About the Farm
We, Beth and Brian Duffy, are the owners of a small 80 acre farm in southeastern Ohio, close to Athens. We have about 65 acres of pasture and the remainder is wooded with a mix of soft and hardwoods.
Our short term plan is to improve and repair the farm facilities and minimize expenditures through self-sufficiency. Our mid-term goal is to take advantage of the growing suburban area of south Columbus to market our pasture raised, healthy, and chemical free products. Our long term plan is to fully develop the entire 80 acres into a self-sufficient homestead/farming model reminiscent of pre-WWII farms.
Our story
After twenty five years of moving from military base to base both at home and abroad, we returned very near to the farms where Beth’s parents were both raised in southeastern Ohio. We purchased an 80 acre older homestead in Meigs County Ohio, near the small college town of Athens Ohio.
We set out to find an out-of-the-way place where we could enjoy the peace and quiet of country life and ultimately make our home. We wanted a place where our children and grandchildren would be able to enjoy the outdoors as we always had as a family, while being able to put down long awaited roots. Shortly after buying our farm a friend gave us the book titled, “You Can Farm,” by Joel Salatin, which got us thinking that small scale farming was something we wanted to do.
In May of 2007, we took a tour of Salatin’s farm, Polyface Farms, to see his operation first hand. For six hours we listened to Mr. Salatin explain the low-cost and practical ways his family farm operates. Beth commented that it reminded her of how her grandparents farmed. It was a day that would change our lives. We left Polyface Farms knowing that not only were we making major career changes, but we were making a lifestyle change as well. Immediately, we began putting our plan together and now thinking about our future in a completely different way.
While the Salatin visit gave us a kick-start, our real foundational knowledge came from becoming members of the Athens County Grazing Council. Here, we began learning about grazing practices from both local farmers and an exceptionally knowledgeable agriculture extension educator and his wife. This experience was invaluable. Since the learning environment was onsite we were able to tour numerous farms, learn about management and grazing practices as well as hear the rational involved in the development of a variety of hands-on systems. The folks in the council quickly became our mentors and provided us with the encouragement to get our farm off the ground and continue to provide support to this day.
Today we produce delicious grass-fed lamb, which all started with four ewes. Additionally, we offer free-range stewing hens and eggs. Our customers will be pleased to hear that we are currently working on a plan to add broiler chickens and grass-fed beef to our farm. What once began as a place to “get away from it all” has become an opportunity to restore the land and offer healthy food to our community.
How we named the farm
Well we’ve already told you about our trip to Polyface Farms and how this launched our desire to farm, and from that time how we began to develop a plan to get here. That was easier said than done. Actually it started to get a little depressing driving seven hours on Friday evenings from northern Virginia where we were working at the time, and then on Sunday packing up for the another seven hours to return.
Each time we drove to the farm we took a small short cut through a closed-down mine that’s about a mile away from the farm. As you drove through the entrance of the area there was a small sign that simply stated, "THINK OF A WAY."
Well it wasn’t hard to figure out why the coal company placed that sign at the entrance of the mine. With a miner being a couple of hundred feet below the ground the situation could become life or death at any moment. They really needed to keep calm and "think of a way" to get out.
Over the months we started to mull this saying over and we knew that we really had to think of a way to make this big leap happen. A big leap that meant getting the house repaired, Beth a job, and Brian back to Ohio to get the farm moving; plus all the other building blocks we’d need just to get the homestead running. So "think of a way" became our saying to get to the farm.
Not only did this message capture the essence of our transition, it provided us the motivation needed to problem-solve all obstacles in our path. Naturally, the manta became "Find A Way" which then lead to "Find A Way Farm". We knew this journey wasn’t going to be easy and we knew resources were going to be slim…all of which have proven true. There certainly have been many obstacles along the way, times we've questioned ourselves, but then, alas, we dig down and Find a Way to keep it all going.
Our short term plan is to improve and repair the farm facilities and minimize expenditures through self-sufficiency. Our mid-term goal is to take advantage of the growing suburban area of south Columbus to market our pasture raised, healthy, and chemical free products. Our long term plan is to fully develop the entire 80 acres into a self-sufficient homestead/farming model reminiscent of pre-WWII farms.
Our story
After twenty five years of moving from military base to base both at home and abroad, we returned very near to the farms where Beth’s parents were both raised in southeastern Ohio. We purchased an 80 acre older homestead in Meigs County Ohio, near the small college town of Athens Ohio.
We set out to find an out-of-the-way place where we could enjoy the peace and quiet of country life and ultimately make our home. We wanted a place where our children and grandchildren would be able to enjoy the outdoors as we always had as a family, while being able to put down long awaited roots. Shortly after buying our farm a friend gave us the book titled, “You Can Farm,” by Joel Salatin, which got us thinking that small scale farming was something we wanted to do.
In May of 2007, we took a tour of Salatin’s farm, Polyface Farms, to see his operation first hand. For six hours we listened to Mr. Salatin explain the low-cost and practical ways his family farm operates. Beth commented that it reminded her of how her grandparents farmed. It was a day that would change our lives. We left Polyface Farms knowing that not only were we making major career changes, but we were making a lifestyle change as well. Immediately, we began putting our plan together and now thinking about our future in a completely different way.
While the Salatin visit gave us a kick-start, our real foundational knowledge came from becoming members of the Athens County Grazing Council. Here, we began learning about grazing practices from both local farmers and an exceptionally knowledgeable agriculture extension educator and his wife. This experience was invaluable. Since the learning environment was onsite we were able to tour numerous farms, learn about management and grazing practices as well as hear the rational involved in the development of a variety of hands-on systems. The folks in the council quickly became our mentors and provided us with the encouragement to get our farm off the ground and continue to provide support to this day.
Today we produce delicious grass-fed lamb, which all started with four ewes. Additionally, we offer free-range stewing hens and eggs. Our customers will be pleased to hear that we are currently working on a plan to add broiler chickens and grass-fed beef to our farm. What once began as a place to “get away from it all” has become an opportunity to restore the land and offer healthy food to our community.
How we named the farm
 |
| The original sign before it was destroyed by an overzealous county road worker cutting the brush along the road. |
Well we’ve already told you about our trip to Polyface Farms and how this launched our desire to farm, and from that time how we began to develop a plan to get here. That was easier said than done. Actually it started to get a little depressing driving seven hours on Friday evenings from northern Virginia where we were working at the time, and then on Sunday packing up for the another seven hours to return.
Each time we drove to the farm we took a small short cut through a closed-down mine that’s about a mile away from the farm. As you drove through the entrance of the area there was a small sign that simply stated, "THINK OF A WAY."
Well it wasn’t hard to figure out why the coal company placed that sign at the entrance of the mine. With a miner being a couple of hundred feet below the ground the situation could become life or death at any moment. They really needed to keep calm and "think of a way" to get out.
Over the months we started to mull this saying over and we knew that we really had to think of a way to make this big leap happen. A big leap that meant getting the house repaired, Beth a job, and Brian back to Ohio to get the farm moving; plus all the other building blocks we’d need just to get the homestead running. So "think of a way" became our saying to get to the farm.
Not only did this message capture the essence of our transition, it provided us the motivation needed to problem-solve all obstacles in our path. Naturally, the manta became "Find A Way" which then lead to "Find A Way Farm". We knew this journey wasn’t going to be easy and we knew resources were going to be slim…all of which have proven true. There certainly have been many obstacles along the way, times we've questioned ourselves, but then, alas, we dig down and Find a Way to keep it all going.
