Land of Milk and Family

It’s no secret farming is hard work, and that farmers must possess an immeasurable amount of perseverance to succeed. But that drive is being put to the test as a growing trend to “go big” is threatening the small family farm.

According to a March 2010 report by the New York state comptroller’s office, most farms in the state are family owned and operated, but the trend for more than the last decade has been toward fewer, larger farms.

Bucking that trend are, Meg, Bruce, and their 11-year-old son Hugh Schader. The Schaders own and operate Wake Robin Farm, which sits about 20 miles west of Syracuse, in Jordan, N.Y. The Schaders started their dairy five years ago with four Jersey cows and haven’t taken a day off since.

Making the decision to operate a small farm “was really hard and emotional because it wasn’t just a decision that came off a spread sheet. It was a decision that had to do with our health, and our happiness,” Meg said. “It’s our way of life. It’s not just a career, it’s not just a job.”

Fortunately, the emergence of a healthy, natural, grass-fed dairy food culture may be the savior for the small family farm according to an article in The New York Times. The Schaders produce high-quality, all-natural dairy products that have enabled them to succeed in a competitive market. The Schader’s farm consists of 45 acres of rolling farmland, 20 milking age cows and 10 heifers.

View Slideshow

“Our farm is different because it’s so small,” Meg said. “We actually do all the work ourselves, and because we do everything start to finish, from making the hay, to milking the cows, to making the cheese, to taking it to market.”

Melissa Young, Chair of Slow Food Central New York, has noticed a positive trend of healthy, sustainable farming in New York.

“I think people are wanting to be closer to the products they buy. I think it’s exciting to know who makes your food, and how it is made, or even grow it yourself,” Young said.

The Schaders sell all their products locally, most at the Central New York Regional Market every Saturday in Syracuse.

“I’ve had their cheese and everything else and its thumbs up, just excellent,” said Howard Woodward, 71, of Camillus, N.Y. “It’s just good. I’ve been buying Wake Robin’s cheese since they started and there’s nobody around that makes this kind of cheese. And they’re just pleasant folks.”

“Our grocery store used to carry their yogurt, but they’ve pulled it out of the store so now we come here to the market to get it,” said Wayne and Mary Chauncey of Jamesville, N.Y. “The store carries new yogurt now, but it’s just not the same.”

As reported in a dairy farming study by the University of Minnesota, the dairy farming lifestyle has clear rewards, but those rewards don’t come easy.

“My parents love that we’re now running a dairy farm because they just got out of the dairy business 15 years ago, and they still like seeing the cows,” Bruce said. “But I think it’s more of the marketing and processing end of it they find interesting, because we are a small dairy compared to what my folks had.”

“I really hate to see Meg and Bruce working so hard. The work is endless and exhausting,” said Meg’s mother, Mary Beth Withy. “It’s a lifestyle that has required a huge commitment, but it’s been great for them to be able to work together. They’re both creative so it’s been a great artistic outlet for them, and they’ve been able to touch a lot of people.”

“Just being low on money and having to really toggle things together is the hardest part, and then trying to match up the dairy with the marketing end of it,” said Bruce. “A lot of folks and customers don’t actually see the dairy end of our operation, which we spend almost half our time doing the work with the cows, making the feed, and the other half selling our product, and there’s just not enough time to get everything done.”

There’s no doubt farmers make sacrifices when committing to a lifestyle where so much time and physical labor is demanded, but most farmers say the benefits outweigh any cons.

“It’s almost all hard. It’s really hard work. It’s a struggle if you’re a small business and you want to stay small, but there are rewards to that,” said Meg’s father, Carl Withy. “It’s a healthy lifestyle.”