Success Stories
- How Leasing Can Work: The Chris Lewis and George Christopher Link
- How Local Farm Owners Can Help the Next Generation “Buy the Farm”
How Leasing Can Work: The Chris Lewis and George Christopher Link
When Chris Lewis contacted Maine FarmLink he was working on his great uncle’s dairy farm in Berwick, Maine where he grew up. His uncle had decided to sell the farm for development, and Chris had about a year to find a new place to farm. Chris didn’t know where to go and was under pressure to move his farming operation. A friend gave him a FarmLink brochure and Chris called Susie O’Keeffe, coordinator for the Maine FarmLink program, to see if she could help. He says Susie did everything she could to find him a farm.
“I really felt for Chris, Susie reported. “He grew up in Southern Maine, all of his family members and friends live there, and he really wanted to stay close to home. Unfortunately, the small amount of farmland that remains in this part of the state is generally unaffordable for farmers, and there is very little for rent.”
After looking at a number of options, Chris moved to George Christopher’s farm in April of 2004. George has offered Chris a lifetime lease if he chooses to stay. “It is an arrangement that worked out for both of them. Chris had only a few weeks left to find a place, and George needed someone to take over his dairy,” Susie reported. “They have partnered very well together.”
When Chris contacted FarmLink, he was in a situation similar to many young farmers. He had experience and some livestock, but did not have the capital or the credit he needed to buy a farm. “The arrangement with George Christopher seems to work for Chris because he has been able to save money and prove his ability to succeed to the loan officers,” Susie explained.
Chris’s dairying experience goes back to when he bought his first cow at 13. Since then, he has slowly increased his herd. When he was 17 he had nine cows, and now he’s milking 60—the limit of what he thinks he can do as a one-person operation. Chris has changed some things from the way he grew up farming. He says when he was younger he thought rotational grazing was crazy, but now he puts his cows out in May and grazes them into the fall. The goal of his operation has stayed the same throughout—to produce high-quality milk from well tended cows.
With the experience, the work ethic, and some of the cows, all Chris Lewis needed was the right land and facilities to be a successful dairy farmer. Maine FarmLink was able to connect him with a leasing situation that suited his needs at the time. With his lifetime lease, Chris has the option to stay there if he wants, or he can work with FarmLink to look for a farm that he might be able to buy. In fact, Chris has been told by his lender that if he found a suitable farm they would be willing to finance him. Susie remarked that, “This is something we’re working to have happen for a lot more young farmers who don’t have the equity to buy a farm outright.”
How Local Farm Owners Can Help the Next Generation “Buy the Farm”
When Eric Healy and Libby Lyman arrived in
Several months had passed when Susie learned that Nola Higgins’ farm in Thorndike was for sale. The farm was part of Mrs. Higgin’s estate that local dairy farmer, John Ingraham, was in charge of selling for his wife’s family. Susie asked John if she could try to find a next generation farmer to buy the property. Deeply committed to keeping
When Eric and Libby walked around the corner of the old farmhouse and saw the rolling 40 acres of fields surrounded by woods, they fell in love with it. Mrs. Higgins’ estate was able to keep the price within an affordable range for the young couple, and Eric and Libby soon had their farm.
“We’ve been blessed with more than just the farm we had hoped to find,” explained Eric. “ We also have formed a wonderful friendship with Mr. and Mrs. Ingraham. They have helped us in every way possible get started here.”
The couple came to Maine from southern Vermont, where they had both worked on farms. Neither one had grown up on a farm, but they separately came to the realization that they wanted to be involved in sustainable agriculture, after working other jobs that they did not find as fulfilling. They met in
Eric and Libby celebrated the birth of their daughter, Izabela, in March of 2005. This has put Libby’s greenhouses on hold temporarily, but soon she hopes to start growing greens through the winter as well as annuals for sale to local landscapers. She has found her niche in greenhouse production, while Eric has found his in cheesemaking. He recently received a grant from CEI’s Farms for the Future Program to construct the facilities he needs. One of the reasons they chose to be in the Thorndike area was its proximity to many dairy farmers, from whom he will purchase the milk to produce high quality cheeses, a market that is growing rapidly in