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A Report
from the Food for Thought Film
Series
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“... holding fast
to a belief that, through farming,
they can raise their children with a
strong ethic, while contributing to
a more sustainable food system”
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by Ruth Ann Smalley
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January’s Food For
Thought Film was Rudd Simmons’
documentary, The
First Season. The film
features Paul and Phyllis van Amburg
as they embark on a labor of love.
Purchasing a dairy farm at a time
when so many dairy operations are
selling out, the Van Amburgs take on
the enormous challenge of updating
the run down farm buildings and
equipment, starting a herd, and
raising their growing family.
Simmons became interested in the
project after knowing the couple for
several years. Initially dismayed at
their decision, Simmons later
proposed making a documentary about
their experience. Simmons followed
the Van Amburgs as they went through
their long days, recording the
never-ending work of farm life in
cinema verité style. I grew
up spending time with friends and
relatives who farmed, including one
whose family ran a large dairy farm.
Still, watching the film, I realized
how completely I had forgotten the
constant struggle to impose order on
chaos. And, the sheer earthiness of
farm life. Caring for livestock
demands a level of commitment
unimaginable to most modern, urban
dwellers. It also exposes the
caregiver to an unrelenting intimacy
with the bodily functions of
creatures quite a bit larger than
the domestic variety. The camera is
there as calves, afterbirth, and
other fluids emerge from the back
ends of cows. Then, of course,
there’s also the milking.
The milking schedule dictates the
day’s activities, and before their
milking room is ready, Phyllis is
milking cows by hand. Calving and
calf care require careful attention
and patience. Add pigs, beef cattle,
and draft horses, and the chores
really add up. As Paul said in the
panel discussion afterwards, “If you
don’t do your job, things can die.”
All that is just the outdoor part of
running the farm. There’s also a
busy domestic side, as the Van
Amburgs raise their three young
children and expect a fourth. And,
of course, there’s the business
aspect of the farm. The couple must
talk with contractors, keep track of
their finances, and try to pay all
their bills, as they interact with
their dairy cooperative and numerous
other service and equipment
providers.
There’s a striking moment part way
through the film, as Paul and
Phyllis sit down to look at their
budget. They find their expenses are
running $14,000– 15,000 over their
income. Farming is definitely not
for the faint of heart, or the risk
averse. Although both are working
constantly, they find “we’re behind
on everything,” and must discuss
which bills they can pay at that
time. They persevere, however, and
begin to gain ground as the year
goes on. “Making money was not our
goal,” Paul explains. “Can we just
run the farm at a break-even? Every
farm, that’s what they’re doing—or
worse.”
Breaking even while running a
certified organic farm in a way that
won’t “go below that moral code that
we have” is an exhausting prospect:
pigs break loose, cows refuse to be
herded into the barn, a calf, and
later a cow, dies, the laundry and
the dishes pile up. At one point,
Paul comes in to check on how things
are going in the barn, his fatigue
showing. “Every time my ass sees a
chair, it faints,” he says, sinking
his tall frame into an old lawn
chair. Through it all, their values,
determination, and sense of humor
support them. They take stock, learn
from what goes wrong, and hold on to
a belief that through this way of
life they can raise their children
with important life skills and a
strong ethic, while contributing to
a more sustainable food system. Paul
and Phyllis were there to answer
questions after the movie, and to
bring the audience up to date on the
farm six years after filming. The
economic turbulence of the last
several years have been a challenge.
Paul pointed out that we’ve “built a
food system that’s very good at
returning profits to shareholders
and a small group of
multinationals,” but the quality is
questionable, and small farmers
struggle to make it. “You can pour
yourself completely into it, it
doesn’t matter…” he said, because
the vagaries of weather are always
out of your control.
But the Van Amburgs have made
intelligent adaptations. They
discussed how they had moved their
focus toward grass-fed dairy, and
now supply milk to the Maple Hill
Creamery. They sold off the pigs
after the big escape, and they now
let the cows raise their own calves.
Most of all, they spoke with
enthusiasm of how their children
have proudly joined them in the
careful choreography of the family
chores.
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