Soulemere Farm

At the 100-acre Soulemere Farm in the Greene County town of Jewett, Harrison "Fuzzy" and Wilma Soule are thinking about their retirement. Married for 52 years, the couple recently sold a conservation easement to the Watershed Agricultural Council on their family's dairy farm; a farm with the National Bicentennial distinction. Though they stopped milking cows last spring, their devotion to the herd has not waned: this summer, they took a rare vacation trip to Pennsylvania with their son and daughter-in-law to visit the Amish family who purchased their herd. After a lifetime of running the dairy, this is Harrison's idea of relaxing. "As soon as I walked in the barn, I could hear those girls bellowing because they knew me."

He'd like to sell the place to a farmer and talks about the neighbors who've bought his milk to make cheese. He can see himself passing on his lifetime of knowledge to help the next generation get on its feet and has talked with a few families who might want to get into dairy, commenting, "They want my brains, not my body." In the meantime, the barn does not sit empty, as they are raising about 43 dairy replacements. This gives them more freedom and a well-deserved rest.

Soulemere Farm sits in ski country, with nearby Hunter and Windham Mountains providing a steady stream of developers and skiers looking for small parcels on which to build vacation homes. Meanwhile, Harrison takes questions from the few neighboring farmers who remain local, making him the area's most convincing spokesman for land conservation. He continues to get calls from realtors and others looking for land but he's also heard that neighbors feel the easement is "not a bad idea." And he says, "Money isn't everything, and I'm not going to live forever, but I don't want this place developed."