I’ve made lots of stories about my friend Forrest Foster, a dairy farmer in Hardwick. He prides himself on being an ‘independent dairyman’. But a couple months ago, Forrest sold the cows.

The last couple years have been hard on him. He lost his wife Karen. His barn isn’t up to code so he recently lost his insurance and he can’t keep the wood furnace burning in the house while he’s doing chores in the barn. But hardest of all, and like so many families, Forrest has a son with an addiction problem, which is expensive and terrifying and fills his life with uncertainty.

So. This is a story about why Forrest is getting done with dairy farming…at least for now.