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He doesn't have an all-time favorite flavor -- they make so many, he says. But, he adds, double chocolate "is still way up there on the list."

The ice cream is another example of the farm-to-consumer marketing Nutter considers essential for family farms. He also sells beef.

Staying close to his land and animals is important. He'd rather see many smaller operations than a few modern factory farms. Maple View milks about 140 cows, close to the state average of 150 per dairy.

"I never wanted to be big," he says. "If we can't make money doing it in little ways, then we'll just quit."

Nutter is trying to leave a farm operation that stays viable as long as his descendants care to run it.

He and his wife of 31 years, Chris, have given conservation easements on almost half the 400-acre farm. The easements will prevent housing or commercial development, but allow for continued farming. There are tax benefits as well.

The conservation has had a ripple effect, says Jeff Masten, director of conservation strategy for Triangle Land Conservancy. Four or five other neighboring landowners have granted conservation easements as well.

Book-buying fund

Besides leaving a viable farm, the Nutters hope to have a lasting effect on children in the community. They've set up a fund to provide $12,000 a year to buy books for Orange County classrooms.

"I go and listen to the kids read," Bob Nutter said. "You wouldn't want to put money into something and not look after it, would you?"

The next project will be a 4,550-square-foot education building on the farm property. "Our goal is to try to educate kids about farming and agriculture and where food comes from," he said.

The building will provide classroom space for school tours, with crops and animals for hands-on instruction. The Nutters are working to line up additional funding.

Sharing with children their life experience of country living and working the land is important to both Nutter and his wife. It concerns them that some may not have the chance to touch it.

"We both value the rural way of life," Chris Nutter says. "We value green trees and fields. We find them beautiful. ... If we had a wish, it would be for everyone to have an experience where you're not crowded."

Standing in the farmyard on a cool winter day, Nutter coughs occasionally -- a nagging cold he can't get rid of. He wears a dark blue sweatshirt embroidered in gold with the farm's maple leaf logo, and a cap that says "Get Milk." Short, unshaven, he moves with immense energy.

"I think I'd be unhappy not having anything to get up to do in the morning," Nutter says. "I'm not happy just sitting around the house."

Asked what he does for fun, he struggles for an answer. He already enjoys what he does, he says.

"I've had a good life and done what I wanted to do, and been able to make a living at the same time," he says. "And hopefully, barring unforeseen things, my kids will be able to make a living."

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