Here's how it works: Pay the "rental" fee, and you receive part of the yield from your animal, delivered to your door. Be warned, however, there will be milk from other cows mixed in.

If creamy brie cheese doesn't appeal to your tastes, the company offers "leases" on everything from maple trees and lobster traps to Cape Cod berry patches and pistachio trees.

Along with the farm-fresh goodies, recipients get a lease document - "embossed with a gold seal, suitable for framing," says the Web site (http://www.rentmothernature.com) - and a series of homespun newsletters keeping renters up-to-date on the progress of their crop or animal.

"We try to put a little culture in agriculture," owner Richard Hill said, adding that the leases are popular as holiday gifts.

Renters who want to develop a closer bond with their cow or tree can order an "action photo" for $5 more. Hill will find a maple tree, stick the renter's name on it, and capture the excitement of sap dripping into a bucket. "Yankee humor at its driest," the Web site says.

BOUGHT THE FARM

Rent Mother Nature was founded in 1979 by three farmers who were disturbed by watching family farms go under as the agriculture industry went through waves of consolidation.

The founders were also concerned about the disconnect they saw between consumers and the food they ate. "People got to a stage where they didn't know where their food came from," Hill said.

The for-profit company contracts with small farms that use techniques that preserve and sustain the land for long-term use. Pesticides must be kept to a minimum and animals must be treated well and allowed to range freely, Hill said. The company doesn't offer any products, such as meat, that require animals to be killed; however, the animals are slaughtered when they're no longer productive.

Hill worked with the original owners, and then bought the company in 1998 after the founders retired. At its height, the company took in $2 million in sales a year, but Hill acknowledges that his novice marketing skills hurt business for a while after he took over. He expects sales of just less than $1 million this year.

KNOW YOUR FOOD'S ROOTS

Hill encourages armchair farmers to go and visit their "property" themselves. Apple tree renters are invited to a fall festival at the orchard in New Hampshire where their harvest originates.

The most popular products include the maple tree lease ($44.95 for 50 ounces of maple syrup), followed by the Jersey cow lease ($49.95 for three 8-ounce wheels of brie), and the Alpine dairy goat lease ($39.95 for three 6-ounce wheels of chevre).

But if those seem too pedestrian, Rent Mother Nature also offers, among its 24 products, leases for lobster traps, Washington State oysters and sheep. The sheep lease results in a custom, woven blanket; a lamb lease (for $89.95) will result in a soft baby blanket.

They also offer homey gift items such as soapstone boot dryers, a "golfer's breakfast" that includes golf balls in an egg carton, and a farm basket brimming with an assortment of the company's Nature's bounty.