Morrow County Extension Educators want to let the secret out that Morrow County has great local food sources. They are joining the Ohio State University (OSU) in championing Ohio local food growers and producers for “Ohio Local Foods Week Aug. 7 – 13.
Seven local farms will be featured on the Ohio State University Morrow County Extension Facebook page during the Ohio Local Foods Week. The first featured farm will be C.A.B.B. Farms, LLC. It is owned and operated by Dustin, Erin, Amelia and Mathias Bender. They sell local, natural grass fed and finished Black Angus and Low line beef.
The Benders sell their beef by the quarters, halves and wholes. They also have their warehousing license and mobile food license and sell individual cuts as well as 25 and 50 pound packages. Their farm name comes from the surname of their four grandparents (Caruso, Ault, Borland and Bender.)
A second farm the extension office will highlight is Wolf Creek Produce Farm LLC. It is owned and operated by Neil and Kelly Pfleiderer. The main produce they grow includes strawberries, sweet corn, and squash. In season they also grow garden items such as onions, green beans, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers and a variety of peppers, cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower.
Kelly said that the green bean season is past, but their corn has been very good this year despite the dry month of July. They also grow a variety of herbs and dry beans such as navy and kidney beans.
“We have a big pumpkin patch and hope to have special Pumpkin Days in October,” Kelly said. “We both have full-time jobs, but it’s our dream one day – to just be on the farm.”
Family and Consumer Science Educator, Candace Heer and Agriculture Program Coordinator, Carri Jagger are enthusiastic about the Morrow County families that produce and grow foods that are sold locally.
They shared the numbers from ohioproud.org that agriculture is Ohio’s number one industry, contributing jobs for one in seven Ohioans. Agriculture contributes $107 billion to the state’s economy.
In 2012 census statistics, Morrow County’s cash receipts from agriculture are $131,715,000, making agriculture the largest sector of the county’s economy. Morrow County ranked sixth in Ohio counties for sheep, goats, wool, mohair and milk. The county ranked seventh in the state for hogs and pigs in the 2012 census.
ach farm will have a focus and a photo on the Ohio State University Extension-Morrow County Facebook page Aug. 7-13.
