Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Gaelen Morse / Ohio University, “Farming is Life”Lowell Clifford walks out of his barn while talking to his cat, Skinny, as the other barn cat, Fatty, watches from his perch inside the Clifford barn on Oct. 30, 2019, in Cynthiana, Ky. Lowell bought his farm in 1971. Now an 83-year-old widower, he is trying to care for it alone. Despite losing his wife, Mary Sue, Lowell has kept his farm going. He works from early morning to past sunset."Most old farmers would go somewhere to be taken care of," Lowell says, smiling. "I've got more than I can do."
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Gaelen Morse / Ohio University, “Farming is Life”Portraits of Lowell's late wife, Mary Sue, sit on the mantel behind him in their home on Nov. 1, 2019, in Cynthiana, Ky. Lowell and Mary Sue were married for 57 years before she passed away from ovarian cancer six years ago.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Gaelen Morse / Ohio University, “Farming is Life”Lowell lifts his cat Skinny early in the morning before going out to run errands on Nov. 1, 2019, in Cynthiana, Ky. "She loves the attention," Lowell says.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Gaelen Morse / Ohio University, “Farming is Life”Lowell puts his hands into his coverall pockets as he watches rain blanket his farm in Cynthiana, Ky., on the morning of Oct. 30, 2019. After decades of farming, Lowell says it gets harder and harder to keep up with the work.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Gaelen Morse / Ohio University, “Farming is Life”Lowell walks from an overgrown pasture back into his lawn in Cynthiana, Ky., on Oct. 30, 2019. The small hills and uneven ground of Appalachia don’t make for the best of farmland, but the variable weather and usable soil made this area of Kentucky a haven for tobacco farmers. Lowell himself farmed tobacco for a number of years before retiring to just cattle.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Gaelen Morse / Ohio University, “Farming is Life”Lowell works to remove his wet coveralls after tending to his calves during a rainstorm at his home in Cynthiana, Ky., on Oct. 31, 2019. "He had a hay bale fall onto him a few years back," his son Mark says. "It messed up his shoulder real bad."
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Gaelen Morse / Ohio University, “Farming is Life”Golden light greets Lowell every sunny morning when he enters his barn in Cynthiana, Ky.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Gaelen Morse / Ohio University, “Farming is Life”Raindrops fall from Lowell's cap after returning from feeding calves in the rain on Oct. 30, 2019.
Second Place, Feature Picture Story - Gaelen Morse / Ohio University, “Farming is Life”Lowell smiles as he chats with Buddy Switzer and his daughter-in-law, Sadie Yarber, at Biancke's Restaurant in Cnythiana, Ky., during breakfast on Nov. 1, 2019.
