Of course, one specialist can’t help every barn owner, so Porter and his colleague, Francis Gilman, an extension agriculture engineer emeritus, produced a book called Preserving Old Barns: Preventing the loss of a valuable resource (2001). His specific task? Helping New England farmers keep their old barns standing. In 2006, Porter used his knowledge to start a consulting business called Farm Planning Services, and today, he is the extension professor/dairy specialist emeritus at the University of New Hampshire. The concrete truck couldn’t get close enough to pour the floor directly, so he had to carry the full weight of that floor one load at a time. He recalls one summer, home from college, when he worked with his father and a local carpenter renovating one of the barns, piloting wheelbarrows full of wet concrete to pour a floor. The Porter family owned a 400-cow dairy in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Porter spent his share of time tending the cows and maintaining the buildings. Growing up, Porter spent more time in his family’s 170-year-old barns than he did inside the house. Fortunately for this group, John Porter knows his way around old barns. Their challenge becomes how to keep these old barns from falling down. Many farmers build new barns, but some are lucky enough to buy or inherit property with old barns in place.
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