February program this Saturday: Back to the Land–Again!

This month, Grange Lecturer Carl Etnier brings us the story of the transition of a farm to a new “Back to the Land” family:
Neal and Catherine Dunlop left their home in Washington, D.C. with their four kids to take over Hollister Hill Farm in Marshfield, Vermont. Their previous farming experiencing consisted of being guests at the Hollister Hill Farm Bed and Breakfast. Neil says his life reminds him of the Chevy Chase movie “Funny Farm.” They’ll talk about their reasons for wanting to get back to the land, how they were inspired by previous generations of back-to-the-landers, and what they’ve found since they took over in November 2020.
Hollister Hill Farm used to be owned by the Light family, who like the Dunlops started with little or no farming experience when they moved to Vermont in the 1970s.  You can see pictures of the farm and the bed and breakfast at their HollisterHillFarm website, where they say:  “This is a real farm, with real farmers, real animals, real tractors, haying equipment and manure spreaders. We make our living farming and inn-keeping.”
After the presentation, there should be time to ask some questions of the Dunlops and discuss the whole question of passing on farms.  As Vermont’s farm economy continues to change, with stresses from environmental regulations to pandemic market changes to generational shifts, the motivations for transferring stewardship of farms affects all communities, and all of us who like living in a rural landscape.

To join the Zoom meeting starting at 5:00 from your computer or smart-phone, use this link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82616664552

Meeting ID 826 1666 4552

To join the meeting, audio only from your phone, dial this number:  646 558 8656

Before the program:  an informal Grange meeting from 4:30 to 5:00

• A quick look at our finances, as we make our funds stretch with income only from a few tenants.
• Berlin Town tax exemption:  we submitted an “Article” for the Town to vote on (by Australian ballot only) on March 2nd.   Unfortunately, the Selectboard decided to amend our request for complete property tax exemption to be only a request for Municipal–not School–tax exemption, and only for one year.   We will still need to campaign!  and to plan for more tax relief next year.
• Several comments have been received about the timing for our Grange Programs being a bad time to attend, even virtually.   We should discuss this, too, if we have time–I hope we can have a couple of volunteers to come up with possible alternatives, for a more relaxed discussion at our March meeting.