Editor’s note: Over the next few months, Aroostook County Soil and Water Conservation Districts and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will highlight women farmers from southern Aroostook to the St. John Valley in this International Year of the Woman Farmer. Join us to learn more about the women farmers of Aroostook County as we celebrate their contributions to rural life.
This week, we feature Katie Duff of Duff Farms in Hodgdon.
When someone thinks of a farmer, most likely the picture of a man comes to mind. But if you personally know any farm family, you’ll also know that women should be included in that farmer picture.
As with any good foundation, women tend to be the cornerstone of farm families, doing the sometimes behind the scenes work that needs to be done – taking care of the animals, the kids, the house, the bookkeeping and more. At Duff Farms’ certified organic dairy farm in Hodgdon, Katie Duff fits that description.
Duff Farms’ foundation building was a process, beginning with marriage vows that included a promise not to ever have dairy cows. That promise was kept until Katie and her husband Joel moved into Joel’s grandparents’ farmhouse in 2014. Since the old dairy barn was directly across the road – well, you can guess the rest.
They began small, milking 20 cows and selling the milk directly to Houlton Farms Dairy. Katie mused on the natural daily workouts she got by carrying pails of milk to the tank, hauling in feed by pitchfork, and cleaning out barn gutters by hand. A couple of years later they built a larger modern milking barn up the road and transitioned to a certified organic dairy, becoming part of the Organic Valley Cooperative.
As Katie noted, the opportunity came at the right time with Organic Valley as it helped them to envision a future as dairy farmers within the often-volatile dairy market. As with anything, there have been ebbs and flows, but she believes becoming a certified organic dairy is what has allowed them to continue their family dairy farm.
On any farm, being flexible is important – and while it helps to be physically flexible, it’s more about the flexibility of time and the ability to respond quickly when the unexpected happens. I’ve witnessed that kind of flexibility numerous times at Duff Farms, and each time I’m amazed at the way Katie and Joel take care of the situation. Whether it’s herding cows that are out with a four-wheeler and kids (and why do cows always seem to get out at the most inopportune times?), or assisting a vet on a barn call, or jumping on the tractor to help get the hay baled because rain is in the forecast, or milking late to attend their kids’ school sports, it all falls in a day’s work.
This flexibility, alongside caring for their four kids, (two grown, two still in school), cooking meals, helping with barn chores, milking 70 cows, driving the tractor (only the older models) for raking and tedding, wrapping hay, fencing, hanging out on the planter, putting food by for winter’s enjoyment or whatever the day brings, as a woman farmer, wife and mother, Katie’s many jobs lay the foundation for the home and farm as a whole.
Despite the broken promise made at the time of their marriage, raising their family on a dairy farm has been fulfilling. For Katie, the farm has shown their kids the value of hard work, even if they don’t see the value in the work itself at times. It has also taught them to roll with the punches and keep going. And on a farm, there is no getting stuck in doing the same thing every day since spontaneity is required. (Quick swim in the irrigation pond, anyone?
When thinking about the future and whether any of their kids decide to take over the farm, what is most important to her is that her children have had the foundational experience of growing up and being a part of a family farm, a way of life most people are no longer connected to. Duff Farms offers some of their farm-related products, such as beef, certified organic winter and spring wheat flours, rolled oats, and maple syrup at their home farm-store (facebook.com/duffarms).
Angela Wotton works as the district manager for the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation District, assisting landowners with stewardship of soil and water resources.
