FLYNN ’ S CONNECTION TO THE LINCOLN COMMUNITY is evident around every bend , from small children shouting out “ Hi , Farmer Dan !” as he trots on horseback down Great Road during the town ’ s annual Memorial Day parade to his successful GoFundMe campaign to fix the farm ’ s crumbling twin silos .
“ The silos needed repair when I purchased the farm , but not horribly ,” says Flynn . “ One day I came home and there was a hole in one of the silos big enough for me to drive my car through . It was caving in .”
The silos , which Flynn could not afford to repair or clean up if they fell , no longer serve a functional role on the farm . In past incarnations , they held corn silage for animals ; Flynn now runs a grass-fed and pasture-raised operation . But , to the people of Lincoln , the silos are a living relic and a reminder of what makes the town special . The GoFundMe campaign brought in more than $ 30,000 from members of the community .
What ’ s left to do , Flynn says , is to reinstall an American flag that spanned the silos for many years .
“ The plan is still to put the flag back up ,” he says . “ Most people just think it ’ s a regular flag , but it was a metal frame with a thick wooden platform on it . The silos are in a valley , and the wind that goes up there is just incredible , so the flag kept hitting the silo . But we ’ ll find a way to make it work .”
It ’ s a mantra Flynn has repeated over the last several years of ownership , trying new ideas and rethinking old ones to ensure the farm ’ s survival . When he bought it , the farm primarily relied on Christmas tree sales in the winter and flower sales out of the rustic red farmstand in the summer .
But Flynn soon learned that model could no longer survive twenty-first-century challenges . The Christmas tree business can be an unstable one , with many lean yields due to warming winters , insect invasions and persistent fungal diseases .
“ We knew we had to diversify so if something goes wrong , we have a backup plan ,” Flynn says . “ We ’ re always trying to expand and create new things .”
First , Flynn leaned into dog training and breeding .
“ I ’ ve been training dogs my whole life , but when I started the dog training program at the farm — during the fall I bought it , in 2016 — I was just helping friends with their dogs ,” he says .
He ’ d host puppy kindergarten , confirmation breed handling , specialized scent work and agility courses , and one-on-one sessions with dogs of all backgrounds , from purebreds to rescues . At the same time , he was breeding golden retrievers and border collies as an American Kennel Club breeder of merit .
He then dipped a toe into showing dogs , including his own goldens and collies as well as clients ’ dogs . Today , the dog show circuit takes him all over New England and down to Kentucky , Missouri and New York for the Westminster Dog Show , where he ’ s shown dogs four times .
All the while , he ramped up farm operations to expand offerings with the help of a small staff and scores of friends and family who volunteer . Nikki Tyler , a former Bristol Aggie student of Flynn ’ s who worked summers at Butterfly Farm while she earned her bachelor ’ s in animal science , manages the farm alongside him .
Their work begins the third week of February , when Flynn and his team begin veggie and flower starts in their greenhouses . At Easter time , hundreds of families descend on the farm for the annual egg hunt , a bring-your-own-basket affair where children search for colorful plastic eggs in the farm fields to tally up and exchange for candy , stickers , temporary tattoos and other prizes . At the end of their hunt , kids spread out on picnic blankets to assess their cache and stroll over to greet the horses , pigs , sheep , cows , chickens , donkeys and other farm animals . Parents refuel on food truck coffee , snacks and locally made products from vendor booths .
Later in the spring , the farm offers pick-your-own tulips and , by the end of April , the farmstand opens for flowers and plant starts . During the last couple of weeks of June , the farmstand offers veggies .
Recently , Flynn partnered with Providence-based floral design studio Semia and floral wholesaler the Floral Reserve , both owned by Semia Dunne , a Lincoln native . Dunne uses cut flowers from the
66 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2024