INVERCARGILL, New Zealand, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- It was the crack of dawn. Flocks of sheep were scattered around the area and their bleats echoed into the crisp summer air. There wasn’t much to be seen except for one thing: the silhouette of a zealous farmer and the cacophonous roar of his tractor in the distant paddocks.

As the day dawned with a cloudless sky, the farmer whistled as he drove his tractor repetitively in circles. Sweat trickled down his chin in the first few minutes of mowing. As he stopped to catch his breath, he yelled across the sea of open green land to an excited border collie that wagged its tail while it cornered a sheep. For many, the day had not started but for Ian Smith, another day of farming had already begun.

Ian Alexander Smith was born in 1951 in Invercargill, New Zealand, where he still lives. His farm covers 880 acres, developed over three generations of farming. As he proudly showed a visitor around his property, he laughed as he explained that with a view of the ocean to the south, he "always got first use of the cold weather." His house featured a garage filled with tools alien to a city dweller.

Invercargill was in all contexts home to him and his wife, Heather. He had spent more than 40 years on a farm surrounded by landscape both beautiful and serene.

When Ian’s grandfather, Alexander Smith, bought land in 1927, the farm was 350 acres. Through the years, Alexander’s vision of the farm came alive.

Mustering a wide grin, he motioned for the visitor to get on his motorbike. With his passenger desperately holding on to the dog for dear life, Ian gestured toward the fences and explained with gusto that the 880 acres of fences surrounding the farm were hand-built.

"It’s a chore and a bore but it had to be done properly," he bellowed above the din of the motorbike’s engine.

Ian then fell silent as he thought about the gray cloud threatening the farm's festive light. Sighing, he said the farm’s future looked bleak, there was only a slim chance that one of his four children would take it over.

"The farm's current gross income was less than twice our eldest daughter and husband’s yearly income," Ian explained.

As the farm was no longer generating a sustainable income, none of his children desired to take over after their father.

This included his oldest son Greg Smith (this reporter's husband). Greg had always been a reliable help around the farm. However, he wanted to start a family and could not see that happening if he stayed on. He was certain that he would not go back to the farm when he moved to Melbourne and got married. Although he would have liked his children to experience life on the farm, he decided that it was "just not the place for us."

Three generations later, all but one are ready to move on. Ian’s father, Roy Smith is anything but pessimistic about the future.

"I took over the farm when my father was ill; Ian helped me run the farm and I hope Greg will come back to the farm someday," he said in a phone interview.

Ian could not agree with his father even if he wanted to. With about three years of farming left, he has much more realistic expectations.

"Heather and I told the kids not to come back to the farm," he said.

Many sheep farms in New Zealand are no longer sustainable and the sheep population has declined from 70.3 million in 1982 to 43.1 million in 2008

"As the farm’s land would cost about NZ$4 million, the only way I could see farming survive is if it became a corporate-owned business," Ian said, looking out to the farm’s horizon.

So Ian's life as a farmer was about to change. Approaching his last days of farming, he admitted that he had spent a lot of time thinking about what he would do when he quits in about three years. He runs a bath resurfacing business, which has taken up about 20 percent of his time since 1987.

Although there would be many things to keep Ian busy, his heart sank as he thought about all the hard work that went into the farm over three generations. He planned to rent out the land and hoped that it would not be broken into parcels. His grandchildren might never experience life on a farm, he said, but it will always be part of their legacy.

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