12 Photos
Mecox Bay Dairy Proprietor Art Ludlow cleans off and packages freshly-laid eggs inside the farm store on February 28th, 2022
Mecox Bay Dairy Proprietor Art Ludlow cleans off and packages freshly-laid eggs inside the farm store on February 28th, 2022
Mecox Bay Dairy Proprietor Art Ludlow works to get a recalcitrant tractor started on February 28th, 2022
Herdsman Claes Cassel treats a clowder of barn cats to some leftover fresh milk following the afternoon milking of the cows at the Mecox Bay Dairy on March 1st, 2022
Herdsman Claes Cassel feeds the cows at the Mecox Bay Dairy on March 1st, 2022
Mecox Bay Dairy Proprietor Art Ludlow makes a phone call in between chores on February 28th, 2022
Mecox Bay Dairy Proprietor Art Ludlow gets some company from his pigs - who are naturally curious creatures - as he works to fix a problem with the electric fence surrounding their pen on March 1st, 2022
A cow peeks inside the milking pen as she eagerly awaits her turn during the afternoon milking of the cows at the Mecox Bay Dairy on March 1st, 2022
A whiteboard for notes about all the cows inside the milking pen during the afternoon milking of the cows at the Mecox Bay Dairy on March 1st, 2022
Herdsman Claes Cassel sweeps up as the cows are being milked inside the milking pen during the afternoon milking of the cows at the Mecox Bay Dairy on March 1st, 2022
A rooster joins the party inside the milking pen during the afternoon milking of the cows at the Mecox Bay Dairy on March 1st, 2022
Milk, freshly pumped from the cows' udders, flows into a container during the afternoon milking of the cows at the Mecox Bay Dairy on March 1st, 2022
One might think these days, on the South Fork — which is now, more than ever, the “home away from home” for the fast-paced, jet-set of New York City and the wealthy suburbs of Connecticut and New Jersey — the simple, hard-working life of a local farmer would be a thing of the past.
But tucked in “south of the highway,” between the mega-mansions with Teslas and Range Rovers in the driveways, there lies the Mecox Bay Dairy, a Bridgehampton farm that has been producing local meat and dairy products since the turn of the 20th century.
Every day, dairy owner Art Ludlow, his sons, Peter and John, and herdsman Claes Cassel wake up before the sun rises to tend to their daily livestock chores: The cows need to be milked, twice a day; eggs need to be gathered from the hens and cleaned and packaged; the pigs (and calves) need to be fed; and, in season, the turkeys need to be fed, fattened up and cared for, for Thanksgiving.
Then, there are the myriad other chores that need to be done to keep the farm running smoothly: fences need to be mended, tractors and other farm machinery need to be maintained, and — importantly — the entire facility needs to be kept clean and sanitized to USDA and FDA specs (to the point where this photographer was not even allowed to enter the cheese-curing room).
A dairy farmer’s life is everything that’s been written about it: oftentimes hard, with long hours, in often cold, hot or inhospitable weather conditions. But, at the same time, it is simple and pure: working with your hands, working with nature, to provide a basic sustenance for all.
And in a time, and in a world, where so much is complicated and sophisticated, it is a breath of fresh air.
The Mecox Bay Dairy self-service store is located at 855 Mecox Road in Bridgehampton, and can be reached at 631-537-0335.
