Robert Barnes’s farm does not satisfy anyone’s picturesque ideal. There are no rolling hay fields or livestock grazing in the distance.
Barnes’s farm sits on the side of Rt. 218 in Whitefield. There are a few broken-down vans he uses as grain and supply sheds and two low particleboard shelters for his geese and chickens.
The rest of the grounds are littered with old rusted wheelbarrows and hand tools.
A few hundred yards from the road, just inside the edge of the woods, is a PVC and scrap wood pigpen that has been a source of months of local controversy.
Some of Barnes’s neighbors have raised concerns about the level of care that he has provided his pigs. Those concerns have been printed regularly in the Letters to the Editor columns of The Lincoln County News.
State agricultural compliance inspectors as well as animal welfare inspectors have been to the property several times, and every time they’ve found that he is providing all of his animals with ample food, water and shelter, said Matthew Randall, the Agricultural Compliance Supervisor for the Dept. of Agriculture.
Barnes has also made improvements above the minimum requirements as per the suggestions of the inspectors, Randall said.
“From what I’ve been told, there’s always been effort shown and every time there’s been progress shown,” Randall said.
Though his enclosures may not be pretty, they are satisfactory for the health of his animals, the agency found.
To comply with state law, farm animals must have food, water and shelter. The shelter must give them an opportunity to get out of the elements, while giving them the ability to leave if they want.
“We used to board up every animal all winter,” Randall said. “But we’ve discovered that they can overheat and it can spread respiratory disease.”
For many people, the minimum standards for proper care of farm animals may not appear satisfactory, Randall said.
“There are different levels of care for animals, just like there are different levels for people,” Randall said. “Some people are happy to pay $50 per night to stay at a motel, and other people spend whatever it costs to stay at the Ritz Carlton.”
Barnes’s pigs may not be staying at a motel, but they are doing fine, Randall said.
“The farm isn’t the way I imagine it yet; I’ve still got work to do,” Barnes said. “But I’m doing the best I can and just trying to get by.”
Barnes sells chicken and goose eggs, but said that his financial situation makes it difficult to do as much upkeep on the farm as he’d like. Barnes said he has never turned down help.
“Some people have come by and left hay and feed for me,” he said. “I really appreciate their concern, and I’m glad they want to help. I’d like it if they’d stop by, so I could thank them.”
He’s received help on several occasions from Ellen McFarland of Newcastle. McFarland helped Barnes construct a shelter for his pigs this fall.
“He’s always been a very, very nice man,” McFarland said. “He just needed a little help, but he’s been terrific and he’s been very appreciative of someone stopping to lend a hand.”
McFarland raises animals of her own, including pigs, and although Barnes may not keep his animals the way she does, she said they seem happy and healthy.
“I love animals,” McFarland said. “They don’t fit with what everybody would do, but I’m comfortable that they have food and water and a place to get out of the wind and winter weather.”