ABRAMS – Abrams farm owners Megan Tobin-Jaklin and Dan Jaklin have found a way to avoid the stress many farmers feel from events out of their control.
Tobin-Jaklin has a day job as an IT data analyst, she said, while her husband works as a maintenance supervisor. On their days off, they’re maintaining and repairing the 22-acre Spring Creek Farm at 6749 County Highway E in Abrams, while their four children, ages eight to 18, are learning about life on a farm. They lease the farmhouse to tenants, but hope to live there someday, perhaps when they retire, Tobin-Jaklin said.
Making a living at farming isn’t what it used to be as many farmers feel pressured to purchase high-tech equipment and grow their herd size. Some take the opposite route and sell their herds to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, preferring to raise smaller herds. Others switch to growing cash crops or they decide to sell the farm and move into town.
By moonlighting as a farm owner, Tobin-Jaklin said she can have her dream of farm ownership while earning a paycheck with benefits elsewhere. “I don’t know how you could just be a farmer. It would be so stressful,” she said.
This way, the family can pick and choose what they want to do on the farm.
All together, they raise about 70 animals and fowl — including donkeys, ponies, goats, sheep, bunnies, pot-bellied pigs, feeder pigs, mini jersey and highland cows, chickens, ducks and geese. About 15 cats live at the farm, and they’ve all been spayed or neutered, she said. The family also has three dogs that live in their home in Pittsfield, about 15 miles from Spring Creek Farm.
The Jaklins’ four children enjoy petting the animals and bottle-feeding them, she said.
For the children, the farm also is a place for exploring the woods, floating on the creek, swinging on a zip line or using a climbing wall in the upper barn, she said.
She wants to open Spring Creek Farm and its petting animals for birthdays and educational programs, such as geotracking. “I want more people to come visit and enjoy these animals in a free space,” she said. “I like the petting zoo. I want one of everything, and I want kids to come. They don’t get to engage with animals like this,” she said.
How to make a go of a petting-zoo farm financially is still being determined. An Easter egg hunt this past spring that aimed to pull a crowd of paying visitors didn’t generate the turnout she hoped for. Still, Tobin-Jaklin said seeing the smiles on children’s faces when they greet the animals makes it worthwhile.
The Jaklins purchased the farm in 2021 after they drew complaints for keeping pigs at their house in Pittsfield, she said. “The town came after us. We had to get rid of the pigs,” she said.
“We stumbled upon this place three-and-a-half years ago,” she said. “When they took our bid, we just bought a farm.” It was dilapidated and needed work – a lot of shoveling manure, scrubbing, repairing and painting, she said. “I was out there for days shoveling,” Tobin-Jaklin said.
Dan Jaklin’s ability to fix things meant the couple could buy used equipment and repair it. They also fixed up the house to lease it to tenants. “We purchased it because the house was able to be cleaned up easily for renting,” she said.
As soon as the fence was fixed, Tobin-Jaklin started adding animals to the barnyard. She has learned what she needs to know from neighboring farmers, merchants, Facebook friends and a mentor she became acquainted with who helped her find a veterinarian.
She also has learned through trial and error, “I was scammed once.” She bought animals that turned out to be sick and didn’t do well and learned to go to breeders she can trust.
“We learned to take it one step at a time.” Their goal is to operate a sustainable farm.
“We worked our tails off, and it’s still not where we want it to be, but it’s become such a beautiful place,” she said. “It’s been the best decision we ever made.”
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