Building a local farm the fun way, the Hedges way

Nearly every great chef believes in a few special qualities that help to ensure that they can continue to make great foods, while also stimulating the local economy. Locally sourced and sustainable farming is the key for many of these chefs, as we are seeing a huge increase in demand for fresh and organic farm to table.

I have known the Hedges family since I was a kid growing up in Madison, Ohio. I took some time during my visit to Northeast Ohio to go see their latest project. They decided to convert their 5 acre property into a small family farm. This is still very much a start up, as they have plans to continue building and growing. As of today, the property has had tremendous progress, and yields enough produce that they can sell on a small roadside produce stand. Currently, just through social media announcements, they are seeing the revenue from the fresh roadside stand grow every day.

The farm features the following:

Corn

Tomatos

Various peppers (hot and mild)

Various greens

Raspberries

Cantaloupes

Watermelons

Pumpkins

Chicken coup for fresh brown eggs

Will soon be adding livestock

Owner John Hedges had the idea a while back that building a small family farm would be a fun way to spend his free time with his dad, while they create something special together. "This property brings us back to another time, as we are using vintage farming equipment that we use in a modern way", John explained as we sat having a few beers near the camping trailer they have on the property. They have a variety of old horse led farming tools that still work amzingly well, but use the families ATV and tractors to pull the equiptment through the fields. They even installed a large watertank inside a local water source from their property to provide free water from a clean & sustainable source they already own. While I was visiting, John had a friend over to measure for a barn with stalls. The next phase is to build the barnhouse with several stalls that will house a handful of cattle & pigs. Its pretty exciting to see people like John Hedges bringing back the tradition of old school farming techniques.

Stop by and see them in Madison, Ohio, and show your support to the local farmers that keep our country eating right.