At sunrise, Catarina Mahoney straps a leash to shepherd-dog-in-training Rocket and walks him out to a field at Brookford Farm to herd dairy cows.
As the day goes on, her husband, Luke Mahoney, drives tractors across fields and heads into town to pick up parts for the next piece of farm equipment that needs maintenance.
Fifteen years ago, the couple settled on a piece of land in Canterbury that felt just right. After years of effort and investments in structures, livestock, employees and the new farm store, their daily routine looks similar to that of the past: constant, involved, from daybreak to sundown.
They built their farm from the ground up, planting seeds of their culture and values.
Catarina grew up in Dresden, Germany, a city renowned for its Advent market, the Dresdner Striezelmarkt. In Canterbury, the Mahoneys infuse weekends in November and December with the German Christmas spirit with an annual Christmas with the Cows event.
The farm offers authentic German cuisine and street food, bonfires and hayrides. They invite the participation of local vendors and a German Santa Claus, and surround their guests with farm animals.
A second generation has absorbed Catarina and Luke’s work ethic and passion for the land. Eldest son Oliver, 23, is a plumber working in the Concord area. Youngest sons David, 16, and Raphael, 13, live at home on the farm.
Emanuel Mahoney, at age 20 the second-oldest of the couple’s four sons, spends his summers home from the University of New Hampshire working on the farm.
One of his earliest childhood memories is of riding the tractor with his father. “My dad would be out for hours, and I would just sit there with my earmuffs on, just kind of hanging out,” he said.
He began weeding and harvesting vegetables in high school, sometimes recruiting the help of his friends. Over time, his tasks on the farm have shifted away from daily operations to more structured, long-term projects.
Last year, Emanuel contributed to the redesign of the farm’s website and e-commerce platform, along with configuring the new farm store’s point-of-sale system and inventory tracking software. This summer, he’s helping to renovate a house along West Road that will eventually become the family’s new home.
As a part of the farm’s transition to a direct-to-consumer business model, the Mahoneys unveiled a newly renovated farm store in April 2026. The family still lives on the other side of those refrigerator-lined walls, but after two of their four children moved out, ceding their living and dining rooms to the construction became a lesser concern.
Now a rising junior studying entrepreneurship, Emanuel plans to apply the construction experience to his new business, Priceless Properties LLC, which specializes in home builds and renovations.
“Every year has been different,” he said. “It has been a really good time.”
Bella, a now-retired shepherd dog at Brookford Farm, can often be found on the front steps of the farm store waiting to greet customers or resting under a shaded area in the parking lot. She is a Border Collie, an English dog breed best known for its herding abilities.
The farm’s newest addition, Rocket, is still in training to join the family enterprise.
This is one installment in our three-part photojournalism series, “Common Ground.” To read and view more, visit concordmonitor.com.
