SLIDE SHOW: Dairy Farm

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Dairy farmer Melvin Churchill seen here haying a section of his 110 acres in Cabot, Vermont. For many farmers facing economic uncertainty, the pressure to sell becomes insurmountable

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Dairy cows graze on Churchill's farm. Melvin keeps a herd of 75 cows, mostly Holsteins; 42 of them currently provide milk for the organic market, a more stable hedge against frequent fluctuations in conventional milk prices

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Melvin Churchill with his partner Janet Whitlock and his son Matt, who is working the farm with his father

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Keeping the farm afloat is a constant struggle

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Melvin's son Matt is working with his father to keep the family's farming tradition alive

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Melvin working his land to put up hay for the winter. The work of a dairy farmer is constant

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Melvin with his grandson, Zach, on the farm

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Zach runs to keep up with his grandfather

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Grandson Zach takes a break in the hayfield

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  A freshly rolled bale of hay ready to be wrapped and stored for the winter

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Stacks of freshly wrapped hay

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  The workday often begins at 5:00 a.m. and doesn't end until late in the evening

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  Melvin is shown holding a cherished photo of his Uncle Willis plowing the land. There is a deep ancestral tie to the land through many generations in his family

  

• Photo/Art by Peter Miller

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  The timeless-and often uncontrollable-pressures of weather and market weigh heavily on Melvin's shoulders. He acknowledges that he doesn't know what the future will bring

  

Photographer Peter Miller has spent a lifetime capturing Vermont and her people. In this slide show, he turns his lens on dairy farmer Melvin Churchill as he struggles to keep his family farm in Cabot, Vermont afloat in these turbulent financial times.

See more of Peter Miller’s work — including his books Vermont People and Vermont Farm Women — at www.petermillerphotography.com.

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