Multigenerational Farming at East Hill Farm
Reading Time: 5 minutes
Discover the history behind multigenerational farming and the connection of family and farming through the experiences of East Hill Farm in New Hampshire.
by Sherri Talbot
The Inn at East Hill Farm, in Troy, New Hampshire, is a delightful combination of a farm and a family destination, owned and operated for three generations by the Ames family. Originally a small dairy farm with about 20 cows, East Hill was founded by Parker Whicomb. In 1946, Mr. Whicomb began giving ski lessons to make ends meet, and by the 1950s, agritourism had become the main money maker.
When David Ames came to work in 1961, the cows were gone, and the farm had become known as an inn capable of hosting about 65 people. Dave met his future wife, Sally, there and developed his love of the place.
The Ames bought the farm in the 1970s, and David divided his time between working at East Hill Farm and teaching school. In the 80s, he began to expand the animals on the farm, focusing on heritage livestock. The animals were an attraction, not a direct money maker, so being able to save endangered breeds was appealing. The inn developed a collection of sheep, goats, birds, and other animals for families to visit during their stay.
Dave states that he and Sally ran East Hill Farm until about 2008. He dealt with the people and the farm, and she with the books. When they decided to pass the farm on to their three children, The Inn at East Hill Farm boasted 70 rooms, dozens of employees, and 200 acres with ski and riding trails, and has continued to grow. About 7,000 people stay overnight at East Hill each year, plus locals who make day trips for events. The inn offers day and weekend programming, and Dave says that, though he has retired, the second generation of Ames “still let me teach a little,” the piece of the job he loves best.
The farming aspect has waxed and waned over the years, and while the inn remains a larger part of the income than the animals, Dave says that “neither would be here without the other.” Agritourism continues to be profitable for many family farms in a time when making money from farming is difficult. However, in the small, out-of-the-way town of Troy, without the local attraction of the farm and the animals, the inn would likely struggle to flourish as simply a place to stay. Instead, East Hill Farm is a destination, with “Grown Up Farm Camp” weekends held twice a year, a “Knitting and Spinning Retreat” in the spring shearing season, and “Family Weekend” events being held year-round.
Dave says the animals are playing a more important role than they have since the 1950s. Interest in the animals as producers, as well as attractions, has grown with the addition of new family members to the business. Perri Ammann, Dave Ames’ granddaughter and the third generation of the Ames family, works in the farm’s barn with her husband, Matt. While the inn’s San Clemente Island goats are the only heritage breeds left, the farm has added Boer and Saanen goats. They also have sheep, horses, cows, pigs, guinea fowl, and dozens of chickens. A pair of donkeys roam the fields near the main office, demanding apples they aren’t supposed to have. And there are families and children everywhere, delighting over the animals, feeding the leftover bread from breakfast to the pigs, and riding horses down the beautiful, wooded pathways. The kitchen at East Hill Farm incorporates the farm’s eggs into the menu and sells pork, lamb, goat, and beef when available.
The growth of East Hill Farm over the last 60 years is a remarkable accomplishment in a time when small family farms continue to struggle to make ends meet. Since 2007, the United States has lost about 200,000 farms — 40 million acres of farmland. This has hit the small family farms the hardest, as younger generations reject farming for safer, more stable employment. Now, only 8 percent of farmers are under age 35, and the median age of farmers is 58. The USDA Report on Aging estimated that one in three farmers will retire in the next 10 years, leaving the U.S. food system in dangerously short supply of farmers.
However, increasing costs, public unwillingness to pay higher prices for raw goods, and the lack of medical insurance in a dangerous occupation continue to make it difficult for many farmers to pass the family business on to the next generation. Most farms now have to have at least one adult working outside the home for medical benefits and a stable paycheck. Yet, the demands of even a small farm often necessitate at least two people working on the farm to maintain the workload that farms require, leading to tremendous stress in the farming community. Meanwhile, we now import about 15 percent of our nation’s food supply, including a whopping 32 percent of our fruits and 55 percent of our vegetables.
Encouraging the new generations to take over these family farms is identified as one of the most important needs of the current agricultural system, and some of these small family farms may learn a valuable lesson from the folks at East Hill. The inn has thrived while other farms have faltered, adapting to changing times and needs. They struggled during the COVID-19 shutdowns but survived while other restaurants, inns, and family centers closed. While they say it’s been difficult to find help since then, they proudly provide jobs for local young people and an audience for local products. They’ve adapted to the needs of the community and their guests, providing entertainment when it was in demand and appealing to the community’s interest in farming skills when engagement rebounded.
East Hill Farm may be an excellent example for new farms to follow, displaying flexibility and out-of-the-box thinking to maintain interest and profit levels for their business. While not all the skills involved are those for traditional farming, their ability to combine farming with other areas is an excellent example of modernizing the world of the small family farm.
References
- Braun, Mike. (October, 2023). U.S. Senate Committee on Aging: Feeding the Future.
- Perdue, Sonny (secretary). (April 2019). 2017 Census of Agriculture. United States Department of Agriculture. Vol 1(51).
- Robertson, M.N., D. Mills, H. Sedges, and D.R. Buys (2023). “Stress and Resiliency among Confined Animal Producers” Choices. Quarter 1.
- FDA Strategy for the Safety of Imported Food. (updated 2023). U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
Sherri Talbot is the co-owner and operator of Saffron and Honey Homestead in Windsor, Maine. She raises endangered, heritage-breed livestock and hopes someday to make education and writing on conservation breeding her full-time job.
Originally published in the May/June 2024 issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.
