Sloop Dairy Farm
2020
Sloop Dairy Farms pictured on November 8, 2020. Sloop Dairy Farms have been operated by the Sloop family for five generations. "Living on a farm instills certain values into those who work on it."
Ryan Sloop, 31, is the owner of Sloop Dairy Farms. It has been owned and operated by the Sloop Family for five generations. Throughout Ryan's childhood, he spent time on the farm helping his dad, Bob. He knew it was a right of passage to become a dairy farmer, just like his family before him. What he did not know was the hard times that lay ahead. Big dairy corporations have eliminated family-owned farms from making any real profit. Ryan says, “The only way to make $5 million from a farm is to start out with $4 million.”
Ryan Sloop, 31, is the owner of Sloop Dairy Farms. It has been owned and operated by the Sloop Family for five generations. Throughout Ryan's childhood, he spent time on the farm helping his dad, Bob. He knew it was a right of passage to become a dairy farmer, just like his family before him.
Ryan pulls out a fence log and begins the process of building a new fence along his property on November 8, 2020, in Mt. Ulla, North Carolina.
Ryan prepares a log to be punched into the ground on his property in Mt. Ulla, NC. "My hope is that in the next five years, we got a whole group of guys driving around the Carolinas with this kind of equipment."
The logging machine pictured with intimate details like Ryan's favorite drink, a Cheerwine.
"I was a little suspicious at first of the fencing business. It was my dad who convinced me to give it a shot. He invested his savings into this machine. Luckily he was right, but I wish he was here to still see it in person." Ryan delicately operates the machinery used to place fencing posts. It works by slamming a weight on top of the wood post into the ground. This creates a more compact position for the fence post.
Ryan owns the only Protech fencing machine in North Carolina. This puts him among an elite list of fencing experts in the region. His work has taken him all over the country. His dad accompanied him on many of these trips before his passing. "Having my dad with me and showing him the future of our farm firsthand, wow. I couldn't ask for any more than that."
"My dad gave me this cow after his favorite birthed a calf when I was eighteen. She has been the sweetest animal ever since. I used to sneak her sugar cubes in the middle of the night when she was young. I've called her Sugar from then on."
The cows push and shove each other, trying to get the feed. Once Ryan shakes the bucket, the cows trot in line to the normal feeding spot. Ryan often gets caught in the middle of what he calls a "cow hurricane", which is when all of the cows surround him while he is dropping their food.
Ryan in a self-described, "cow hurricane."