{"id":766,"date":"2018-02-14T23:00:38","date_gmt":"2018-02-15T04:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/?p=766"},"modified":"2018-05-07T17:20:42","modified_gmt":"2018-05-07T22:20:42","slug":"lydia-ratcliff-vermont-farmer-stoic-survivor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/lydia-ratcliff-vermont-farmer-stoic-survivor\/","title":{"rendered":"Lydia Ratcliff: Vermont Farmer, Stubborn Survivor"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;ve decided to re-post this ThoughtCast program from July 1, 2009 because my friend Lydia Ratcliff died yesterday, February 14th, 2018. The New York Times has written an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/02\/19\/obituaries\/lydia-ratcliff-dead.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">obituary<\/a> of her that I think is worth reading. She fought COPD for over a decade, so she could remain involved in the life of her Andover farm, her friends, and the ideas and preoccupations which sustained her.<\/p>\n<p>Note: this audio program was broadcast on WAMC and WGBH radio in Boston, and the audio program and slideshow were featured on NHPR.org.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"301\" height=\"223\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-786\" title=\"Milking Time at Lovejoy Brook Farm\" src=\"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/rodeo.jpg\" alt=\"Milking Time\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/rodeo.jpg 301w, https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/rodeo-300x222.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 301px) 100vw, 301px\" \/>About 40 years ago, farms were thick on the ground in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.virtualvermont.com\/towns\/andover.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Andover<\/a>, a rural town in <a href=\"https:\/\/vermont.gov\/portal\/government\/towns.php?town=4\">southern Vermont<\/a>. Today, 75-year-old Lydia Ratcliff\u2019s <em>Lovejoy Brook Farm<\/em> is the last working farm still in operation. But can it survive much longer? ThoughtCast&#8217;s Jenny Attiyeh grew up visiting Lydia each summer, listening to her tales, eating fresh corn and carrots from her garden, and watching the animals give birth, and grow old. On a recent visit to see Lydia, Jenny brought along her microphone \u2026<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/6371172?title=0&amp;byline=0&amp;portrait=0\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Lydia Ratcliff is a survivor. She&#8217;s farmed her 90 acre plot of land in Andover Vermont for 43 years, and though she&#8217;s now come down with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.com\/health\/copd\/DS00916\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">COPD<\/a>, she still climbs on top of that tractor in hay season.<br \/>\nDoes she offer a lesson for the rest of us? Does she represent the <a href=\"https:\/\/neklocalvores.wordpress.com\/2009\/03\/03\/213\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">future of farming<\/a> in Vermont, or is she one of the last of a dying breed?<br \/>\nClick here <a href=\"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/podcasts\/LydiaStory9;08mono.mp3\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/mike.jpeg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a> to listen (9 minutes.)<\/p>\n<div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_11\"><!--[if lt IE 9]><script>document.createElement('audio');<\/script><![endif]-->\n<audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-766-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/podcasts\/LydiaStory9;08mono.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/podcasts\/LydiaStory9;08mono.mp3\">https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/podcasts\/LydiaStory9;08mono.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_links_mp3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 1px !important;\">Podcast: <a href=\"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/podcasts\/LydiaStory9;08mono.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_pinw\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Play in new window\" onclick=\"return powerpress_pinw('https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/?powerpress_pinw=766-podcast');\" rel=\"nofollow\">Play in new window<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/podcasts\/LydiaStory9;08mono.mp3\" class=\"powerpress_link_d\" title=\"Download\" rel=\"nofollow\" download=\"LydiaStory9;08mono.mp3\">Download<\/a><\/p><p class=\"powerpress_links powerpress_subscribe_links\">Subscribe: <a href=\"https:\/\/thoughtcast.org\/feed\/podcast\/\" class=\"powerpress_link_subscribe powerpress_link_subscribe_rss\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Subscribe via RSS\" rel=\"nofollow\">RSS<\/a><\/p><!--powerpress_player-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lydia Ratcliff: Vermont Farmer, Stubborn Survivor, on ThoughtCast<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[782,29,382,48],"tags":[390,387,393,383,397,385,73,389,396,395,388,394,386,391,72,392,384],"class_list":["post-766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-new-podcast","category-economics","category-environment","category-front-page","tag-andover-vermont","tag-cows","tag-dairy-farm","tag-farming","tag-free-range","tag-goats","tag-jenny-attiyeh","tag-livestock-guardian-dog","tag-lovejoy-brook-farm","tag-lydia-ratcliff","tag-maremma","tag-organic","tag-sheep","tag-small-farm","tag-thoughtcast","tag-vermont-dairy-farm","tag-vermont-farm"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.3 - 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