May/June 2025 Our Ohio
Future trends and issues for food and agriculture are examined in this issue of Our Ohio magazine.
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When Chambers Family Fab in Stark County saw a need in the community, they set out to fill it.
The company specializes in designing pens for goats, sheep and hogs, all in-house at its fabrication shop. Chambers Family Fab has expanded, now creating scales, livestock feeders, wash pens and accessories as well. In the near future their product line will extend to cattle accessories and other specialized handling equipment.
“We started operating in February 2024 when we noticed the lack of specialized services in our community,” said Diana Chambers, who owns and operates the business with her husband, Ron. “Despite facing some physical constraints due to space limitations and accessibility issues for material delivery, we are determined to build our dream and utilize our skills and work ethic to establish our legacy.”
That legacy includes multiple efforts to educate youth about job opportunities in agriculture through 4-H and FFA outreach, education and internships with the company, just to name a few initiatives.
“We recognize the need for our business to expand and meet the current community demand for fabrication and livestock supplies,” Chambers said. “We also aim to improve widespread misconceptions, especially within agriculture, such as the cleanliness factor and methods of livestock production.”
The Chambers pride themselves on working with youth, educating them on best practices for livestock and for an on-farm customization process, and working with customers to design products to ensure they create exactly what fits the farm and the end-users’ needs to last generations.
Thanks to an inaugural $20,000 Growing Tomorrow Grant award, their dreams are closer
to reality.
The Ohio Farm Bureau Foundation awarded two Growing Tomorrow Grants totaling $50,000 at the Ohio Farm Bureau annual meeting in December.
The Winchester Farm Exchange, located in Canal Winchester, was awarded a $30,000 grant. The farm exchange was started by owners Trish Preston and Chelsie Casagrande-Smith. It is a community gathering space, which includes a local farm-to-table grocery store, and offers over 50 bakers, makers and meat and produce vendors a space to sell their goods. The Exchange also leverages its space and vendors to help customers become more acquainted with their local farmers and more educated about the way their food
is produced.
The Growing Tomorrow Grant is the brainchild of Mike Boyert, a former Ohio Farm Bureau northeast regional trustee, and his wife, Patti. The goal of the grants is to find a way of ensuring that creative young farmers can access opportunities the Boyerts did not have, and enabling these young professionals to use their skills to alleviate the difficulties facing agriculture today, including a lack of public education regarding the importance of farms within the U.S. food system and the significant economic hardships facing rural communities and farm workers.
Applications for 2025 open May 1.
Join the Boyerts and Ohio Farm Bureau staff for a virtual Q&A session May 7 from 7-8 p.m. Registration is required.
My first recommendation in your journey is to start out with a local farming friend or mentor along with joining an organization like Ohio Farm Bureau.
We’re just so thankful for the Farm Bureau and the foundation for helping put this together. And of course, the Boyert family for the vision they had with this grant. It’s jumping us forward 10 years. It’s unbelievable.
I could not have done it without the resources I have found through Farm Bureau.
It wasn’t until I joined the Wilmington College Collegiate Farm Bureau that I truly saw how my passion could translate into leadership, advocacy and a career.
The issue of property taxation remains as one of the biggest challenges our members face today. Ensuring agricultural property is valued for its agricultural potential and not development is critical to the continued success of Ohio agriculture.
Through the Select Partner program, we became educated in farm insurance and weren't just selling policies. It became more and more clear why farmers need an advocate like Ohio Farm Bureau.
So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
Featured Articles
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Market Intel: How trade issues impact agriculture
Over 20% of all the production in the United States from agriculture gets exported to a different country.
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Balancing farmland preservation with land-use development
Community engagement at the earliest stages of development is essential.
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Collegiate Farm Bureaus give next generation an avenue into ag
Collegiate chapters connect agriculture students with grassroots Farm Bureau efforts at county, state and national levels.
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Fulfilling a need through Growing Tomorrow Grants
The grants aim to ensure that creative young farmers can access opportunities and use their skills to alleviate the difficulties facing agriculture today.
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