For this Pennsylvania family, the dairy farm is gone but memories and a legacy remain.
Anthony Hix, comes from a multigenerational dairy farm in Mohrsville, Pennsylvania. While home for Thanksgiving, he reminisced about what was once a fully operational dairy barn owned and operated by his grandfather.
Hix, 21, spent most of his life helping his family on Skyline Acres – milking, herding and repairing.
In 2021, after several years of declining milk prices, his family made the decision to sell their cows and retire from the dairy industry. Over the past year, the Hix family has found alternative ways to feed their passion for agriculture.
Having accumulated upwards of 20 beef cows as well as growing crops on their over 1,000-acre property, they continue their legacy as farmers.
Hix is pursuing a degree in aerospace engineering at Penn State, with plans to graduate in the spring. He has dreams of pursuing his own contributions to the farming industry.
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~ 12.19.2022
Man it hard to see your family that you love so dearly be in that position. Ya know as a family we dont always stop and tell them just how important they are in your heart. Ya know my daddy when he was alive would tell me stories of how Uncle Ray and Aunt Glenna helped care for him when my grand dad died in 1954. My dad was 12 yrs old and just lost his father. He was a scared little boy and was very uncertain of what life was gonna deal him next. All of my fathers aunts and uncles chipped in to help my Gremmy care for her 3 sons. They would let my dad come out during the summers and help on the farm and help take the load off my grandmother. My dad was the best and he was because of all the love his family showed him in his time of need. Showed him how to be a man , and a awesome father. I love my family and always will even if we dont speak everyday. They are my kin and if they ever need anything that I can help them with id never hesitate because thats what you do. Its heartbreaking to see what they have worked so hard for it be taken. I always had a deep respect for there love of the land. Truly the salt of the earth. I always spent lots of time outdoors with my dad, it was for sure the best days of my young life. Now I’m a father and I just try and make my dad proud. Farmers feed the world and It has to be one of the most honest professions. You need to be so many different professions to run one successfully. You must be a welder, mechanic, financial wizard, you must stretch every dime in to a quarter, you need to understand chemistry, botany, diesel mechanic, heavy equipment operations and probably a dozen more I’m forgetting. They are the hardest working people in the world and Im proud to share my name with them ….damm proud