Fifth Generation Wakefields Farm At Friends Cove
LINDA WILLIAMS
Bradford Co. Correspondent
BEDFORD (Bedford
Co.) For five generations the
Wakefield family has been farm
ing in Friends Cove, near Bedford.
“Big difference is,” said Tom
Wakefield, now in partnership
with his brother Jim, “we farm
more land, have more cows, and
work more hours for percentage
wise less profit than our great
grandfather.”
Tom and Jim do basically all of
the work on their 400 acres of
scenic land.
They milk at least 110 head of
Holstein with the help of a neigh
bor. Jim’s son Scott, 18, also helps
on the farm.
With replacements and young
stock, they have about 200 Hols
teins on the farm at any one time.
Great grandfather never
dreamed of the modem equipment
now used on the old homcplace.
There is a computerized system
which can help the Wakefields
keep track of feeding, breeding
and milk production.
Forage, roughage, and hay are
all grown on the farm, along with
shelled com.
“Wc try to put out enough acres
to allow a buffer for a drought
year," Tom said. “It we get lucky
and there is no drought, we sell the
extra, but this always allows us a
buffer for a disaster year."
While Tom favors working with
the cows; Jim enjoys the equip
ment and crop production.
“However, if one of us isn’t
here, the other picks up the slack,”
Tom explained.
Tom’s wife, Cathy, is a home
economics teacher at Tussey
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Mountin High School. They have
two sons, J.T., 8, and Thad, 10.
Jim is married to Beverly, a
teacher at Bedford Elementary
School. In addition to their son
Scott, they have a daugtfaer, Betsy,
16.
“We don't know at this time if
any of the children are going to
want to take over the farm,” Tom
said. “Scott is still undecided about
what he wants to do. However, he
does plan to attend Penn State Uni
versity to major in agriculture and
may decide to come home when he
is finished. Betsy is not interested,
and my boys ate still a little young
for such a big decision.”
He said that the future of dairy
farming is uncertain.
“We think we are good mana
gers,” Tom said, “and that is what
it takes to make a go of fanning
these days. Our milk production
last year was 21,500 (pounds of
milk) per cow.
“We ate sure the trend towards a
larger farm will not stop, but we
hope and think there will always be
room for all sizes of dairy produc
ers,” Tom said.
“Those who are good managers
will survive," he continued.
“Large farms do have the advan
tage of being able to buy in bulk,
which helps keep costs down.
“The days of a small farm sup
porting a family are gone."
Tom said he and Jim joke about
their wives working to support
their farming “hobby."
“However, at times we wonder
if it really is a joke,” Tan said.
“Twenty years ago, when we
made an improvement, it could be
paid off in a short amount of time.
That is no longer true. Costs con
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From the left, Jim and Tom Wakefield work together In their milking parlor. The
Wakefields represent the fifth generation of their family to farm at Friends Cove.
dnue to escalate, and part of this is
because there are fewer and fewer
farms. The less demand there is for
equipment, the more it will cost.
“It’s really kind of scary, when
you think that 2 percent of the
population is growing all of the
food for the entire population of
the United States," he said.
The Wakefields ship their milk
to Land O’ Lakes, and are paid on
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butterfat and total solids-not-fat
components. Most federal milk
marketing orders are going in that
direction, according to Tom.
Like many others, the Wake
fields get tired of hearing all the
“fat-free” propaganda. “We sin
cerely believe that you should eat
what you want, just not so much of
it.”
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markets, the Wakefields do not
foresee a wave of large corpora
tions owning dairy farms. “It is too
labor intensive for corporations to
be interested. They would have to
hire too many people.”
Working together, Tom and Jim
said they hope to remain farming
until another generation of Wake
fields takes over the home place.
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