Penny and John Duncan at York Hill Farm, their home and place of business for more than three decades. The couple quietly retired from their goat cheese business in October.
The Duncans in the 1980s, selling their cheeses at the Common Ground Country Fair.
"No cheese – Retired. Thank you" reads a sign outside of York Hill Farm in New Sharon. Staff photo by Brianna Soukup
Penny Duncan gazes out of the window in what was York Hill Farm's cheesemaking facility.
John Duncan enters the former cheesemaking facility. York Hill Farm's recipes and equipment are for sale on Farmlink, along with mentorship from the Duncans on caring for livestock and making cheese.
York Hill Farm, the Duncans' home. "If they retire and their brand and know-how just kind of evaporates, it's a loss not just to their customers and their community but to the state," said Stephanie Welcomer, a professor of management at the University of Maine.
The Duncans sold cheese to Whole Foods in the Boston area until about eight years ago, during the recession. They then decided to focus on local markets.
John and Penny Duncan sold the last of their goats on Oct. 28, but they weren't interested in selling their land or their pre-1820 farmhouse.
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