We had two hours to get the farmhouse apartment ready for our next guests. My husband, Bruce, vacuumed while I made the beds and took out the recycling. Meanwhile, farm chores waited while we folded towels and scrubbed toilets. These indoor tasks were necessary because they allow us to do what we love – farm.
Housework is not what we want to do. Raising cattle is. Unfortunately, meat sales do not entirely cover our expenses, so we remodeled and beautified half of our farmhouse and listed it on AirBnB for visitors to rent for a farm experience. Families from as far as Australia and as near as Nashua have stayed with us.
Tazzy, the porch pig, has welcomed them with grunts. Curious Bleu, a Scottish Highlander steer, has given rides to little cowgirls and cowboys. The pigs have nibbled children’s shoes. Visitors become “farmers for the day” and take home farm memories to non-farm lives.
Each visitor brings their unique perspective to the farm. I loved practicing my rusty German with a family from Göttingen, Germany.
Misty and her daughter from Rye helped our 4-H club, the Highland Riders, bathe their cows.
The magic of hosting included welcoming Nicolo Wimsey (nicolowhimsey.com) and his wife Joanne, artists who entertain children with poetry, juggling and comedy.
All of these guests renew my sense of amazement and wonder for the farm. Their graciousness is overwhelming, and each leaves a bit of joy and wonder when they check out.
Along with the memories, visitors leave more than they can know – income to help us farm. We also host birthday parties, family days and other events, anything to attract visitors to the farm. These events don’t always fit with farm operations.
We exclude cattle from our best fields to protect city feet from little “surprises” hidden in the grass. We mow fields that would be better left for grazing. Events aren’t always the best use of land, but they open the farm to those who may never have met a cow.
We also go to farmers markets and maintain our own farm store, where we sell our meat and Miles Smith Farm merchandise. I teach a course in Sustainable Agriculture at N.H. Institute of Technology. The sustaining revenue trickles in.
When I started farming, I didn’t know I would also be an event coordinator, shopkeeper and college instructor. I want to keep cattle on the farm. I want to train working oxen and riding cows. I want to raise grass-fed beef and pastured pork. I want to eat what I raise, and I want to raise the happiest fat cattle possible.
Out of all these desires, and out of all the blood, sweat and tears that Bruce and I have poured into this place, the farm and its survival have taken on enormous importance. We love the farm and the farming life.
Agritourism is powered by curiosity about where food comes from and helps keep us “living the dream,” and sharing slices of it with our guests. The dream is threatened by so many enemies – such as severe weather, debt, mechanical breakdowns, feed costs and high production costs. But small farms also have many friends – namely people who find a farmer they trust and buy from them.
Why does such food taste so good? Maybe because it’s organic or grass-fed or just-picked, and perhaps because it springs from a labor of love and is supported by so many who appreciate farms as much as we do.