High Hopes Acres is a family-owned and -operated farm in rural West Winfield, NY. We have approximately 100 acres for pasturing our grass-fed Normande cattle. After purchasing our first cow in 2009, our herd has grown to about 20 head. We are currently in herd-raising mode, hoping to double our numbers within the next few years. We butcher a few cows each year, but that number will grow as our herd grows.
We also collect honey produced by local bees, selling raw clear or creamed by the pint.
Meet the Farmer:
Our story, condensed...
Caroline and Rich Dibble (me) and our four children: Emily, Abe, Joe, and Eli, moved to an abandoned dairy farm we bought in 2003. The farm is tucked in the bottom southeast corner of Oneida County, spilling over into neighboring Herkimer County here and there. The house and barn are in the town of Bridgewater, though the mailing address is West Winfield, and when we go “into town,” the town is West Winfield.
Caroline dedicated her life to homeschooling the children with help from me when needed, and I spent most of my effort as a contractor, putting food on the table. Ruth came along in 2006, making it 5 kids. There were a lot of dreams for all the things we could do with the old place, but the dreams come more slowly than we would have liked. But we kept going. We had grown up in the country, but not on farms. We talked about animals and lots of things, but never got around to actually doing anything with animals and our old outbuildings.
In 2009 someone gave a Jersey heifer calf to my son Abe. We had to finally do something to take care of it. If you take care of one, another isn’t much more work, then another, etc.
It soon became apparent that there were many benefits in child development associated with having cows. We learned, worked, solved problems, made plans, figured out how to do what needed doing with what we had. Lots of good stuff. Kids and animals bonded. Well, so did I. We learned about showing animals at the fair, and everything from birth to death, long- and short-term plans, how to handle all sorts of things at all sorts of times. It stretches you in ways you would never imagine. It is deeply good, though sometimes difficult.
Shortly circumstances had us raising not Jerseys, but Normandes. I did not know what a Normande was when we bought our first one, Bandit. It is a long story why, and I tell it too much. If you visit, you might have to endure me telling it, but I will forego it here.
About this time I did some reading and found out about Normandes. They are a Heritage breed, the beginnings of which were brought to northern France by the Vikings in 911 A.D. When the rugged mountain cow hit the lush pastures of Normandy, it was a match made in heaven, and they have been thriving there for over 11 centuries. They are the backbone of the French cheese industry, their milk being especially suited for that, and their beef is highly sought after as it marbles well on just grass feeding, and they are terrific grazers. There are very few of them in the United States. I found that in the Normande world, we had a very unique find in this one old girl we had. We named her “Bandit.” Bandit had a personality.
Bandit delivered a beautiful heifer calf, the first born on our farm, Ginger, in the wee hours of a cold January morning in 2010. Bandit and Ginger changed our lives. If I started to list the wonderful ways these animals have affected us, I would not be able to stop. When I began to see what kids and cows can do for each other, it became clear what was supposed to happen with the old pastureland on our farm. Our land and these Normandes were made for each other. They invaded not only our farm, but our hearts. If I have my way, they will be on our land for eleven hundred years too.
I sometimes tell people that we have a full team of childhood development experts on staff for our kids. I mean the cows. The responsibility and the requirement to think, plan, and solve problems, has shaped us, and given Mom and Dad the opportunity to learn with the kids.
A lot has happened since then. Children grow, things change, and life goes on. Kids and cows grow and move on. Our older children are not part of the animal picture at this point, but we are still raising Normandes here and it is not uncommon to find 10-20 here at any given time. Their primary caretaker is Ruth, now 13, and in time I expect it will be Uriah, our youngest. We peck away at making everything about them become more efficient and better for them and the land. We have done some, and we have a way to go. I expect we will never stop learning and improving.
We have several goals in our Normande endeavor. Among them are: personal growth, maximizing a mutually beneficial relationship between our Normandes and the land they graze, increasing their presence in the US dairy industry, encouraging family cow ownership, and of course providing great grass-fed beef to people who appreciate it.
One of the best things that has happened to us in having cows has been the people it has brought into our lives. People we buy things from and people we sell things to, farmers, helpers, interested people, veterinarians, show people, Breed Association people, encouragers, critics, you name it. We have met lots of outstanding people who have blessed our lives in countless ways because we have cows.
One of the main reasons I am dedicated to raising these Normandes is to honor a boy who is no longer with us. Our son Eli loved his Normande, Cinnamon, at a young age. We lost Eli in 2013, and his brother Uriah was born the next day. For some of us still here, our cows have been a part of our healing, and a source of strength to carry that which can not be healed. In some small way I hope that Uriah’s relationships with them will give him some insight into the person his brother was, and a closeness. I think Eli would approve. That may not make sense to everyone, but that is OK.
We also make it our business to give away a heifer each year to a young person, hoping it will bring the blessing to them that it brought to Eli and to us.
Ruth, Uriah, and I are pretty determined to make this project with the Normandes a good thing. It has made us work, learn, and grow. I am sure that at least for Ruth and me it is a way of honoring Eli. We no longer have Cinnamon with us either, but we have several of her daughters.
We have a pretty low-key approach and expect to keep working and learning for some time. One thing you can be sure of with us is that our animals get an ample share of human affection and interaction. We will never be big enough that they don’t get that. Our life has had everything in it from laughter to tears thanks to these animals.
Ruth feeds them daily, checks for any indications of problems, and spends time interacting with them. Uriah and Ruth will be working with them shortly, starting the long bonding process to get them ready for the fairs. They spend time together daily, and there are benefits bigger than we can realize. A Normande is a cow you can fall in love with, and we do.
Sometimes people ask how we can raise them knowing they will be meat. It is one of those difficult but necessary things in life. Aside from the obvious financial necessity, as our culture moves further from the land, some of these things become more sterile. We don’t think that is a good thing. There is a time and a purpose for all things, including letting go. We think that one of our purposes is to give these animals as good a life as we can for the time they are here. There may be a lot of things we don’t do well, but our animals know they are loved. They each have a special place in our hearts and role in our lives. With us, it’s personal.
When you buy beef from us, you can be assured that your meat comes from an animal which has had no artificial growth hormones, no long-term antibiotics, a grass diet, and lots of love. We encourage you to contact us with any questions you have.
Thank you,
Rich
We also collect honey produced by local bees, selling raw clear or creamed by the pint.
Meet the Farmer:
Our story, condensed...
Caroline and Rich Dibble (me) and our four children: Emily, Abe, Joe, and Eli, moved to an abandoned dairy farm we bought in 2003. The farm is tucked in the bottom southeast corner of Oneida County, spilling over into neighboring Herkimer County here and there. The house and barn are in the town of Bridgewater, though the mailing address is West Winfield, and when we go “into town,” the town is West Winfield.
Caroline dedicated her life to homeschooling the children with help from me when needed, and I spent most of my effort as a contractor, putting food on the table. Ruth came along in 2006, making it 5 kids. There were a lot of dreams for all the things we could do with the old place, but the dreams come more slowly than we would have liked. But we kept going. We had grown up in the country, but not on farms. We talked about animals and lots of things, but never got around to actually doing anything with animals and our old outbuildings.
In 2009 someone gave a Jersey heifer calf to my son Abe. We had to finally do something to take care of it. If you take care of one, another isn’t much more work, then another, etc.
It soon became apparent that there were many benefits in child development associated with having cows. We learned, worked, solved problems, made plans, figured out how to do what needed doing with what we had. Lots of good stuff. Kids and animals bonded. Well, so did I. We learned about showing animals at the fair, and everything from birth to death, long- and short-term plans, how to handle all sorts of things at all sorts of times. It stretches you in ways you would never imagine. It is deeply good, though sometimes difficult.
Shortly circumstances had us raising not Jerseys, but Normandes. I did not know what a Normande was when we bought our first one, Bandit. It is a long story why, and I tell it too much. If you visit, you might have to endure me telling it, but I will forego it here.
About this time I did some reading and found out about Normandes. They are a Heritage breed, the beginnings of which were brought to northern France by the Vikings in 911 A.D. When the rugged mountain cow hit the lush pastures of Normandy, it was a match made in heaven, and they have been thriving there for over 11 centuries. They are the backbone of the French cheese industry, their milk being especially suited for that, and their beef is highly sought after as it marbles well on just grass feeding, and they are terrific grazers. There are very few of them in the United States. I found that in the Normande world, we had a very unique find in this one old girl we had. We named her “Bandit.” Bandit had a personality.
Bandit delivered a beautiful heifer calf, the first born on our farm, Ginger, in the wee hours of a cold January morning in 2010. Bandit and Ginger changed our lives. If I started to list the wonderful ways these animals have affected us, I would not be able to stop. When I began to see what kids and cows can do for each other, it became clear what was supposed to happen with the old pastureland on our farm. Our land and these Normandes were made for each other. They invaded not only our farm, but our hearts. If I have my way, they will be on our land for eleven hundred years too.
I sometimes tell people that we have a full team of childhood development experts on staff for our kids. I mean the cows. The responsibility and the requirement to think, plan, and solve problems, has shaped us, and given Mom and Dad the opportunity to learn with the kids.
A lot has happened since then. Children grow, things change, and life goes on. Kids and cows grow and move on. Our older children are not part of the animal picture at this point, but we are still raising Normandes here and it is not uncommon to find 10-20 here at any given time. Their primary caretaker is Ruth, now 13, and in time I expect it will be Uriah, our youngest. We peck away at making everything about them become more efficient and better for them and the land. We have done some, and we have a way to go. I expect we will never stop learning and improving.
We have several goals in our Normande endeavor. Among them are: personal growth, maximizing a mutually beneficial relationship between our Normandes and the land they graze, increasing their presence in the US dairy industry, encouraging family cow ownership, and of course providing great grass-fed beef to people who appreciate it.
One of the best things that has happened to us in having cows has been the people it has brought into our lives. People we buy things from and people we sell things to, farmers, helpers, interested people, veterinarians, show people, Breed Association people, encouragers, critics, you name it. We have met lots of outstanding people who have blessed our lives in countless ways because we have cows.
One of the main reasons I am dedicated to raising these Normandes is to honor a boy who is no longer with us. Our son Eli loved his Normande, Cinnamon, at a young age. We lost Eli in 2013, and his brother Uriah was born the next day. For some of us still here, our cows have been a part of our healing, and a source of strength to carry that which can not be healed. In some small way I hope that Uriah’s relationships with them will give him some insight into the person his brother was, and a closeness. I think Eli would approve. That may not make sense to everyone, but that is OK.
We also make it our business to give away a heifer each year to a young person, hoping it will bring the blessing to them that it brought to Eli and to us.
Ruth, Uriah, and I are pretty determined to make this project with the Normandes a good thing. It has made us work, learn, and grow. I am sure that at least for Ruth and me it is a way of honoring Eli. We no longer have Cinnamon with us either, but we have several of her daughters.
We have a pretty low-key approach and expect to keep working and learning for some time. One thing you can be sure of with us is that our animals get an ample share of human affection and interaction. We will never be big enough that they don’t get that. Our life has had everything in it from laughter to tears thanks to these animals.
Ruth feeds them daily, checks for any indications of problems, and spends time interacting with them. Uriah and Ruth will be working with them shortly, starting the long bonding process to get them ready for the fairs. They spend time together daily, and there are benefits bigger than we can realize. A Normande is a cow you can fall in love with, and we do.
Sometimes people ask how we can raise them knowing they will be meat. It is one of those difficult but necessary things in life. Aside from the obvious financial necessity, as our culture moves further from the land, some of these things become more sterile. We don’t think that is a good thing. There is a time and a purpose for all things, including letting go. We think that one of our purposes is to give these animals as good a life as we can for the time they are here. There may be a lot of things we don’t do well, but our animals know they are loved. They each have a special place in our hearts and role in our lives. With us, it’s personal.
When you buy beef from us, you can be assured that your meat comes from an animal which has had no artificial growth hormones, no long-term antibiotics, a grass diet, and lots of love. We encourage you to contact us with any questions you have.
Thank you,
Rich