Thursday - another new state (Massachusetts), another Harvest Host

Whoops -- I had this ready to post but I think I never posted it! Sorry!

We left Rhode Island on Thursday morning on our way to Massachusetts. After a stop at Walmart for shopping (the Jeep is so full with the spare tire inside that we needed to stop with Gracie to be able to bring groceries directly inside!), we arrived at our Harvest Host for the night, Whittier Farms.

We stopped at "The Milk Store" to check in and find out where we should park.

The farm extends over 500 acres...

... we were asked not to walk around the dairy part, but the produce area was available...

We saw some tractors out that Jimmy might appreciate seeing...

I was surprised that the sticker on this one was still on and readable!

Another picture of the farm sign.

Near The Milk Store are a couple of animal pens...

Mae was born in early March...

... she has a heart on her forehead.

"Carl" was born near the end of February...

... he did not seem to have much interest in meeting his co-named visitor!

One of the folks from the farm said that the calves that are in the pens on display are usually named by the first kids who happen to arrive after the calf has been placed in the display pen.

Two horses (only one was visible - the other was lying down).

Some cow silhouettes on the property

Sign out front

After we had walked to the produce area, and then walked back, we met some of the family members and were asking about some of the things we saw in the produce area... so we walked back over there to take some pictures.

We knew about the mulch sheeting.

But we had never seen a "CropCare" vehicle before... we wondered about the solar panels...

It turns out that it is a device to aid in the working with produce...

... the worker lays face down on the machine and can pick or plant or weed without having to bend or kneel down.

It has an electric motor to be able to move it down the row.

The lady from the farm who told us about it said that the workers found it a lot more comfortable and they had less physical injuries as a result of using it. She said that she had not used it herself, but her sister-in-law had used it when her daughter was 6 months old and the baby was able to ride along in her baby carrier on the machine.

More information: https://cropcareequipment.com/vegetable-equipment/picking-assistant/

https://vegetablegrowersnews.com/article/machine-makes-it-easier-to-pick-strawberries/ 

https://cropcareequipment.com/blog/aging-farmer-extends-career-with-picking-assistant/ 

Sounds nice to be able to avoid bending and kneeling -- but one of the articles listed the price at $3100 which seems pretty high!

It appears that they cut some hay today in the field beyond the produce area.

A few of the dairy cows across the road from The Milk Store.

We're parked on a hard-packed dirt lot next to The Milk Store.

Whittier Farms just became a Harvest Host about a month ago. They've been shocked by the BIG rigs that have come in to park overnight. They are planning to create a new parking area for the RVs that come, but they have come to realize that they need to consider the size and weight of the units in what they allocate for parking. They are enjoying meeting the folks that come in through the Harvest Hosts program.