Unlike many co-op members, Scott and Martha Monroe are relative newcomers to the farming profession but they love it just as much. They started Pleasantville Farm in 1999 as a small diversified farm with beef cows and chickens. After they added a couple of milking cows, they milked the cows by hand into a bucket, separated the cream, and churned fresh butter every day. Around 2003, they increased to seven milkers and started shipping a small quantity of milk. It has grown slowly but steadily from there.
Scott, Martha, and their two adult children all pitch in to make the farm work, while also holding down other jobs as well. Scott is an oil burner technician and Martha runs a daycare center on the farm. The older kids love to help out in the barn with milking and feeding the calves. Rachel, their daughter, always helps with haying and lends a hand with daycare. Their son Michael lives nearby and helps with haying too, as well as equipment, and, yes, even takes charge of the children upon occasion. Everybody does whatever needs doing to get the job done.
The Monroes consider their farm part of the community and open their barn to all. Parents love to drop their kids off with Martha because they know they are learning about the land, getting lessons about agriculture and animal care, and spending time outdoors. Friends and neighbors stop by with friends and relatives to show off their local dairy farm. School groups and scout troops also come through regularly. “The work is relentless,” admits Martha, “but it’s the most joyful and fun work I could imagine.”