A former Bar Harbor dairy farm is again producing milk thanks to the efforts of Maggie and Lucien Smith.

Maggie Smith and her husband Lucien have started selling fresh, raw, whole milk from their farm on the Crooked Road in Bar Harbor.

So far, production is limited to 14 gallons a day. But, the Smiths have big plans for their 60-acre spread.

“Hopefully, this will build and we’ll be able to make a living out of it,” Ms. Smith said during a recent morning milking session.

She and her husband bought the former Fogg farm property from Aaron and Barbarina Heyerdahl in 2001. The property was affordable for the couple because a conservation easement held by Maine Coast Heritage Trust limited potential development.

The easement, Ms. Smith said, encourages agriculture and limits uses on the property. It seemed the perfect location for the couple to pursue their dream of running a small farm.

Maggie Smith fills bottles with fresh raw milk straight from the cows at the Smith family farm.

The couple seems well prepared for the work. Mr. Smith has a degree in agriculture from the University of Maine. Ms. Smith also studied there.

“I milked cows for credit at the university but I never worked on a dairy farm,” she said.

After graduation, the couple ran a vegetable farm in Arundel. In 1999, they moved to Mount Desert Island, where Mr. Smith became manager of Beech Hill Farm, an organic farm owned by the College of the Atlantic. When planning for their own agricultural business, selling produce took a back seat to dairy products.

“I like cows, working with animals and dairy products,” Ms. Smith said.

At one time there were as many as 40 dairy farms in operation on Mount Desert Island, according to Debbie Dyer of the Bar Harbor Historical Society. Over the years, increases in production costs and the dominance of larger farms put an end to locally produced dairy products. The last remaining dairy farm on the island ceased operations in the early 1970s.

The milk sold by the Smiths – raw, and with a thick layer of cream on the top – is a far cry from the thinner products coming from the large dairy farms and more like that sold by local farmers in the early 20th century.

“There’s a really big demand for raw milk because it’s so tasty,” Ms. Smith said.

In fact, the Smiths chose Jersey cows for the quality of their milk.

“Their milk is high in butterfat, which means tasty milk,” Ms. Smith explained.

It also makes tasty yogurt, she said.

“Our goal here is to make yogurt,” Ms. Smith said. “This is like our startup, doing the raw milk.”

Ms. Smith now makes about 16 quarts of yogurt each week in the kitchen of the home the couple built on the property. The product isn’t yet for sale in stores but should be soon, Ms. Smith said. She plans to expand production by moving the yogurt operation into the milk processing room in the dairy barn.

The Smiths plan to diversify in other ways as well. Selling chocolate milk is one idea. They also raise pigs, which they sell for meat, and Mr. Smith hopes to raise greenhouse tomatoes. It’s all part of making the farm economically viable.

For now, tending to their 10 cows – five of which produce milk – keeps the couple very busy. Along with milking the cows each morning and evening, and bottling the product, the couple makes sure the cows are fed and the barn is clean.

They do get some help from their 5-year-old son, Thorin, and 3-year-old daughter, Siri. But, so far, 8-month-old Lyra has only changed the milking schedule.

“I used to do both milkings until I had Lyra,” Ms. Smith said.

Now she milks in the morning; Mr. Smith does the evening milking.

Milk from the Smith Family Farm is available at the Alternative Market in Bar Harbor and Sawyer’s Market in Southwest Harbor.

Single-serving containers are sold at the College of the Atlantic dining hall in Bar Harbor.

The milk can also be purchased directly from the Smiths at the farm for $6 a gallon. Having families with small children come to the farm to buy milk is one of the greatest rewards of running the farm, Ms. Smith said.

“Kids are so into seeing the cows,” she said. “People don’t have the opportunity anymore to meet the people who make their milk.”

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