Cows are Out!: Two Decades on a Maine Dairy Farm

by Trudy Chambers Price

In this bittersweet memoir of two decades of dairy farming, Trudy Chambers Price writes of the daily trials of haying, cow breeding, and milking against a backdrop of gentle and entertaining rural life. The work was never-ending and exhausting, but also exhilarating and rewarding. She introduces kind neighbors, eccentric neighbors, visiting city folk, and loveable pets. The Cows Are Out! is a tribute to hard-working family farmers and to an important part of the nation's historical and cultural heritage.

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction

250 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Isaac Ingraham]

The Cows are Out! is a fun book to read. It is a story about a Maine family and the adventures they have living and growing up on a dairy farm in rural Maine. Trudy has written about some very funny things that happened during this time. She shares stories about her family and neighbors. Some of these things you will never see today. I think one of the funniest parts in the book is when Trudy tells the story about Old Frank Davis. Frank did not want to miss anything. He went as far as having his outhouse pointed towards the road. Trudy wrote, "If Frank was on schedule when we happened by, we couldn't help seeing him sitting there, drawers dropped to the floor around his ankles."(page 49). She also tells about the time she wants to get an all over farmers tan so she took off her shirt and hung it on the rear light.

When she is done raking she goes to put on her shirt on only to realize that it is no longer on the rear light. She writes, "The clothes must have bounced off the tractor when I hit a woodchuck hole" (page 82). I would recommend everyone reading this book. It is a true story about what really happens growing up on a farm.i would recomand this book for people that like farms.

[Balloon Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite enjoyable memoir of a hard life on a dairy farm in Maine.

[Sally Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a terrific book! This book was funny, poignant, and sweet. I loved every page of it and I'd probably even read it again.

[James Fisher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book probably should have another star, but farming has never been of interest to me, although I have always appreciated the work farmers do. After reading this book, I appreciate them even more. But, like the author, I can understand that 20 years of it was enough and farming is no country for old folks. The book is written in a friendly, down-to-earth style so that even while I may not have been that interested in the subject, there is knowledge to be gleaned from the narrative as well as events, both happy and sad.
The new epilogue is enlightening in itself, picking up where the first edition left off to catch us up on all the major people in Trudy's life. A pleasurable read! If you are a farmer or have farmed, then The Cows are Out! will be a four or perhaps a five-star read for you.

[Patricia]

Two books in a row about farm living have convinced me that the farm life that my own mother ran away from was the correct action.

I bought this book in Maine...as it is about a dairy farm in Maine. Very well written and a plea to treat our nations food producers in mine when complaining about prices. It isn't the farmers who get the profits

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a nice tale of life on a farm--the American dream to some people. At the same time the ending makes the fact that many farmers today can't stay afloat on their own even more of a pressing issue to me. These people are working harder than anyone and they just can't make ends meet without becoming massive, stress-filled operations. Something has to change about agriculture in this country.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cows are Out! is a fun farm memoir. You probably won't learn much (other than how debt on a farm can get out of control fast), but it's much better to read about 3 am milking than it is to actually experience it, right?

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed her style of writing very much.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Reading about Ms. Chambers-Price's adventures on a dairy farm in Maine. Watching her learn as she went throu the years on the farm was amazing.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!