For generations, farming has been a way of life for families all across Wayne County.
At one time, there were seventeen hundred dairy farms across the county. Now just a few dozen. But one of them is here at L Farm in Pleasant Mount. We want to introduce you to Ellis Dix and his granddaughter, Ashley, who are part of the AgroLegacy of the Northern Poconos.

“Well, at one o'clock in the morning when I got up, tried to get my breathing going so I can go out and get those cows at two. It's a good feeling to be able to go out there and bring those cows in for another day and just, uh, look, when the daylight comes at the surroundings, the pastures with those cows are grazing in. To have some help with my son and granddaughter who come every day to help me. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to do this.” — Ellis Dix, Ellday Farm

“Well, I guess I go back to when we were on. My dad rented my great grandfather's farm up in Starlight. And I can remember back then and when he bought the first tractor and it was like 1942, and we used to put the hay in loose back in those days, there was no baled hay. And he taught me to drive the tractor, to pull the rope, to pull the hay up off the wagon into the mound. So that was my earliest tractor driving. And also we had this old cow that my dad taught me to milk. And there was a picture of me sitting on a half bushel basket milking that cow before I went to school. So that was some of my earliest days back when we lived at Starlight.” — Ellis Dix

“I think agriculture still has a future in Wayne County. I'm on the ag preservation board, and we have a lot of farmland in Wayne County that has been preserved for the future of farming. Farming down the road. And I think agriculture is still here to stay in Wayne County. There's not as many dairy as there used to be, but there's a lot of beef animals that are coming to Wayne County now and some horse farms. A lot of horses. So agriculture is here to stay in Wayne County.” — Ellis Dix

Ellday Farm has been a part of Wayne County agriculture since 1961. At nearly 90 years old, Ellis Dix is still getting out into the fields with his family—and his herd—every day.
It's a big reason for the creation of AgroLegacy of the Northern Poconos, which certifies that the food and farm products with this symbol are grown or produced right here in Wayne County. It supports farmers including Ellis and his granddaughter Ashley.

“I think AgroLegacy is just a great program. And, you know, I'm a hometown girl, so I take a lot of pride in my hometown, Wayne County. So I think it's great that we're making an effort to just kind of broadcast this greatness that we have right here in Wayne County.” — Ashley Nebzydoski

“Well, I think it's a good program to help get our products and agriculture out before the general public. And I think we need to do a lot more of that to make people aware of what we have here in Wayne County. To promote that to the general public.” — Ellis Dix

“I am so proud to say I'm a ninth-generation farmer. Pretty unique life, I think I live. It's not everyone that can say that you work alongside your grandfather and your father every day. It's a different connection. We have quite the team here.” — Ashley Nebzydoski

“I guess the reason I keep doing it is because I love to do it. Otherwise I wouldn't be—even with, you know, I don't walk to it anymore and have my handicaps—but I still manage to keep going and get down there every day that I can. It's a part of my life. It's what keeps me going.” — Ellis Dix

“My whole family chips in and makes the effort because this certainly does take a lot of effort. But we all are very passionate about what we do. So that's what makes us wake up in the morning at two o'clock in the morning and have a long day. We do the same thing at two in the afternoon, twice a day. It's a lot of just putting a lot of time, a lot of effort. And everything's always changing every day. We might have a new calf. It's just a lot of motion, a lot of things in gear here.” — Ashley Nebzydoski

“Well, you're your own boss. That's true. The big thing—you could, if you want to take a day off, you can do it. And you can make your own decisions. If they're wrong, you'll learn from it. It's just a great, great life. And a way to raise your family is just so great.” — Ellis Dix

Families like the Dix family of Ellday Farm are part of the AgroLegacy of the Northern Poconos. You can support them and others—go to AgroLegacy.org where you can meet more farmers living out their AgroLegacy.