Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) Events Calendar

Defiance, Ohio

Saturday, July 16, 2022
10 a.m.

Canal Junction Farm is a diversified livestock farm just south of Junction, Ohio, a booming town in the 1800s where the Miami Erie and Wabash Erie canals meet. Today, the farm is tended by fifth and sixth generation farmers. Their focus starts in the ground with building healthy soils, which translates to nutritious and delicious meats and cheeses. Canal Junction Farm is a pasture-based operation with 625 acres of owned and rented ground of pastures and hay fields. They have practiced regenerative farming for more than 28 years.

This tour will be a pasture walk covering all aspects of the farm's operations, including its dairy program, cheese, beef, lamb, pork, broiler chickens, eggs, and turkeys. Attendees will be able to shop in the farm store and learn about the farm's buying club approach to direct marketing.

Location:
Canal Junction Farm
18637 Rd. 168
Defiance, OH 43512

Contact:
Ralph, Sheila, and Kyle Schlatter / (419) 399-7545 /

Organic Grain Transition Farm Tour and Grain Growers Chapter Meeting

Mt. Blanchard, Ohio

Saturday, July 23, 2022
10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Greg and Beth Bishop and their son, Blake, transitioned Bishop Family Farms' 1,300 acres to organic production two years ago. Their five year crop rotation includes corn, soybeans, wheat, sunflowers, and canola.

During this tour, attendees will learn about their transition and see their equipment, including an electric weeder.

An OEFFA Grain Growers Chapter meeting will take place before the tour from 10-11:45 a.m. Bring a side dish or dessert to share for a potluck lunch from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. Meat, drinks, and serviceware will be provided. The tour will begin at 1 p.m.

Registration: To register for the potluck, call (419) 278-2701 or email dshively@gmail.com.

Location:
Bishop Family Farms
6362 Township Hwy 80
Mt. Blanchard, OH 45867

Directions: From I-75, take exit 142 onto Rte. 103 E. Continue past Mt. Blanchard for about 3 miles and turn left onto Rd. 80. The farm is on the left in about .5 mile.

Contact:
Dave Shively / (419) 278-2701 /

Technical Pasture Walk for Multi-Species Meat Producers

Deerfield, Ohio

Sunday, July 31, 2022
4-6 p.m.

Mike and Connie Jones have raised cattle, hogs, lamb, chickens, and turkeys in Portage County since 2010.

This tour will provide an in-depth and farmer-focused technical pasture walk at Tierra Verde Farms. Attendees will walk the farm and tour its infrastructure while Mike shares his numbers and decision-making process. This is an opportunity for meat producers to have an informal, substantive on-farm learning experience.

Cost and Registration: $10. Pre-registration is required to keep the group size manageable and the conversation focused. Address will be provided upon registration.

Location:
Tierra Verde Farms

Address will be provided upon registration

Contact:
Mike and Connie Jones / (330) 597-6141 /

Unique Herb and Berry Farm Tour

West Jefferson, Ohio

Sunday, August 7, 2022
2-5 p.m.

http://www.commongreensohio.org/

Foraged & Sown is a first-generation, women owned and -operated certified organic farm. Founded in 2015, the herb and berry farm specializes in niche berries and culinary and medicinal herbs used for their line of value added products, including an on-site herb drying and processing barn. With roots as an urban farm, this tour is the first at their new site, purchased and constructed in 2020.

Visitors will enjoy guided walking tours of the 3.5-acre property showcasing over 45 species of perennials and annuals, including a growing number of establishing perennial medicinal herbs. Samples of farm-grown teas, culinary salts, and herb-infused preserves will be available.

This event is part of Common Greens' farm tour series. Visit the link below to learn more about Common Greens.

Location:
Foraged & Sown
5415 OH-142
West Jefferson, OH 43162

Contact:
Kate Hodges, Karli Leffel, and Jane Larson / (614) 208-2125 /

Community Foodways Farm Tour

Mansfield, Ohio

Saturday, August 13, 2022
1 p.m.

The Mansfield Microfarm Project (MMP) is a community-university collaborative to create economic development through sustainable microfarming (small-plot, high-intensity organic agriculture) in post-industrial urban spaces. The main objective is establishing a sustainable community-based training program for aspiring beginning farmers that provides farming and business skills necessary to manage a small-scale intensive farm operation. This program also supports economic development in the low-opportunity North End of Mansfield through two
organizations: the North End Community Improvement Collaborative, Inc. (NECIC) and the Richland Gro-op (RGO).

Attendees can expect to see and discuss best growing procedures, obstacles faced during development, the operation's processes of marketing and sales, composting procedures, crop plans, how their co-operative operates, and more.

Location:
NECIC Urban Farm, The Food Lab
311 Bowman St.
Mansfield, OH 44903

Contact:
Walter Bonham and Justin Ocheltree / (419) 512-3395 /

Vegetable and Orchard Farm Tour

Amanda, Ohio

Saturday, August 13, 2022
Noon

http://www.commongreensohio.org/

Paige's Produce Family Farm Market is a family vegetable farm and orchard, selling at farmers markets and their home farm store. They offer a CSA program and u-pick orchard for apples and peaches, as well as pumpkins in the fall.

At this tour, a live Bluegrass band and Da Que Barbecue food truck are on site from noon to 2 p.m. The tour begins at 2 p.m. August 13: peaches and apples will be available to demonstrate how to select and pick fruit from a tree (participants will be able to purchase their bag for the picking session if desired). Another tour will take place October 8.

This event is part of Common Greens' farm tour series. Visit the link below to learn more about Common Greens.

Location:
Paige's Produce Family Farm Market
7975 Cincinnati-Zanesville Rd.
Amanda, OH 43102

Contact:
Brian Helser / (740) 601-8419 /

Fruits and Family in the Miami Valley Farm Tour

Brookville, Ohio

Friday, August 26, 2022
5 p.m.

The Narrow Way Farm is a 5-acre family owned and operated farm. Dedicated to providing local, responsibly grown fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers, no harsh chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers are used on the property. The land and plants are cared for by using natural fertilizers and soil enhancers. The Narrow Way Farm also offers farm-produced goods such as jams, jellies, and fruit butters made mainly with fruit grown on the farm.

Location:
The Narrow Way Farm
3622 Johnsville Brookville Rd.
Brookville, OH 45309

Contact:
David and Tia Stuart / (937) 833-0641 /

Efficient Systems Design Farm Tour

Belleville, Michigan

Wednesday, September 7, 2022
10 a.m.

Old City Acres is a four season, no-till market garden located in the swamps outside of Detroit that feeds the community year-round using a flexible CSA model. The farm moved to its current location five years ago and has since transformed a swampy forest into a profitable market garden by the use of extensive drainage and land remediation techniques.

The tour will focus on designing efficient on-farm systems, from wash-pack setup to overall farm layout.

Location:
Old City Acres
43800 Willow Rd.
Belleville, OH 48111

Contact:
Alexander Ball / (734) 771-9984 /

Organic CSA, Flower, and Vegetable Farm Tour

Modoc, Indiana

Sunday, September 18, 2022
5 p.m.

Christopher Farm is a mother-son team organically farming almost two acres in eastern Indiana, in the midst of conventional farmland. The acreage is part of a larger farm that has been handed down over several generations; the vegetable operation has been in progress for more than 25 years. This year, the farm is piloting a live-in intern program as a means of offering encouragement to the growing number of people interested in sustainable agriculture.

In addition to offering a tour of the farm and systems, such as their moveable hoophouses and no-till practices, attendees will learn about how the farm has evolved over the past two and a half decades. Topics include from what has worked to what has fallen by the wayside, and what their experience has been growing and marketing in a rural economy not necessarily looking for organic vegetables.

Location:
Christopher Farm
5305 W 500 S
Modoc, IN 47358

Contact:
Wendy Carpenter and Adrian Hess / (765) 542-9278 or (8 /

Vegetable and Orchard Farm Tour

Amanda, Ohio

Saturday, October 8, 2022
Noon

http://www.commongreensohio.org

Paige's Produce Family Farm Market is a family vegetable farm and orchard, selling at farmers markets and their home farm store. They offer a CSA program and u-pick orchard for apples and peaches, as well as pumpkins in the fall.

At this tour, a live Bluegrass band and Da Que Barbecue food truck are on site from noon to 2 p.m. The tour begins at 2 p.m. Apples will likely be available to demonstrate how to select and pick fruit from a tree (participants will be able to purchase their bag for the picking session if desired). Pumpkins will also be for sale. The farm store will be open for shopping.

This event is part of Common Greens' farm tour series. Visit the link below to learn more about Common Greens.

Location:
Paige's Produce Family Farm Market
7975 Cincinnati-Zanesville Rd.
Amanda, OH 43102

Contact:
Brian Helser / (740) 601-8419 /

Planning to Transfer the Farm Workshop Series

Online

Thursday, October 27, 2022 through Thursday, December 8, 2022
9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Are you a farmer thinking about transferring your farmland or business? Are you a non-farming landowner looking for ways to support the next generation?

Whether you intend to transfer your farm within your family or to an unrelated farmer, succession planning is real work. This interactive three-part online workshop series will help you prepare to engage in a transfer process, identify business and legal tools, assess your financial situation, build your advisor team, and prepare to develop a plan for transferring your land and/or farm business to a new farm owner.

Led by OEFFA Farmland Specialist Kelly Cabral, and developed as a pilot with a national network of land transfer professionals and the American Farmland Trust, you will spend the first session learning how farm transfer works, assessing your current situation, and setting goals. You will leave with specific homework tasks, such as holding family meetings and talking to advisors, to help develop your plan.

During the second and third workshops, you will explore your options, hear from professionals, develop effective communication to build trust and engage in conversation for farm transfer, and clarify steps to succession with OEFFA staff support. You will finish the intensive workshop series with solid action steps in place.

Workshops will take place virtually on October 17, November 17, and December 8, 2022.

Location:
Online

Contact:
Lainie Rini / (614) 421-2022 /

Winter High Tunnel Produce Farm Tour

Johnstown, Ohio

Sunday, November 6, 2022
2 p.m.

Roots, Fruits and Shoots is a 3-acre vegetable and raspberry farm. They grow year-round using no-till, sustainable practices in almost 7,000 square feet of high tunnel space.

This tour will focus on using tunnels to grow produce through the winter, particularly looking at the cost and benefits of using supplemental heat in a high tunnel for winter production; a project funded by a NCR-SARE grant.

Location:
Roots, Fruits and Shoots
5580 Johnstown Alexandria Rd.
Johnstown, OH 43031

Contact:
Dana Hilfinger / (734) 276-1895 /