Andrea Howe, left, and her sister, Alyssa Howe Freeman, stand July 27 at the Howe Family Farm on Intervale Road in Bethel. Rose Lincoln/The Bethel Citizen
BETHEL — The women of Howe Family Farm, Diane Howe and her daughters, Andrea Howe and Alyssa Howe Freeman, are committed to continue working the land and raising animals at their ancestral homestead on Intervale Road, despite hay shortages and rising feed costs.
The women own 22 turkeys, 24 meat birds, five pigs, 39 laying hens and three roosters. They have eight beef cows, with five more on the way.
Because of financial challenges, they plan to phase out half of their cows and pigs either through sale or slaughter by next spring.
They lease 10 acres of pasture from their neighbors to defray summer feed costs, but even with this savings, they pay about $8,000 per year for hay.
Alyssa Howe Freeman, left, and her sister, Andrea Howe, on their Bethel farm with their five pigs. Rose Lincoln/The Bethel Citizen
“We looked at the weather,” Freeman said. “The hay is not there this year, like it should be. We are afraid the price is going to be outrageous.”
The Howes spend an additional $4,000 a year for grain to feed their turkeys, meat birds, pigs and laying hens.
“Grain is not getting out of Ukraine,” Andrea Howe said, but even if it’s from the United States, the shortage around the globe will cause U.S. grain prices to increase.
Diane Howe said pigs go through a 50-pound bag of grain in a day and a half. That cost went up $2 per bag this year.
They say that although their farm is not officially organic, they don’t use any pesticides. The little turkeys “are not full of sodium. It’s all breast,” Diane Howe said.
Andrea and Alyssa are the fourth generation of Howe family farmers on the land, starting with Fred Howe in 1902, then Rodney Howe, Diane’s father-in-law and an inspiration to her daughters.
“There was a gentleness about him” Andrea said. “He loved animals. There was a connection he had to the earth,” she said.
“He was just a fantastic man,” Diane Howe said. “He always considered this his home,” even after selling the farm to his son Allan Howe and daughter-in-law Diane.
When she and Allan divorced he wanted to sell the 22-acre property, but she objected and stayed without him.
“It’s just important to hang onto those family roots,” she said.
The farm “keeps his memory alive for me,” Andrea said.
Seven years ago, Alyssa and her family moved back to the farm and wanted to add livestock to the recently revived farm.
“I remember telling them, I’m done chasing mobile steaks. We are not having animals,” Diane said, who has chased many cows back to the pasture over the years.
“One day when (my mother) was at work we just went and got a couple of pigs,” Alyssa said with a smile.
A photo of Rodney Howe shows him with his grandchildren, Alyssa Howe Freeman and her brother, Dustin. Rose Lincoln/The Bethel Citizen
Andrea lives in the big farmhouse with her mother while Alyssa’s family is across the street where most of the animals reside. Alyssa’s children, Dylan, 21, and Skylar, 24, and husband, Jeff, help at the farm.
On a recent Saturday, Andrea is behind the counter at the farm stand where the shelves are stocked with jams and jellies, broccoli, lettuce and peas. In the freezer are whole chickens and pork. They sell other farmers’ products, too, like chaga, cheese and coffee.
With the help of Bethel Select Board Chairman and farm advocate Meryl Kelly, Alyssa fought to pass the Maine Food Sovereignty Act in Bethel. The law allows all Bethel farmers to sell their products without spending thousands of dollars in licensing fees.
Outside of farming, all three women have careers. Diane Howe is an accountant with a full roster of yearly tax forms she files for people. Andrea Howe is a an educational technician at Woodstock Elementary School and works summers at Mahoosuc Kids. Alyssa mows lawns and works as a house cleaner.
Alyssa Howe Freeman checks on her bunnies July 27 at their family farm in Bethel. Rose Lincoln/The Bethel Citizen
They believe in their product and say they will never go back to buying store-bought turkey or beef, even if they eventually have to buy from local farmers. “If we buy beef at a store it makes us all sick,” Diane said.
“We’ll always have some animals,” Freeman said. “Our farm has been a farm since 1901. We have always farmed something here.”
“Four generations have lived on this land,” she said. “Don’t take it for granted. If I pass away, don’t sell it all.”
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