FARM PROFILE Stewards to the End Long-time New Hampshire Land Stewards Move Onto New Retirement Project in Puerto Rico

After more than 30 years of caretaking New Hampshire land, Dan and Ruth Holmes will move on. Four institutions later, countless generations of animals, and their own brood grown, the farmers are retiring to a new farm project and a new life in Puerto Rico. &emsp;&emsp;Farming land always requires accepting limitations, that of the land, the animals, the weather, available money, and your ability to shape outcomes. Farmers can sometimes overlook this finite amount of control when they own their land. Ownership can give farmers real or imagined security in their opportunity to affect change and to benefit from that invested work. It takes a certain kind of faith and service mentality to forgo that security and instead focus on the work at hand. The Holmes have made this kind of service their life's work. &emsp;&emsp;Dan started his stewardship work as a facility and grounds caretaker for the historic Canterbury Shaker Village. His time there overlapped with the last surviving Shaker at the village, Ethel Hudson. &emsp;&emsp;Next, Dan and Ruth came to the Monadnock Region to join the Meeting School Faculty at the residential Quaker farm school in Rindge. They taught agriculture, tended the school's herd of dairy cattle, and fed the student body. It was there that they started their important work of breeding efficient and resilient grazing cattle. &emsp;&emsp;The cattle, unofficially called "Monadnocks" by the Holmes, "are a dual purpose cattle that give A2 milk, that haven't had a bite of grain in 20 years," notes Dan. &emsp;&emsp;Following their work at the Meeting School, the Holmes moved to the Crotched Mountain School, where they managed Sunnyfield Farm. The farm offered valuable vocational and rehabilitation opportunities for the residential students, but the Holmes also never lost sight of its intrinsic value as a working farm. Sunnyfield was the last remaining dairy farm in Peterborough during its operation. While there, the Holmes produced raw milk, cream, vegetables and meat using grass-fed and rotational grazing practices. The Holmes would even host local farmer breakfast potlucks to support camaraderie and share support in their important but challenging field of work. &emsp;&emsp;When asked about advice for the young and future farmers of the region, they urge restraint and patience, but most of all, love. &emsp;&emsp;"In order for any of it to be worth it," notes Dan, "you have to get a lot of satisfaction out of what you are doing." &emsp;&emsp;"Love what you are doing," adds Ruth. &emsp;&emsp;In 2017, following Crotched Mountain's closure of Sunnyfield Farm, Dan and Ruth found an opportunity nearby to steward the land at Four Winds Farm. Owner Mary "Duffy" Monahon believed strongly in land conservation and the potential restorative effects of pastured animals. &emsp;&emsp;The Holmes had already arranged a grazing agreement when Rick and Mary Monahon passed away unexpectedly in a car accident. The Monahon family helped secure the Holmes a long-term lease on the land as part of their mother's agricultural intentions for the land. &emsp;&emsp;Now the animals once tended by the Holmes have been sold and rehomed. After all, an animal breed to be adapted to the New Hampshire landscape is essentially part of the landscape, a working piece of the whole. &emsp;&emsp;Bruce Bickford and Kristen Anderson of Abenaki Spring Farms will continue the work of nurturing the herd genetics to thrive in Northern New England farmsteads, a type of farming that Dan calls "farming holes in the woods," referring to the small tracts of New Hampshire pasture hard won from the forest. The sheep and goats, similarly selected for their success as participants in the grass cycle and their ability to thrive without grain, will also be moving onto new homes. &emsp;&emsp;Ruth and Dan Holmes' original retirement plan was closer to home, where their three grown children and eight grandchildren live. Five years ago, they purchased a home in Peterborough. Over the years, as they rented out the property, the taxes on the property kept rising. While Four Winds Farm was self-sufficient, there wasn't much left over. Meanwhile, the appeal of living constrained in town was dwindling. &emsp;&emsp;In December 2021, Ruth and Dan planned a family vacation to Puerto Rico. The trip ignited their imagination about possible future plans, and in March 2022, Ruth and the kids returned to Puerto Rico to celebrate her 66th birthday and look for a house. Houses sell quickly, and the Holmes had a high level of criteria, including land. &emsp;&emsp;They watched Zillow, the newspaper and craigslist, but they weren't hopeful until they found one particular listing. A property with five acres, two commercial-size greenhouses and a two-apartment house on the western end of the central mountain range in Los Marias. The house was sheltered by banana, avocado, coconut, mango and breadfruit. Orchids and coffee plants grow wild from the land's former status as a coffee plantation. The former owner had grown cucumbers and tomatoes and sold them at the local farmers' market. &emsp;&emsp;The property, 1,700 miles from New Hampshire, lush with tropical fruit, seemed like a tiny bit of paradise. &emsp;&emsp;"And that's what it needed to be for us," says Dan "in order for us to make this big a move, it needed to be an adventure, something exciting. I no longer could imagine a little house in town (and) not farming." &emsp;&emsp;While we talked, the Holmes were packing the last of their shipping containers. A generator and an egg incubator peeked out from a life packed into 16 feet of packing length, one acknowledging the risks and the other optimistically inviting new life. &emsp;&emsp;Dan casually wrapped some wine glasses and stuffed them into a bucket. Their two retired border collies, Peat and Skipper, will go with them, departing a few days earlier on their chartered course to Florida and then onto a cargo plane. &emsp;&emsp;Our visit ends on a somber note as we talk about the sudden passing of New Hampshire orchardist Michael Phillips a year ago this winter. Farmers know better than the rest of us that nature can act swiftly and unpredictably. Their move to Puerto Rico shows their appreciation for the opportunity that is now. &emsp;&emsp;Ruth and Dan have been engaged in a playful argument about when they will plant their first seeds in the ground in Puerto Rico. Dan imagines that he will collapse in exhaustion after the strenuous move; Ruth says that they can rest after the seeds are in the ground. &emsp;&emsp;"Maybe I will just sneak in there and plant them," she says. SIDEBAR FOUR WINDS FARM COMES FULL CIRCLE Editor's note: Just before press time, our writer received this email from the son of the original owner of Four Winds Farm: "4-Winds has been a dairy farm, a regional arts and performance space, an apple orchard, a berry farm, a glycerin provider for the war efforts, and briefly a sawmill after the '38 hurricane. More recently, its fields have supported the high-quality grass-fed beef, pork, eggs and organic dairy products produced by the Holmes. &emsp;&emsp;"The 4-Winds farm was bought by our great-grandmother in 1919 (or thereabouts) and has been in continual use and stewardship since then. I spent four summers with my brother Duncan and my two sisters Corinna Leeson and Sophie Monahon, living on the property with our grandmother Mary MacNaught, playing amidst the orchards and forests and exploring the magical old dairy barn, which is currently a picture-perfect wedding and events venue. &emsp;&emsp;"Our mother, Duffy, put most of the land in conservation easements, and it was always her vision to share the land with people who would love it. There are trails connecting it with other conservation land. We encourage anyone with boots or a bike to discover them in hopes it will continue to be a place of wonder, peace and community for generations. &emsp;&emsp;"I (along with my wife, Bri) will be returning to live full-time on the farm in 2023. The soil is best for berries or fruit and nut trees, but we have considered a wide range of possibilities going forward, including herd grazing. There is substantial farm infrastructure in place, including water, livestock shelter and open fields. We would welcome ideas from your readers. Best, Ian Spencer (Son of Duffy and Rick Monahon and part owner of Four Winds Farm)"