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Riley at her new home in Haverhill, NH

Dairy Cow Receives Pardon As Yet Another New England Dairy Farm Shuts Their Doors.

Tomten Farm and Sanctuary commits to keeping a special milk cow from going to slaughter and she finds herself living the life of Riley. Jersey cow, Ripley, has found her “Believe It or Not”.

Haverhill, NH - It’s not often one sees an animal sanctuary and a dairy farm team up to save a life but that is just what happened when a struggling New Hampshire dairy farmer chose to gift one of his cows to Tomten Farm and Sanctuary instead of sending her for processing.

As one local dairy farmer after another suffers financial losses due to milk prices plummeting below the cost of production, traditional family farms throughout New England continue to close at an alarming rate. Both farmers and cows find themselves in trouble as communities find their landscape and neighbors forever changed.

Ripley, a 9-year-old Jersey cow, who has produced over 100,000 pounds and almost 15,000 gallons 8 4 Legs & a Tail of milk, was one of the thousands of dairy cows who are finding themselves at risk as barns close their doors once and for all. After years of remaining on the same farm, they are run through herd dispersal sales, shipped to auction or loaded onto trailers to go straight to the processor and be “beefed.” But, lucky for Ripley, she found her “believe it or not” moment thanks to the effort of one small farm, the caring farmer who owned her and the generous people who made it possible via their contributions to the 100% donorfunded and 100% volunteer-staffed, Tomten Farm and Sanctuary.

The collaboration bet ween Jenifer Vickery of Tomten Farm and Sanctuary and Hal Covert of Peaked Moon Farm presented an opportunity to not only save a special cow but to shed light on the plight of the less than 1500 dairy farms left in New England and the many animals and humans whose fate will be forever changed by their closing. “It doesn’t have to be ‘us against them’,” says Tomten founder Jenifer Vickery when asked why she would consider teaming up a dairy farmer. “Everyone is on their own journey surviving the best they know-how and we respect that while hoping to do more, be more and give more to animals in need. Raising awareness and promoting compassion for humans and animals is an important part of our mission and directly impacts the future of the animals we love. Without it, there will be nothing left but Big Ag and it will be a significant loss for humans and animals.”

In the case of the cow called Ripley on one ear tag and Riley on another, this act of generosity not only saved her but offered Covert the satisfaction of saving the life of at least one of the spent production cows in his herd who, for several years, has been part of his living as a New England dairy farmer.

Tomten founder Vickery says, “We have no doubt that Ripley will be an ambassador for the remain ing dairy cows in New England and help to inspire compassion while creating a deeper awareness of small farms, the animals who reside on them and the direction agriculture is heading.” She, her Board and all who support Tomten Farm and Sanctuary are hopeful that Ripley’s well-deserved pardon will stimulate thought and conversation in New Hampshire and beyond.

Ripley resides in Haverhill, NH with 4 other rescued cows where she remains for the rest of her days feeling the sun on her back, the earth beneath her feet and is valued simply for her beautiful presence.

Tomten Farm and Sanctuary is a 501(c)(3) dedicated to providing peace, protection, and possibility to animals in need. It is home to 50 + rescued animals, including horses, goats, sheep, donkeys, pigs, cats, rabbits, chickens, geese and ducks.

The Sanctuary opens its gates to the public during regularly scheduled RSVP Farm Tours. Their next public tour is June 21st where they welcome all to get up close and personal with the rescues, hear their stories and be touched by the magic and miracle of each life. For more information and to rsvp, TF&S invites all to travel beside them virtually via their very active Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/tomtenfarmandsanctuary/.

Spring 2020