Surviving the First Season
Spending time with Paul and Phyllis Van Amburgh and their five children on their Dharma Lea dairyfarm can make life here appear enviable.
Sure, the work is hard and the days are long. But the Van Amburghs get to spend time together and they enjoy a close relationship with the land and their animals.
But that's the pastoral version of life on a small family farm. And the Van Amburghs, now in their fifth year, know that farming -- dairyfarming, especially -- is mainly about survival.
That is why a new documentary film about the Van Amburghs called "The First Season" -- chronicling the months after they bought the farm in the spring of 2007 -- is so affirming. At a time when many people in upstate New York are looking to start "sustainable" businesses that feed off the land, from small wineries to organic farms, the Van Amburghs offer hope that such a venture can succeed.
At the same time, their experience is a cautionary tale that could scare off even the most hardy, adventurous and hardworking souls.
The Van Amburghs, both of whom grew up in Rensselaer County, bought a failing dairyfarm on Route 10 that dates back to the 1700s. The couple had done some part-time farming when they lived in Montgomery County, but they say nothing prepared them for the enormous financial costs and debts shown in the film.
Because they invested their life savings in the venture, they knew failure wasn't an option -- they would have nowhere to go.
"The learning curve is steep in dairyfarming," said Paul van Amburgh, who says the couple spent $100,000 just on getting the cattle they bought with the farm back to health. "But part of the reason why we made it is that we went all out for it."
The film premiered Jan. 21 at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. Slamdance was started in 1995 by a group of filmmakers rejected by the famous Sundance Film festival. They wanted to start an event for smaller budget films, many by first-time directors.
The 83-minute movie was filmed by Rudd Simmons, a New York City movie producer who produced "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Dead Man Walking," and the first season of the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire." The documentary was the directorial debut for Simmons, a part-time Chatham resident, who shot the film in "cinema verite" style during a six-month stay at the farm and during subsequent visits to check on the Van Amburghs' progress.
Simmons had been a friend of the Van Amburghs before they bought the farm. He says the couple has very large personalities, "So I thought they both would come across well on camera," Simmons said.
What the director didn't know was just how much his time with the Van Amburghs would reveal about what farming represents to many people.
"I do think that a lot of people today, when you talk about farming, they still see it in a very traditional American values kind of way," said Simmons. "In a lot of ways, the small family farm is the perfect icon of the American dream."
According to the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the number of farms in Schoharie County, where the Van Amburgh farm is located, dropped nearly 10 percent between 2002 and 2007, although the total market value of products sold by the county's farms soared 30 percent, from $26 million to $35 million, with the biggest gains coming from livestock sales.
The Van Amburgh farm is certified to be organic, and the couple has targeted higher-margin markets, which they say has helped them remain afloat. They sell only grass-fed milk and beef, as compared to that from grain-fed cattle that supply most of the milk and beef made in the United States today.
Maple Hill Creamery, which makes European-style yogurt found in trendy stores such as Wegmans and Whole Foods, buys the Van Amburghs' milk, and their beef is sold in Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany and Mohawk Harvest co-op in Gloversville, as well as at the farm.
The Van Amburghs have also started making their own cheese, and they also sell cattle from their stock, which includes milk and beef Devon, red Dutch Belt and their own mix they called Ohontea, which is the Mohawk word for grass.
"We're making money now," Paul Van Amburgh said. "We're profitable."
Still, that business success doesn't really matter when the couple see themselves in the film, which was shown by Simmons on New Year's Eve at the Crandell Theatre in Chatham for about 200 friends and family.
Paul Van Amburgh says he felt what he describes as symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome while watching the family struggle in what appeared at the time to be a losing battle with a very bad ending.
"It brought back a lot of those feelings," Van Amburgh said. "Everybody (afterward) was very concerned."
David Cox, agriculture program leader for Cornell Cooperative Extension in Schoharie and Otsego Counties, says new farms can be overwhelming to even people with previous farming experience, especially since running the farm is only half the battle and that marketing the products can be just as frustrating. He says dairyfarming is stressful and time consuming because the cows have to be milked every 12 hours, without fail.
"That's a seven-day routine," Cox said. "That can get to you. It's a shocker."
lrulison@timesunion.com - 518-454-5504 - @larryrulison
Dharma Lea info:
Address: 6825 State Route 10 in Sharon Springs
Phone: 254-7019
Web site: http://www.dharmalea.com
About the film: Search the Slamdance web site at http://www.slamdance.com or search Facebook for The First Season.
