The OSU Extension Office in Fulton County will be hosting a Sustainable Farm Tour on Friday, June 21st from 10 am to 5 pm. The driving tour will feature three Fulton County Small Farms including Kinsman Farm near Archbold, Turkeyfoot Creek Creamery near Wauseon and Knotty Vines Farm and Winery south of Pettisville. [emember_protected custom_msg=”Full content protected for online subscribers. Purchase a one week subscription from the top menu bar for just $1.99 to read all online content (full access). Longer subscription plans are also available. Subscriptions cover our costs to attend local events; bringing forth Hometown News Coverage to our communities.”]

The tour will begin at 10 am at Kinsman Farm (www.localharvest.org/kinsman-farm) near Archbold, which is a traditional family row crop farm but has modified its production in recent years to include organic produce, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) subscriptions and season extension through high tunnel greenhouse production. A lunch including produce from this farm will be provided at the end of this stop.

After lunch the tour will continue at 1 pm to Turkeyfoot Creek Creamery (www.turkeyfootcreek.com) near Wauseon where you will witness the making of fresh, ripened and aged goat cheeses by hand, using only the milk provided by goats from the farm. This creamery was a new start up in 2012 and is constantly adjusting practices to keep up with demand while preserving the quality artisan cheese product. Prepare to see the entire process from the goat to the curd!

The tour will finish at 3 pm at Knotty Vines Farm and Winery (www.knottyvineswinery.com) southwest of Wauseon where a “retirement project” has turned into a viable enterprise on just three acres. After initial research and several plantings, the winery opened for retail business early in 2013.
This Fulton County tour is part of the 2013 Ohio Sustainable Farm Tour and Workshop Series which includes 24 events around Ohio throughout the summer months. The statewide series is presented by the Coalition of Ohio Land Trusts, Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association and the Ohio State University Extension Sustainable Agriculture Team. See www.fulton.osu.edu for the complete brochure. Registration for the Fulton County Farm Tour, including lunch and tastings costs $20. Call 419-337-9210 or email richer.5@osu.edu by June 19th to register.

Limited carpooling is available (meeting at the Extension Office near Wauseon at 9:30 a.m.) or you may drive yourself to each farm. Please indicate whether you plan to carpool or drive when you register. At this time you will receive more information with directions, etc.

Eric Richer, Extension Educator,
Agriculture and Natural Resources[/emember_protected]