Geauga farm growth highest in Ohio
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN April 2004
Instead of losing farms like other counties, Geauga
County is growing them, according to Randy James,
Ohio State University Extension Geauga County extension
agent.
"The county is booming in farm numbers," while many
neighboring counties are losing them, Mr. James
said. Farms have been growing in the county for
the last 30 years, contrary to what has been thought,
he said. "We just didn't know it. We do lose farms,
but the net growth is up."
In Ohio, Geauga County is clearly No. 1 one in farm
growth, he said.
A 1997 OSU Extension study that documented the number
of horse farms found that the more suburban townships
on the west side of Geauga County are rising faster
in total farm numbers than the eastern, more rural
side of the county.
Greenhouse operations are farms, and traveling on
Chillicothe Road (Route 306) one can see them on
the western tier of the county, Mr. James said.
Auburn is the fastest growing township in terms
of farms, he said. Most of them are horse related,
and they have a good supply of customers right in
the area, he said.
Horse farms are starting everywhere, Mr. James said.
Horses are a traditional part of agriculture, he
said. As in the old western movies, the livery stables
were at the end of town, he said. "We're just outside
Cuyahoga County.
"The trick is to recognize them as farming units."
Mr. James said, if there are no dairy cows, people
don't think of them as farms."
Geauga County has increased by more than 15 percent
in farms, going from 578 in 1970 to 661 in 1997
and an estimated 670 in 2002, according to a USDA
Agricultural Census and the National Agricultural
Statistics Service.
The steady increase has been in horticulture and
equine farms. Sheep farms are up some as well, Mr.
James said. "One of our most frequent calls is,
'I want to start a farm.'"
The U.S. Department of Agricultural census defines
a farm as any unit selling at least $1,000 of agricultural
products per year and businesses producing food
and fiber. Animals do not need to be eaten to define
it as a farm.
The OSU Extension study found that the county had
approximately 170 horse farms that met the $1,000
of sales requirement and was growing at a rate of
two to three stables per year.
While it is tempting to dismiss the new farms as
"hobby farms," that is not what the statistics say,
Mr. James said.
The OSU Extension estimates that a horse-boarding
farm of 20 horses should have gross sales in excess
of $100,000 a year. In general, the county is losing
financially smaller farms and gaining financially
larger farms, Mr. James said.
The most rapid growth is in farm products or services
that are sold directly to consumers, he said.
"Agriculture is more than cows, but we're still
a large dairy county."
And most residents in the county would rather have
a farm as a neighbor, he said. "It's more in keeping
with Geauga's rural character. It's a no-brainer.
Most want a nursery, greenhouse or horses over development."
The county is in a location near many people. A
wholesale vegetable and fruit auction in Middlefield
allows farmers to sell there, getting the same price
as selling it to California, he said. And the farms
on the western tier of the county have a "wonderful
location," because they are close to greater populations.
Geauga County farmers have the advantage of a short
marketing exchange. The produce they grow is likely
to be eaten within 30 miles, Mr. James said.
Local officials have supported local farmers. An
example is the start up of a farmers market in South
Russell.
Large-lot zoning helps agriculture, because housing
is not so dense, he said. "A township in Medina
County chose to zone for 10-acre lots, and it just
spurred farming.
"Our figures are conservative," Mr. James said.
The study did not use businesses such as cheese
factories in the county, he said. "We included just
farms."
Farmers have learned to be flexible as well. Haskins
Farm in Bainbridge started an apple orchard, adapting
to the market around it. The same is true with Patterson
Fruit Farm in Chester. It used to be a dairy farm,
Mr. James said.
Farms in the county may appear small, but they may
be giant in terms of finances, he said, and they
are an economic engine that drives the county.
