Many farmers know they’re destined for the farming life from a young age, but Chris Lewis put his money on the line earlier than most. The fifth-generation farmer grew up working on his parents’ farm, and later his uncle’s. “I started buying my own cows when I was just eight or nine years old,” Chris says. “I knew I was going to be a farmer.”
By high school, Chris had nine cows, which he milked every day before and after school. After graduation, he tried college for a semester, but quickly decided his money would be put to better use acquiring a farm rather than a diploma. He returned home to Berwick, and continued to work for his uncle while searching for property of his own. “I got lucky and found the perfect spot,” says Chris.
In 2009, Chris married Jeanie, a farm girl from Falmouth, who brought her own cows with her into the relationship and has become his right-hand partner. The couple is now raising their daughter, Hailey, on one of only two remaining dairy farms in Auburn. “When I told my family and friends that I was going to be a dairy farmer, they told me I was crazy,” says Chris, “and hearing that made me want to prove them wrong. We’re still here and we’re happy. I guess that is proof enough.”