The Milk Producer - August 2009 - (Page 46)

THEBACKFORTY By Sharon Laidlaw Woodstock revisited How a dairy farmer embraced peace, love and music to become an icon of the ’60s ax Yasgur managed just three words before the cheers of half a million city kids interrupted his speech. He had drawn those cheers by saying: “I’m a farmer.” After the cheering subsided, Yasgur finished a brief speech that made him a pop culture icon—the dairy farmer who hosted one of history’s greatest musical events. This month marks the 40th anniversary of that event in upstate New York known simply as Woodstock. When Yasgur first met Michael Lang, a partner in Woodstock Ventures Ltd., he wasn’t sure what to expect. Neither did Lang and his three partners who just wanted to throw a big rock concert. It turned into a three-day festival that defined the dreams and values of the 1960s generation determined to make a statement. A friend had suggested Lang, one of the Woodstock Ventures partners, contact Yasgur about renting his field near Bethel, N.Y. for $50 a day. Lang later described his first encounter with Yasgur’s 600-acre parcel of land as magical. “It was perfect. The sloping bowl, a little rise for the stage. A lake in the background. The deal was sealed right there in the field,” Lang told a reporter with The Times HeraldRecord, an area newspaper. “Max and I were walking on the rise above the bowl. When we started to talk business, he was figuring on how 46 | July 2009 | MilkPRODUCER M A commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque marks the original of marks the original site of Woodstock. An estimated Woodstock. An estimated 500,000 hippies converged 500,000 hippies converged on an upstate New York on an upstate New York dairy farm in August 1969 dairy farm in August 1969 for the for the legendary festival. (Photo by James Riley) (Photo by James Riley) much he was going to lose in this crop and how much it was going to cost him to reseed the field. He was a sharp guy, ol’ Max, and he was figuring everything up with a pencil and paper. He was wetting the tip of his pencil with his tongue. I remember shaking his hand, and that's the first time I noticed that he had only three fingers on his right hand. But his grip was like iron. He’s cleared that land himself.” Yasgur, who died in 1973, was said to be a strong-willed man of his word and was well known around Sullivan County. He attended New York University where he studied real estate law, but moved back to his family’s dairy farm in the 1940s. A few years later, Yasgur wanted to expand. He sold the family farm in Maplewood and moved to Bethel. Throughout the ’50s and ’60s, Yasgur slowly built a dairy herd. By the time he was approached by the Woodstock Ventures team, he was the biggest milk producer in the county. He had several delivery routes, a large refrigeration complex and a pasteurization plant. The 600 acres Lang and his partners sought was only part of Yasgur’s property. Yasgur reportedly received $75,000 for the deal he struck with the Ventures team. On August 17, 1969, an estimated 500,000 festival-goers, mostly hippie youth, converged on Yasgur’s dairy farm for three days of peace, love and music. They cheered all the big-name rock music stars of the day who performed that weekend, but none drew louder cheers than Yasgur. Source: www.yasgurroad.com. http://www.yasgurroad.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Milk Producer - August 2009

The Milk Producer - August 2009
Contents
Editor's Notes
DFO Chair's Message
Dairy Update
Industry Roundup
DFC Promotion
Our Readers Have Spoken
Issues Update
Research
Applied Science
Ruminations
Markets
New 'n' Noted
Back Forty

The Milk Producer - August 2009