Phil and Noreen Atkins: A journey from cows to horses to sheep

Phil Atkins grew up in Richfield Springs, New York, and his wife, Noreen, was raised in Delhi, New York, but they met while attending SUNY Morrisville. In 1978, Phil earned his associate degree in agricultural engineering and Noreen earned hers in equine science.

“I was always interested in dairy farming and wanted to be a dairy farmer,” Phil said. “I went to Cornell [University], got my bachelor’s degree in agriculture in 1980 and started a dairy farm back in Richfield Springs.”

Noreen earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science in 1981, and the Atkinses were married that July. Their children, Erin and Timothy, were born in 1984 and 1985, respectively, and in 1990, the family moved to Groton. Erin is a 2002 alumna of Groton High School and Tim is a 2003 alumnus.

“It was two kids, two adults, 60 cows — and too much!” Noreen said. “We ended it. Phil got a job as production manager at Cornell’s foundation seed plant, and I worked at Friendly’s in the Pyramid Mall.”

From horses to sheep

After four years of renting, the Atkinses purchased their home with a horse barn on Spring Street Extension with the intention of raising horses. Their daughter, Erin, was involved in 4-H and was interested in them.

“We leased two horses to try it out,” Noreen said. “Erin enjoyed riding but didn’t enjoy the day-to-day care, so the barn sat empty until 1997.”

“An unused barn is a dusty, cobwebby, damp, empty space,” Phil said. “So, in May 1997, we went to a purebred sheep auction in Syracuse. I don’t remember why we went, but we bought two Suffolk ewe lambs. We saw Glenn Botsford there. We didn’t know him, but we recognized him. He transported the sheep home for us, and he and his whole family mentored us from then on.”

The Atkinses were hooked! They bought two more ewes that fall at a Pennsylvania auction and another one from Botsford and began breeding their sheep. Noreen commented that they have as many as 60 sheep during “ewing season.”

Erin began showing sheep at the Cayuga County and New York State Fairs. Phil began showing them, as well.

“We showed at the Pennsylvania State Fair, the Keystone International Livestock Expo in Harrisburg and the Big E [Eastern States Exposition in New England],” Phil said. “I showed sheep steadily with Erin for 12 years. I still show regularly at the New York State Fair and the Big E and have won a number of awards. Suffolks are also meat sheep, so I breed them to sell as well as to show.”

Noreen was certainly present with Phil and Erin, but she said the Suffolks were “Phil and Erin’s sheep thing,” so she purchased her own first sheep — a Border Leicester — from a breeder in the Hudson Valley in 1998. She purchased three more in 1999 and five more in 2000.

“I thought they were cute and not as big as Suffolks,” Noreen said. “I showed mine at the fairs and won awards also. In fact, I probably introduced the breed to Central New York. I know I was the first to show them at the New York State Fair!”

Noreen spins and weaves her wool

Before long, Noreen taught herself how to spin the wool from her sheep and was sending the raw wool to fiber mills to be processed into roving and yarn. Noreen explained that roving is a long, untwisted bundle of wool fibers that is produced after cleaning and carding the wool, which is fluffy wool she can use for hand spinning into yarn or for felting. She let me feel some, and it is definitely very soft!

Noreen spins two-ply yarn right in her home on a spinning wheel and also weaves with a loom. She said it takes roughly six hours to spin two skeins of yarn! She sells her yarn, as well as some of the roving, and makes finished products to sell.

“I like to be creative,” Noreen said. “I like color and texture, and I like my sheep! We use our land for rotational grazing and grow our own hay for them.”

Phil retired from Cornell in 2023, and Noreen had retired from her job as a USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) farm loan officer in 2018. Now, they both love devoting most of their time to their sheep.

“It keeps us busy, and we enjoy the animals,” Phil said. “I like this community. I feel at home here, and I like being part of the Groton agricultural community.”

Be sure to come back next week for the story of Cailyn McMahon, who journeyed from Brooklyn to Groton for the love of wool and sheep and found a mentor in Noreen!

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at 607-227-4922. 

In brief:

Thanksgiving pie & bake sale

The Groton Assembly of God Women’s Ministries will hold its annual Thanksgiving pie and bake sale from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Nov. 26 in the church foyer, 701 S. Main St.

Many varieties will be available at $12 each for eight-inch pies and $15 each for nine-inch pies. Sweet breads will also be on hand at $5 each, as well as pumpkin rolls for $12 each or $6 for a half. There will be many other baked goods also. Coffee and pastries will be available to enjoy at the sale. To pre-order specific items, contact Annette Twitchell 607-745-5077.

Outstanding CTE student

Congratulations to Groton Jr./Sr. High School’s Nick Sill, who was recognized as an outstanding student of the month for October at the Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES Career and Technical Education Center (TST CTE). Sill is a senior in TST CTE’s Heavy Equipment program.

The outstanding students are chosen based on their character, leadership, citizenship, work ethic and attendance. They must also be compassionate, honest, trustworthy, responsible and positive role models.

GPL Book Club

The Groton Public Library Book Club will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 20. The current book is “The Spectacular” by Fiona Davis. All are welcome! For more information contact director@grotonpubliclibrary.org or 607-898-5055.