I began photographing for this project back in 2015 as a part of my senior thesis exhibition at NYU. I was interested in the balance between generational dairy farmers in Delco and the new age farmers, many of whom come from New York City.
Millard Russell’s granddaughters arranging photos for his funeral service. Millard was a life long farmer in Bovina.Jack Burns’ Belties in Bovina.My highschool classmate Darin Clark. His family has ran Clark Farms since 1907. His twin brother Kyle took over right around when this was taken.Abigail Bojo lining up before the Demolition Derby.
I didn't personally have any farm experience but many of my classmates in high school would come in with manure on their shoes already having done chores before our 8am classes.
Dairy farms are struggling to survive upstate. The influx of wealthy transplants from the city, especially after 2020, always seems to underscore that. A lot of the stores turned into something you'd find in the West Village. Places change ownership, barns and homes are sold, the cost of everything is up, and I have a hard time recognizing any faces driving into town.
Jack Burns’ belties on Bramley Mountain Rd.My dog, Frances’, footprints with some deer prints. Hanselman’s dairy farm. Simon Martinez of Flaca Vaca Farm collecting sap buckets in January 2018, a few weeks before him and Robert moved to Detroit. They moved to Stamford from New York City. They sold their property and their cattle. Scarecrow contest at Bovina Farm Day. Steve Burnett, who is now a full time farmer after living and working in NYC and owning a second home in Bovina. Hay pile at Bovina Farm Day. The Demolition Derby at the Delaware County Fair. Miquela was also the Dairy Princess.Miquela Lee Hanselman, the youngest sibling out of seven, working in their barn.Yumi, a Red Poll cattle at Flaca Vaca Farm in Stamford. A broken roadside memorial in Delhi. A barn falling apart on my Mom’s Bovina property. Several years later it was purchased by someone who lived in the city and restored. The goal is for it to become a house for family. A roadside memorial in South Kortright. Lucky Dog Farm, an organic vegetable farm in Hamden. Preparing to drive to the Union Square Farmers Market at 5am. Delaware County Fair.Cody Weber’s derby car back in Bovina after the fair. Trevor Harrington’s first year in the Derby. Issac and Valentina. Issac's parents, Kate and Dan Marsiglio have been running Stony Creek Farm, a farm-stay in Walton, NY, since 2005. Derby.Chicken processing day at Stony Creek Farm.
When I do go up I do my best to photograph things that still feel like what I knew in high school. That's mostly the fair, animals, the landscape, and some small things more personal to me. I hope to continue to add more.
Frances on my Mom’s Bovina property. Delhi.Flaca Vaca Farm in the summer. A version of this project was featured in the Metro Section of the NYT in November of 2016.