I frequently hear people talk about the goal of being self-sufficient with their food production. Ask yourself though, do you see people do it? Well, for two decades I’ve had a front row to watch as my brother Ray Person, sister-in-law Elizabeth Kelly & a group of friends created a farm co-op that does just that. And they live in northwest Ohio, not exactly the geography that first comes to mind.

(AI generated transcript available for those with hearing difficulties.)

They are producing food the way many think is near dream-like. Thinking about how they have been able to make this work, not just what it looks like, leads to a great conversation and some discoveries.

Our latest episode comes from us sitting down in late May to talk about how this co-op was formed, how it works and as always, we took a look around capturing video too! Since it was cool & damp late, I want to share a photo was from a couple of years ago as we checked out what the garden had coming along. It’s pretty amazing!

Creating a Co-op

Ray & Elizabeth purchased the farm two decades ago knowing the community they were part of was interested in coming together to produce their own food. They went with the co-op model as this was a way to distribute workload so all the members have real sweat equity. And they each get to enjoy harvesting fresh produce as well as doing the planting, weeding, etc. It started with five families and now there are two dozen families! That’s as big as they plan to get though.

They started with a few goals in mind:

• Providing quality food for themselves (was five families, now a dozen or so)
• Improve wildlife habitat
• Build community

We talk about the food side quite a bit in the episode. They are largely self-sufficient with the exceptions of grain and things that don’t grow well there (coffee, sugar, etc.) Some families participate in the meat part while others do produce only. He has a lot of spreadsheets to work through on costs, etc and those are distributed equitably too. And I can tell you, he always brings plenty of eggs to go with the bacon I take for holiday breakfasts and has perfected his deviled egg game! The garden is big and gets turned over during the season so they grow an acre’s worth of food. It’s a lot to be thankful for and Ray wrote a blog post for me a decade ago sharing some of his thanks.

Ray says there have been a range of things tried. Sometimes they found foods they weren’t as familiar with did really well so sharing recipes helped. And they can, freeze and put things in the root cellar for safe keeping through the hard Ohio winter. The weekend I was there recently, we enjoyed edamame as we waited for others to arrive for the dinner that we would have soon.

Improving wildlife habitat is one thing that he says happened without the focus he expected it would need. But that probably speaks to the variety of things that are being done on the pasture and hayfields. The environmental aspects are clear… you can even see the barn swallows in the video.

The co-op community has continued to develop over the years, with some members staying throughout the decades and others coming and going. The same community is likely to gather at the local coffee shop on Saturday mornings to catch up, that’s when I got a photo of Elizabeth & Ray a few years ago.

A Look Around the Farmstead

The farm includes a pasture for all the animals to share, a large hayfield, a garden (about half an acre in size) and a historic barn that was built in 1868. (That’s easier to remember since one summer when I was there they were putting the date back up after having the barn painted.)

Working in the garden is something everyone participates in. There are cool season crops like broccoli, onions, etc. and later tomatoes, peppers and squash go in the ground. On the header of the page, you can see early spring planting of onions and garlic. These are planted every year. They get dried down, distributed to members and used year round!

The pasture is where you are most likely to find animals during the day. Sheep, chickens and their dog protectors are out there a lot, going from shade to sun and looking for things to eat. They also get some feed in the barn. Ray showed me around the barn, its a casual check-in on what’s going on with the pigs, chicken and sheep.

Bottle Feeding Lamb Triplets This Year

If you watched the video around the barn, you met Sage and Socks. They are two ewes who were orphaned as lambs. My niece was visiting that spring and she had a lot of fun bottle feeding them and learning all about sheep.

This year Ray has triplets that lost their mom so he has three to get through the early days. That means mixing up a milk replacement that will give them much needed nutrition until their digestive tracts have fully developed.  After we recorded the podcast he took me out there and you’ll hear, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into. I THOUGHT I’d be shooting video, but that stopped so I could feed one of the lambs.

Ray got to finish up with the sweet lamb with a few spots, including on its knees. No doubt the excitement of doing this wears on a person day-after-day, but that’s part of the reality with the farm co-op. It takes a lot of time in addition to everyone’s day jobs.

Since our most recent episode was talking to Kristin Root Patterson about lamb, you may want to catch up on that if you missed it because we talked cooking, rams, and more!

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The post My Brother’s Farm Co-op: Two Decades of Food Self-Sufficiency & Community appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.

The unique taste of lamb draws me in almost every time its on a menu and I think pasture-to-table lamb is something everyone should try. The Mediterranean flavors just aren’t the same without lamb. That’s what led me to head southeast from Columbus, Ohio, to the Root family farm. Kristin Root Patterson shares the family’s love of sheep, and how they combine animal care and a love of great food.

The Roots raise Dorset sheep, a breed that supplies meat and wool to people in the area. We talk about favorite ways to prepare lamb as well as take a look around the barn and pastures!

Finally, Lamb is Easier to Find!

Lamb wasn’t something I had a chance to get to know growing up but as I started traveling, it became something I was a lot more interested in. Kristin says she has seen the same. Even major warehouse stores offer lamb in their grocery sections. The family sells their meat and wool both locally and that means she knows as tastes change.

Lamb chops and leg of lamb are always popular, but as food programming on TV and streaming services have been encouraging people to discover new possibilities, Kristin says conversations with their butcher get more interesting as people want cuts done differently, she hadn’t even thought of cutting a brisket before but a customer wanted it so they figured out how to do it!

One note Kristin makes is to pay attention to how the meat is trimmed out. Lamb is a lean meat and some may be tempted to leave a layer of fat around a cut, but Kristin says unlike some other meats, the fat doesn’t add flavor. Most butchers will trim it closely, but you may want to be sure.

How to Prepare Pasture-to-Table Lamb

There are lots of ways to prepare lamb, but Kristin cautions people to pay attention to doneness saying overcooked lamb is the easiest problem to have. With that in mind, they always go rare though she says ground lamb tends to be cooked a bit more than some of the cuts.

Kristin talks through a lot of options for cooking lamb in our episode. And wow did I get hungry! A favorite for the Root family is lamb chops and they like to keep it simple Kristin says — just a little salt, pepper and garlic! Put them on the grill or maybe cast iron. For larger cuts like leg or shoulder, they typically use a crock pot or smoker. The family prefers to serve lamb with potatoes, rice or risotto and some green vegetables like green beans or asparagus.

A Family Affair

Three generations of the Root family are involved on the farm. Kristin says her dad keeps saying he’s going to retire, but the morning I was there he had been out trimming hooves which doesn’t seem like retiring at all!

And it’s clear that Kristin spends a good bit of time with the flock too. But hearing about how much her teenagers (Campbell & Parker) enjoy working with the sheep, being involved with the meat business, competing with wool clothing and more makes it clear there is potential with pasture-to-table lamb from the family well into the future.

Raising Horned Dorsets

The Roots settled on the horned Dorset breed of lamb in part due to the disposition of the animal, but Kristin says they also are great for meat and wool. They have several rams and a lot of ewes and depending on the time of year, you may find a lot of lambs on the farm. Most of the lambs they wouldn’t keep had already been sold to other farmers who would raise them, while the Roots focus on genetics and breeding projects.

Kristin showed me around the barn and we followed some of the sheep out to the pasture. There had been a big rain just before I got to the area, so it was a bit muddy going in and out. But the flock seemed to care less about the stranger that joined them. They were a bit curious and I was just as intrigued about them! Especially enamored with the rams, the horns on them were just so majestic!

Hope you enjoy the tour!

Connect with Kristin Online

You can get more recipes and information, from Kristin’s website Local Farm Mom or on social media — LocalFarmMom on Instagram, Local Farm Mom on Facebook or @LocalFarmMom on Twitter. You may also enjoy listening to her podcast called Mismatched where she and a friend talk about everything and nothing at the same time. It’s a great glimpse into everyday life, including discussion of the Patterson families fruit farm with things like strawberry season!

The post Talking Pasture-to-Table Lamb with Ohio’s Kristin Root Patterson appeared first on Grounded by the Farm.