Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park - Tim and Dot Leach (U.S. National Park Service)

A family of six stands in front of a wooden fence, with black and white Holstein cows grazing behind them.

Jeffrey P. Roberts

Current and future generations

"This farm is in our blood. I can't visualize ever leaving here. I want to make sure my children will be able to make a good living here, too. We hope at least one of them will be the seventh generation on the farm."
Tim Leach

Tim and Dot Leach own a 428-acre dairy farm along the Mettowee River in southwestern Vermont. They are the sixth generation of the Leach family to operate Woodlawn Farm, which today milks 350 Holsteins and sells its registered stock around the world.

An aerial scene of farm buildings and green pastures nestled in Vermont’s forested hills.

Jeffrey P. Roberts

Woodlawn Farm

Tim and Dot, along with many of their neighbors, have voluntarily sold the development rights to their land to the Vermont Land Trust in order to enhance the Farm's financial stability and preserve the agricultural heritage and rural character of the Mettowee Valley. Since its founding in 1977, the Land Trust has conserved nearly 200,000 acres of farm and forest land - roughly three and a half percent of Vermont's privately owned land.