Last weekend's thunderstorms were particularly damaging for one small, central Maine farm, which lost eight cows to a lightning strike. The damage left the future of the farm in question — but recent fundraising efforts now have the owners optimistic about the future.
John and Annemarie Fortin walk with their two daughters through the fields of their sprawling farm in Winslow, just outside of Waterville. For generations, the family has run the operation on top of their full-time jobs, finding time during their off hours to raise about 80 cows in the pasture, then sell and donate meat for local events like spaghetti suppers.
"Our farm starts right with the cows and the bulls. And we raise them right up from calves. It takes about two years to get them to breeding age, or to process them for meat. So it's a long process," John said.
But on Saturday, in the midst of a thunderstorm, the future of the farm was thrown into question. At around 6pm, Fortin says he got a call from his neighbor, who said that a bolt of lightning struck a nearby pine tree, then electrocuted eight heifers huddled nearby.
"I wasn't expecting that at all. I thought maybe from the lightning, they'd gotten scared and ran through the fence. I told my dad, and he was baffled by it. In all his years farming, he's 62 years old, and he'd never seen it. Never heard of it," he said.
Fortin estimates replacing each cow could cost $1,500 or more, and the loss would include the value of the eight cows' future offspring, too.
The farm put out a message online asking for help on GoFundMe, writing: "We are just a small farm of proud men and women who don’t ask for a lot and are always willing to lend a hand to help or donate what we can. But I believe this loss could truly set us back years if not lead to the end of our farm."
"We were nowhere near expecting the turnout, the community support that we got," Fortin said.
By Wednesday afternoon, those supporters had donated more than $22,000. Fortin said he's both shocked and grateful, and that the last few days have shown him the value of what his farm has meant to the community for years.
"The families that we've fed - we've given away beef here and there, trying to support families in hard times," he said. "You definitely don't know the impact you have on it, until it happens to you. And they pay you back."
Fortin said the money should cover the cost of replacing the eight lost heifers. And he's already thinking of ways to give some of it back to the community, whether through local events or giveaways during the holiday season this winter.
