The phone call April 3 stunned Kevin Spreng. He was going to have to dump more than 700 gallons of milk on his Shreve farm, Willow Brook Dairy. The reason? His milk processor, Dairymens Inc., was over capacity for milk…
Amy Beth Graves - July 21
Food & Farm Profiles
Amy Beth Graves - July 21 Amy Beth Graves - May 11
Collaboration builds community within pork industry
“That’s not true.” Over and over again, Josh and Courtney Berry found themselves uttering this phrase as they watched a CBS News “60 Minutes” program about the pork industry. Josh, who is a Fairfield County Farm Bureau member and on…
Michael Stewart Leach - May 1
Apples, hard cider and a success story in northeast Ohio
Matt Vodraska is something of a 21st century renaissance man. Soft spoken and poised, the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation’s Outstanding Young Farmer of 2019 is rooted in agriculture, educated in art, skilled in developing business ideas and dedicated to furthering…
Kathy Gray - April 24
Food contest winners hone their craft
Have you ever had a shrub to drink? Or a switchel? Perhaps not in Ohio, unless you’ve met Licking County Farm Bureau member Amy Pausch of Alexandria. Pausch is the founder of Dandy’s Handcrafted Shrubs & Switchels, a new company…
Amy Beth Graves - March 3
Growing corn, wheat and advocacy for farmers
Rachael Vonderhaar pauses when asked where the crops grown on her Preble County farm end up. It’s not that she doesn’t know — it’s just that the list is long. The wheat is sold to Consolidated Grain and Barge on…
Michael Stewart Leach - Jan. 10
Flower farm blossoming
A galaxy of small, white Edison bulbs sparkled overhead. Bowls of roses, dahlias and other blossoms made a low, flowery hedge down the center of the long table. As if on cue, the early October moon rose in a cloudless…
Amy Beth Graves - Jan. 8
A collaboration with Ohio cattlemen
A sense of dread overcame Bill Wickerham as he walked around the corner of the barn. Worried about two newborn calves, he’d left work early to check on them. Lined up on the fence posts were several black vultures watching…
Michael Stewart Leach - Oct. 1, 2019
Farm work may help autistic individuals bloom
When given the opportunity to plant, water and weed at two small greenhouses and a field of vegetables, some people with autism blossom. “Our goal is to find out what’s in their hearts and souls and makes them go. Once…
Kathy Gray - Sept. 24, 2019
Horse camp brings community together
For five years, Rick McCleese searched across the country for the perfect site to fulfill his dream of running his own equestrian campground. Since 2008, McCleese has operated Elkins Creek Horse Camp in Lawrence County, offering access to miles of…
Eileen Eisenhauer - Sept. 18, 2019
Scheffler inducted into Crawford County Agricultural Hall of Fame
Milton Scheffler was inducted into the Crawford County Agricultural Hall of Fame Sept. 10 during the Crawford County Farm Bureau Annual Meeting.