Jake & Liz started their dream in 2013 by moving to central Ohio to rent a 160 acre organic farm. They had one 9 month old daughter at the time and had recently found out that baby #2 was on the way. They had passion, energy, and a drive to succeed in their new venture.
As a teenager, Jake had been inspired by Joel Salatin. Jake had pursued farming on smaller scales growing chickens & beef with his parent's 4 acres and a job on a grass based dairy farm. His dream was to build a local food community on a bigger scale when he 'grew up'.
Finding 160 acres of chemical free organic ground in the middle of Central Ohio was definitely providential. Liz, coming from a conventional farm, went through a complete mental shift in her understanding of farming. Jake pursued more regenerative farming education. They hosted a South African mentor to teach them more about grazing and how herbivores regenerate the ecosystem. Jake and Liz also traveled all over the country gaining a deeper understanding of regenerative farming. Life was and is all about learning each and every day how to grow a thriving
ecosystem & community.
They put everything on the line starting Sweet Grass. Both were 26 at the time with no debt other than an initial loan for the cows they purchased. A friend of Jake's also lent them $30,000 for
miscellaneous start up expenses.
50 organic cows making milk for Horizon and a dream to build a local food community carried them into their first winter. Cows do not milk as much during the winter, so Jake started a job hauling Amish. Near the end of the winter they hit their lowest point with $37 left to their name.
Spring brought on green grass, baby calves, and new growth on the farm. Today:
Those early days instilled in us an independent spirit. Our focus became our local food community. By 2018, we left Horizon Organic Milk to put all of our focus on growing regenerative food for our growing community of families supporting our vision for healthy food.
In 2020, we started our home delivery route to meet the demand for food delivered right to front doors during Covid. 2021, brought the addition of our creamery so that we could diversify our dairy offerings. 2022, we added the sourdough bakery. We have exciting plans for the future and our farm family is at the helm of helping us build the future.
Modern farming is rife with government handouts. It's not just the big farms accepting government money, even so called small 'regenerative' farms are taking handouts to fast forward their growth. Our commitment is to keep big government out of our farm as much as possible! Over the past 11 years, our commitment of growing healthy food has grown with support coming only from our farm families.
2024 brings the biggest challenge yet. For the last 11 years we have rented our home and property here in Ohio. Renting helped us get started. But as we have become more established you could say our renting scenario was becoming risky. We continued farming and caring for this property as if we could purchase it some day. This October opens the next chapter with the 160 acre property purchase! Unfortunately, 11 years has dramatically increased the value of the property and current interest rates make traditional financing more expensive.
So, we're hoping to sell some special bundles to enhance our down payment as much as possible. We're not asking for a fundraiser. But, we are offering several commemoratives bundles. These bundles will come with a customized cutting board (engraved by my "Jake's" Dad) to show our appreciation for your support as we take on our biggest challenge yet.
These items are set up as preorders, with a fulfillment date of October 19th. This will be our Farm Purchase Celebration Day. We will be serving gelato and other snacks for everyone that comes out to pick up their Limited Edition Bundles.
Thank you for partnering with us in this next big chapter!
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