In a box of old 16mm films, Pete and Jim Howe found movies their mother had made of life on their dairy farm back in the 1940s. They are now sharing them here with you.
Category: Agriculture
You Know It’s Spring When…
It’s time to shear the sheep! There are all sorts of signs of Spring, but I’ve picked this one to show on Pine Plains Views: the annual sheep shearing on Black Sheep Hill farm. These American Black Welsh Mountain Sheep are special for many reasons not the least of which is that they decorate Route […]
Spinning Squash
It’s a yearly tradition that I’ve been going to for years: the 2015 Ag Fair hosted by the Future Farmers of America at the high school in Pine Plains. This year I was hoping to find something a little different to film. But the parade started out as it does every year, with the school band, tractors, politicians, tractors, kids […]
Burger Night at the Farm
Yesterday, September 19, Chaseholm Farm held its last “Burger Night” event of the 2015 season. Oh, how I wish there were more! It wasn’t just their “scrumptious” burgers or the cows or the people or the music… Well, see for yourself! Pine Plains Views has a history with this farm and the Chase family going back a generation and […]
Burgers with the Herd
Burgers with the cows at Chaseholm Farm. The first in what I hope will be an on-going event. We had a great time, hung out with our favorite herd of cows, some old friends, and met new ones. If this farm looks at all familiar, perhaps you have seen it here on Pine Plains Views! You […]
A Farrier? What’s That?
Here in northeast Dutchess County, it was dairy farms and we were the Milk Bottle of New York City. But the dairy farms closed and different animals were brought to graze our pastures — horses. Now we’re Horse Central. And along with the new animals came new people and traditions. And new trades. One of […]
The Culture of Agriculture
The farmers may be leaving their farms and the farmland, even if preserved, may be left only as viewscape. But a culture and tradition of agriculture remains. Each year the Agriculture Fair, put on by the Future Farmers of America in Pine Plains, grows as an area attraction.
Sheep and Alpacas and Llamas and Goats and Wool and Food Festival
Seems like they had everything! Particularly, a large crowd on a sunny October day at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds.
Picking Pumpkins on a Fall Day
A fun way to get some fresh air, some good food, and get to know a local farmer — visit a local farm! Here, at Rocky Reef Farm, the public is welcome to enjoy the bounty of the Hudson Valley. There are many local farms in our area to visit and Pine Plains Views will […]
A Touch of Country: The Fall Fair
Every year the Stissing Mountain High School chapter of the Future Farmers of America runs an ag fair. I’ve filmed different parts of it before, but this year I’ve pretty much stuck to the tractor pulls and the barn where kids show cows. Related stories are at a previous Fall Festival Fair coverage and a […]
Last Night at the Wild Hive
After a four year run, the Wild Hive Farm, Store & Café Bakery closed. I made this film on its last night to preserve how its customers celebrated its contribution to the community. I could ramble on about how much this place meant to me, but I think the film shows it. Every meal was […]
Food For Thought
Field work — literally — when Vassar College students milked cows, fed turkeys, picked fruit, mucked stalls and wrote ethnographies as part of an anthropology course.
Farming the Future
The 4- H Club dairy cow competition was a proud event for Pine Plains at the Dutchess County Fair. Gina Brooks and her brother, Patrick, showed two of her cows, a Brown Swiss and a Holstein, which she has been keeping in Barry Chase’s barn.
The Family Farm
This is about a dairy farmer, Barry Chase, who is about to sell his herd of milking cows. I visited with him and his wife, Rosey, a few days before their herd leaves.