Cabot Creamery Cooperative

Clark and Nancy Putman run The Putman Farm in Lisbon, NY where they have 47 milkers and 46 head of young stock. Clark grew up on a dairy farm and Nancy on a beef farm, so each brings a slightly different perspective to the task. Their two young children, Aaron and Kaitlyn, who help feed the calves, are constantly in the barn with their parents. For Aaron, there is no greater joy than riding with his Dad on the tractor. And for Clark and Nancy, there is no greater joy than having their children by their sides and raising them on the farm.

The Putmans do everything on the farm themselves, although they have a neighbor who helps out with many chores. But the Putmans also do a lot more. Clark is up early enough every day to make sure the morning chores and morning milking are done by 8:00 a.m. He then goes to work five days a week for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Nancy works three days a week for Farm Credit, and she knows firsthand the havoc that dismally low milk prices have caused for dairy farmers. When their outside employment is completed, both Putmans are back on the farm, doing evening chores and evening milking. Weekends exist to catch up on chores needed to run the farm that couldn’t be done during the week. And while there’s not much rest or free time, there is a great deal of satisfaction. Says Nancy: “It’s a wonderful life and a terrific way to raise a family. If you’re a dairy farmer, you’re in it because you love it. It’s not a path to profits.”

Even with their relentless schedule, Clark and Nancy find time to support community projects and help out in other ways. Clark is past president of the Northern NY Bulk Milk Producers Coop, was a Northco board member and Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension, St. Lawrence County Farm Bureau. Nancy is the district director for the St. Lawrence Dairy of Distinction, where she helps identify and select dairy farms that can best represent the industry. The Putman’s days are full, and not a moment is wasted, but they sleep soundly at night, knowing they have given it all they have, each and every day.