Harvesting the Good Life: Pennsylvania Farmer Continues to Run Silage Chopper at 96 Years Old
2023 Harvest of Thanks is a special edition of both AgDay and U.S. Farm Report. The show helps celebrate and honor traditions, while also sharing stories of gratitude. 2023 Harvest of Thanks is sponsored by Case IH and BASF.
Under a grey overcast sky, a mist is falling, coating every step as Paul Dotterer grabs the ladder rails of his Claas Jaguar 900. He throws his cane to the top platform and wills his knees into position on the damp metal rungs. Sturdy arms, flex with a lifetime of experience, as he pulls himself to the top of each step and eventually into the captain’s chair.
“I spent a lot of hours in this thing,” Dotterer says as he grabs the controls. “We got this new in 2001.”
He turns the key and the machine roars to life one more time. He won’t get much done in these muddy fields today, but he’ll move it into position to start chopping once the rows dry out.
“Now a days we can take a harvester out and do in an hour what used to take you two weeks,” chuckles Dotterer as his eyes survey the Nittany Valley in Pennsylvania.
At 96 years young, Paul has been harvesting these fields for decades and he’s still running hard.
“He still drives and so he'll run for parts or whatever,” says son John Dotterer. “I think that he does pretty well for 96.”
“I like to drive my truck and my boys send me everywhere,” adds Paul. “I’m here or there to get stuff. I'm the gopher.”
A Difficult Path
Paul and his wife Jean were married in 1949. A couple of years later, with help from his father-in-law they bought a small 15 cow dairy farm in Mill Hall, PA for $12,500.
“Before I even got married, I said I'll never marry a farmer because I was raised on a farm,” laughs Jean now 93. “We did well. It was a lot of work but the kids helped when they got older.”
Together they tackled the chores. Paul handled the farming, custom harvesting, milk hauling and machinery work. Jean did most of the milking in those early years.
“My biggest asset was my wife,” Paul says with heartfelt admiration. “She helped me so much and if wouldn't have been for her I don't know if I'd made it.”
Together the family and the farm grew.
“We always laugh about how years ago our Surge dealer said one day you might get as high as 35 cows,” says granddaughter Katie Dotterer. “I'm literally standing where there's 1200 cows that are milked three times a day every day.”
Today, 3 generations work together with a continuous focus on making this a diversified business. Through the years the Dotterers have found success in everything from custom fieldwork, to hauling milk, running an Allis-Chalmers equipment dealership, and now agritourism.
“My brother started a sunflower maize and got into selling sweet corn,” says granddaughter and dairy feed manager Lori Butler. “We have a lot of custom businesses and aren’t all in one business which is a good thing financially.”
Balancing all of these moving parts has always been a challenge.
“We just always try not to spend any more we absolutely have to,” adds son Larry Dotterer. “Sometimes I think we trip over a lot of dollars to pick up nickels.”
That frugality, a gift from family heads, Paul and Jean, continues to pay dividends.
“I just have to keep pinching myself because I think things are going too well sometimes,” says son John Dotterer with a smirk. “It's fun and it's better than a real job.”
As the third generation finds their feet, this well-oiled operation is hoping to build on its solid foundation.
“We've cobbled things up just to get through some hard times but we're now getting to the phase of the farm where we're going to redo and remodel some dairy barns,” says grandson Douglas Dotterer.
Today’s growing and modern farm isn’t lost on Paul. He knows building this business now would be much more difficult.
“If [young people] want to get into it today they better have a lot of money, a lot of effort and a lot of ambition,” says Paul. “It won't come easy.”
A Viral Sensation
Back in August, dressed in his work whites on day 1 of harvest, his granddaughter, Lori handed him a sign and snapped a photo.
“I was like Pop we're just going to do a quick photo,” recalls Butler. “He was just, we're doing what? So, we took that quick photo and it kind of just blew up.”
A glimmer of glee twinkled in his eye as Paul wrapped his hands around a plaque most often used in those ambitious back-to-school photos.
“It’s just the look on my grandfather's face,” says Katie. “You can just tell how happy he is.”
That joy, proudly posed in front of his Jaguar 900 found its way to social media and burned a viral path across the internet. His story and pure zeal for harvest on full display as the comments and shares poured in.
“I never won any prizes for my good looks,” laughs Paul.
“He can't put in the hours he used to, but I think it would literally kill him if he couldn't come here every day,” says Katie. “The farm is what keeps him going and this has been his passion his entire life.”
A Lifetime of Lessons
With the hustle of harvest on pause today, Paul takes time to reflect and appreciate the quiet moments.
“It's just unbelievable the amount of change that has come in my lifetime,” he reflects. “The equipment makes a big difference in what we do and it just keeps getting bigger and bigger. It used to be a lot of sweat and a lot of tears. Now, it's just sitting in an air-conditioned cab.”
After a lifetime of sharing, his team continues to turn the lessons Paul taught them into action. When asked what they’ve learned from his example, the pattern is clear.
“Don't take anything for granted and work hard,” says Douglas.
“When the sun shines, make hay and if you have weather, move, move, move,” adds John.
“Enjoy your vacations, but come back ready to work,” laughs Lori.
“Do what you got to do, and the cows come first,” follows Larry.
If you ask Paul what he's learned from his decades amid the rows and amongst the cows.
“You just learn to appreciate what you’ve got,” says Paul. “Some year’s harvest wasn't near what we'd like to have, while in other years it would be plentiful.”
As he drives toward his next field and his next harvest he might be slowing down, a little.
“I had to take his motorcycle from three years ago,” adds Larry. “No, really!”
Paul will tell you he's nowhere near his final pass.
“I'm convinced if you like what you do, don't sit down when you retire,” John says reflecting on his father’s legacy. “You won't last long.”
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