HODGDON, Maine — Sharon O’Donnell took a break from spring farm chores recently to meet with me and talk about managing her livestock farm since her husband Tim passed away three and a half years ago.
Their Hodgdon farm is situated in a pretty spot and as we sat together at the table on the porch, I looked out over low hills accentuated with varying shades of spring green from budding tree leaves.
It felt quiet and idyllic — some of the fencing was done and the first group of cows had just been turned out on pasture. The mothers knew the drill, but Sharon said the calves were having a hard time figuring it all out. Her horses were standing in a group just inside their fence that runs along the house. Across the driveway, two sheep looked out at us from the loafing shed.
Her son TJ was busy working on hay equipment, getting ready for that next season of farm work.
While it felt peaceful I was also fully aware that this sense of idyll comes from hard work and long days. This time of year, Sharon said, “The amount of work can feel overwhelming.” Thankfully, she has her family and friends to help out and all do willingly.
Sharon O’Donnell of O’Donnell Farms in Hodgdon was the recipient of the Maine Beef Producers Association’s “Beef Producer of the Year.”
(Courtesy of Angie Wotton)
Her family includes five grandchildren who live next door and are back and forth much of the time. Her granddaughter Ella is especially fond of the cows and proved her management skills this spring when Sharon couldn’t figure out which cow she had mistakenly let out before calving. Ella picked out “Spunky” immediately and they were able to put her back in with the other “mother’s in waiting.”
Of farming in general, Sharon said she gets a lot of enjoyment from calving time and getting the herd out to pasture. It can also be a hard time of year since spring farm work was done with Sharon and Tim as a team. The work is a reminder of her loss, but she still enjoys it and there is a part of her that wants to do it for Tim.
Sharon has always been a part of the farm work, especially during haying season. She drove the tractor and did the baling and now does the mowing too. She has cut back on the former herd size but she and her family still put in about 400 round bales and 1,500 of haylage.
And she likes haying. She said that, “When everything is working right, haying is really peaceful.” It feels good to get a day in and be productive. Sharon said that Tim’s motto used to be, “the more you get done in a day, the better the day.” While she doesn’t quite subscribe to that, she does understand that feeling of accomplishment.
Recently, those accomplishments were recognized with a special award to O’Donnell Farms from the Maine Beef Producers Association for “Beef Producer of the Year.” It was a nice recognition of all of the years that Tim built up the farm and of Sharon’s continued work.
Before I left, I asked to take her photo. We walked across the driveway to her two girls. Sharon told me that just before he died, Tim had reserved the sheep for her as a Christmas gift from Arledge’s sheep farm in Littleton. Her family picked up the lambs with bows on their necks and Sharon’s grandchildren delivered them to her as a surprise on Christmas Eve. As the sheep followed on Sharon’s heels around the pasture, I thought of gifts left behind for those you love and the little joys taking place on a fine spring day at O’Donnell’s farm in Hodgdon.
