“From the goats to the gardens, we consider all aspects of Tyler Farm as part of our own family,” explains Deborah Claffie when describing her family’s forty acre homestead in Limington, Maine, about 35 miles west of Portland. “Farming means more to us than the income it provides; it’s a lifestyle.”
Such an inclusive, participatory approach to managing a diversified family farm creates a balanced daily routine at Tyler Farm, resulting in an entrepreneurial energy fueling the fiber, meat and market garden business that aims to gross enough to pay property taxes, farm costs and provide close to ninety percent of the family’s food needs.
A “can-do,” self-sufficient attitude launched Tyler Farm from the start. “We arrived nine years ago with a sawmill to build our house, outbuildings, and miles of fencing,” says Deborah, having grown up on the East Coast in a farming family. Three generations now live on Tyler Farm: Deborah and her husband, Stephen; two sons, ages ten and twenty-four; and Deborah’s parents. The Claffies settled in this area to return to their rural roots after careers in the service and computer industry. Stephen also works in the construction industry, taking him off the farm for three days a week.
Livestock make up the core of the farm business, consisting of primarily a flock of about thirty sheep for fiber, meat and occasional animal sales to other small farms. The sheep are sheared professionally by a traveling shepherd and shearer and the fiber washed and carded locally. The resulting “roving” is sold to area spinners and spun by Deborah into yarn she then uses in a variety of hand-woven products. Tyler Farm raises Shetland, Finn and Coopworth sheep. Shetlands are small, weighing only three to seven to eight pounds at birth. They are a small, hearty breed that produces a very fine, soft fiber. Finn sheep are a little larger and produce a lovely fiber as well and display prolific mothering ability, often bearing and raising four to six lambs. Coopworth sheep grow larger weighing ten to fifteen pounds at birth. They are considered a dual purpose sheep, raised for fiber and meat.
Goats and rabbits add a soft touch to Tyler Farm’s fiber mix. Both the goats and rabbits are fiber breeds. The Angora rabbits produce a soft fiber. The Pygora goats are a cross between an Angora and a Pygmy, with soft fiber and gentle personalities. “I’m the goat’s beautician and give them a haircut twice a year,” Deborah says with a smile. “My husband built a simple shearing stand for the goats with a harness strap and grain box.
As long as they have something to eat, they’re happy, stand still and I can shear.” The two Angora rabbits are “plucked” every eight weeks and, being very clean animals, the fiber does not need processing before spinning. “I can literally sit with this sweet, cuddly rabbit on my lap, pluck their fiber which doesn’t hurt them a bit, and spin it right away into a wool-blended yarn.”
Learning to spin and weave from area women experienced in the fiber arts, Deborah works on her looms in a make-shift studio located an extra bedroom. She creates a variety of woven items she sells at area fiber art shows, including dish towels, scarves, rugs and table runners with shawls her biggest seller.
Another key seller and unique product made on the Tyler Farm is “felted goats’ milk soap.” Using wet wool fiber, Deborah covers a locally-made soap bar and lets it dry into a tight felt covering. When a customer buys one and gets the felt wet in the shower or bath, the wool fiber takes on a rough, agitating quality, akin to a loofah bath sponge. The soap foam comes through the felt covering and can be used as a washcloth. “Once the soap inside is used up, you’re left with a scented ball of felt that makes a nice
drawer sachet or great cat toy,” adds Deborah.
A sundry mix of other livestock add to Tyler Farm’s diversification. Local customers purchase about eight lambs each spring as either pets or to handspinners for fiber. Meat lambs are sold in the fall at their live weight, delivered to a local butcher for processing. A flock of free-ranging chickens produce eggs for Sale at the Tyler Farm from their farm stand on the front porch and Deborah’s weekly delivereis.
Two acres of organically-grown seasonal gardens provide family’s food needs, selling excess at their farm stand. Tomatoes reign at Tyler Farm, with Deborah and family raising over ten different varietals. Pumpkin seeds are scattered on an additional acre, resulting in “free ranging” pumpkins which supplement the goat and sheep hay diet as eating pumpkin seeds provides natural parasite control. Tyler Farm plans to expand next season by participating in Senior Farm Shares, a program funded and organized by the State of Maine through which seniors receive vouchers for subsidized fresh fruits and vegetables from area farms. “Selling produce to seniors goes beyond just a transaction,” explains Deborah. “We’re providing a farm outing for them, a chance to be in the outdoors and interact with the animals.”
Respectfully caring for and interacting with the animals play a core role in the Tyler Farm routine. “Every day we feed and care for the animals twice a day at the same time. My dad and I do chores after I drop my son off at school. My mom feeds the goats cookies every afternoon. The animals grow comfortable with this routine and are very relaxed and comfortable with people,” Deborah adds. “Farm life and working together give our family a feeling of belonging and responsibility. We know we’re all in this together, jointly responsible for our home and livelihood.”
The name “Tyler Farm” itself stemmed from this idea of creating a family haven on the land. “After driving up the 1,000 foot driveway lined with pines that leads to our farm, you really feel like you’ve crossed over into another world, our peaceable kingdom. Our youngest son, Tyler, was two and half years old when we moved here. From the beginning, this place represents Tyler’s world, where he belongs,” concludes Deborah.