On the discipline of not acquiring.

To the counterparties, operators, and family shareholders of Wakefield Enterprises —

A quiet year, as measured by the ledger. Tillable acreage unchanged at 6,807. Forested acreage unchanged at 4,212. The commercial roll stands at nine buildings, as it has since 2014. No acquisitions; no dispositions. The shared-risk settlement on the agricultural leases came in modestly above the five-year average, helped by a dry but not punishing August and a harvest that proceeded without incident.

We declined three acquisition overtures this year. I note this not as a point of pride but because the discipline of declining deserves, occasionally, to be examined. One of the three — a 340-acre river-bottom parcel adjoining our Kettleman South block — was genuinely attractive. The soils were of a piece with our own; the seller was known to us; the price, in the language of the brokerage packet, was "fair." We declined it anyway, for a reason that is worth stating plainly: we did not have an operator ready to farm it well, and we are not in the business of buying land we cannot steward to a standard we recognize. An underused parcel in our name is a worse outcome than the same parcel in someone else's.

The Ashbrook stand was cruised in full this autumn, the first full cruise since 2015. Basal area has recovered to 88 square feet per acre in the hardwood compartments, slightly above target, which means we will mark a selective harvest for the winter of 2026–27. The marking walk is scheduled for October; operators and family members who wish to accompany the forester are welcome, on the usual terms. Wear boots you are willing to lose.

On the commercial side, Cornerstone & Co., the bookseller at 14 Main, has renewed for a fourth seven-year term. This is the sort of event that does not register in any public index and that, for us, defines the year. A bookseller that has paid its lease on the first of every month for twenty-eight years is not a line item. It is the company.

The Centennial Trust closed its fourth year of operation with all instruments in order. The trustees convened twice, as provided, and asked the hard questions they are meant to ask. I am grateful for the seriousness they bring to a document whose consequences will be felt mostly by people we will never meet.

A word, finally, on succession. The fourth generation — three of them, at last count — is now of an age to sit at the back of the room during trustee meetings. None of them has yet been asked to speak, and none has yet volunteered, which is, in its way, the correct ratio for the moment. That will change.

With regard and with thanks for another unremarkable year —

Margaret Wakefield-Ames
Managing Director