the spring of 1974 when my brother, Jim asked if I wanted to work on his dairy farm for the summer as “the hired man.” Being a hired man sounded like a challenge for a 12-year-old, but with a new bike to pay for, why not? It always amazed me how when I pedaled my three miles to work, I was against the wind and when I pedaled home, I was against the wind. I was learning as a child that our rewards in life are dictated by our investment in life. By the time I was 14, my parents let me take their Ford LTD to work and when I was 16 I got my license… The good old days! In my time at Jim’s, I set my eyes on a little brown cow named Daisy, and it was love at first sight. I took her to many county fairs through the years. And so the dream began…
Fast forward to 1986. The nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, the Mets beat the Red Sox 4-3 to win the World Series, and a young boy’s dream comes to fruition: Gertrude, Chuck, Lynn, and Bessy were the four cows I started with in a rented barn on Highway 57 near Random Lake. After about a month, my dad said that if I was going to be a farmer, I would need more cows. I have always been thankful of my parents encouragement that no dreams are too large and foundations are laid one brick at a time. So I took out a loan to buy additional cows. I saw an ad that Abdon Kohlbeck from Francis Creek was selling cows, and 17 more were added to my herd.
In 1987, I married my high school sweetheart, Lynn, and we continued to rent a barn and add more cows. We moved our thirty cows to a farm east of Hingham in 1989 and named ourselves Long Distance Genetics. Now the brick is laid; the foundation is set. Our farm grew to forty milking cows, and then up to sixty (which is the same number we milk today) in 1997 . I am amazed at how fast time goes. One day we’re young and the next day we’re old. The 30 years in between are but a fleeting memory; however, the memories that remain are of camaraderie, optimism, and faith that after every storm the sun will come out — always has, always will.
We have raised eight wonderful children on this farm (all helped, some willingly…). No matter what has happened in my life, there is one constant for 30 plus years, it’s those little brown cows. Sometimes I look at them as partners, other times employees, but really they are just part of the family. Lord willing I will be doing this for a long time, and though I can’t offer you a job, I can offer you some really good cheese.
