Year: 2021

14 Oct 2021

A Responsible Protein Source

A Responsible Protein Source

How does Greenacres beef compare to plant-based “meat alternatives”? The ingredients used to produce these products (soy, peas, seed oils, rice, etc) are grown in huge, industrial agricultural operations that tend to specialize in and grow only one crop, a practice known as ‘monocropping’. Monocrop agriculture harms the environment in many ways; through the compaction and degradation of soils, the usage of huge quantities of pesticides and herbicides, the pollution of water, and the loss of biodiversity.

Along with physical compaction from heavy machinery, monocropped soils are often devoid of the lifeforms you’d find in healthy soils, like bacteria, invertebrates, insects, and fungi. This soil biology is largely responsible for the development of soil organic matter – which like a sponge is able to hold 18 times its own weight in water – and building soil aggregates, which provide pore spaces in the soil to allow water to easily infiltrate down into the soil profile. Thus, depleted biology leads directly to a loss of water absorption and retention, causing runoff and erosion to become serious issues.

Besides the environmental costs of monocrop farming, “meat alternatives” are also reliant on huge processing plants and long supply chains to turn a raw soybean into processed ingredients, like soy protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, and soy leghemoglobin. Highly processed foods take your food further from your farmer, further from the land on which the foods are grown, and are reliant on wealthy multinational corporations to keep the complex supply chains and processing plants operating.

Raising cattle on pasture actually improves the environment, improving both the quality and quantity of soil biology, sequestering carbon and building biodiversity. If you’re looking for responsible protein choice, look no further than 100% grassfed, grass-finished beef.

07 Oct 2021

The GISt of Missing Bobwhites

The GISt of Missing Bobwhites

Every May for the past 3 years, our research team has spent one morning a week at our Lewis Township facility in Brown County, listening for the mating calls of bobwhite quail. Starting before dawn, the team listens intently for their calls, hoping to hear at least one as a sign of their return to the area. Bobwhites have become a rarity in these parts and their natural habitats have experienced severe decline as small farms intermixed with forests and hedgerows are replaced by large row-crop fields. Our hope has been that as we transition this farm back to one with more bobwhite friendly elements, we will see their return. Unfortunately the team failed to hear any bobwhites, the same outcome as years 1 and 2. To get a better sense of why we weren’t seeing a reversal in this trend, Research Intern Luke Weyer chose to perform a habitat suitability assessment of the Lewis Township facility as his summer intern project.

A habitat suitability model measures the quality of habitat based on three life requisites: winter food, cover, and nesting. In order for bobwhites to thrive, all three must be provided by the environment.

“The data I collected on these variables were integrated into a geographic information system (GIS) to generate suitability maps for each requisite (see image). The results were less than stellar and not unexpected, given the lack of bobwhite calls. The model found moderate, but also adequate, suitability for both cover and nesting, yet food was much lower making it the limiting factor.”

– Luke Weyer, Research Intern

With this new data in hand, we have hope for future years. The native warm season grasses planted at Lewis Township are establishing well which will provide excellent habitat for bobwhites. These grasses provide the bobwhite more opportunities to find sheltered food sources, as well as more nesting cover.  “After the completion of my project, a bobwhite was heard near the property in August, so I think we’re moving in the right direction with our efforts” continues Weyer, “I look forward to what the future holds”.

Greenacres plans to continue monitoring and improving habitats for bobwhites in Brown County.

Winter food availability
Nesting suitability
Cover suitability
The range of suitability.
28 Sep 2021

Summer 2021 Update

Summer 2021 Update

Pasture Monitoring

Monitoring plays a large role in the research department.  In addition to monitoring the woodlands, we also monitor the pastures.  Collecting data on soil health and vegetation can inform management decisions made by the livestock team.  Data collected include comprehensive soil tests (encompassing the physical, chemical and biological components of soil), water infiltration and compaction.   Plant species diversity is measured along with an overall assessment of ecosystem health.  Finally, photos document the visual features of the pasture.  Continuous improvement in soil health and desired pasture species is the goal. The photo below visually shows the improvement in vegetative cover, species richness and desired species over 3 years.  This land was a former soybean field in Brown County and is now a native warm season pasture.  We recently developed a comprehensive monitoring schedule for all of our pastures.

Use the image slider to see the 3 year change.

Preserving a Piece of History

Built in mid to late 1920’s as part of the original architecture of the stable facilities, the grain silos at our equine center are an iconic piece of scenery for visitors to the Greenacres Arts Center and Riding Facility. During an annual inspection by our Buildings & Grounds team in June, a number of age related issues affecting the safety of the structures were discovered. “These buildings are in remarkably good shape given their age, however, we did find that certain components were starting to show their age which is nearly 100 years of service. The design, craftsmanship and method of construction was lightyears ahead of their time” says Alex Saurber, Director of Buildings and Grounds. “Our goal is to make sure these buildings continue to withstand the test of time while preserving their historic look. By making these improvements they will remain a unique site for our visitors”.

After careful review and planning, work began in August to restore and replace these critical components. These repairs are expected to be completed before the end of November 2021.

Expanding Flower Production

Flower production on our farm started small in 2019, as a pilot project by Sam Dunbar, Aesthetic Garden Coordinator, when she was a farm intern. Now in her second full season of production, our flower program has grown by leaps and bounds. At Greenacres, we seek to encourage biodiversity, grow organically, and provide quality experiences for our guests – flowers bring together these fundamental tenants of our farm in the most beautiful way. “Most of our vegetable crops rely on pollinators to produce fruit, and interplanting flowers among the vegetables is one of the best ways to encourage pollinators to visit.” says Dunbar, “We plant more flowers than we will harvest, ensuring there’s plenty left for our pollinators to enjoy. Honeybees from our onsite hives are a common sight, busily working away.”

We also plant flowers of different shapes – round, trumpet, umbel shape, etc., encouraging many different kinds of pollinators to visit and build biodiversity. Each species of insect searching for nectar or pollen is seeking a flower shape that suits its specific anatomy and preferences. Hummingbirds like trumpet shapes, bees like round shapes, and wasps prefer umbel shapes. These specific preferences are something our education staff can share with students who visit our gardens.

As with everything in our gardens, our flowers are grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides, or non-organic fertilizers. Flowers from a florist or grocery store may be grown using a wide array of chemical inputs, most of which are detrimental to our environment and pollinators. They’re also typically grown on farms far away and transported thousands of miles to their final destination. Seeking out local flowers can sometimes require a bit more effort, but are well worth the benefits. Customers take home gorgeous flower bouquets while our pollinators and gardens benefit from the increased plant diversity. We’re looking forward to refining and expanding flower production as we enter our third growing season!

“Most of our vegetable crops rely on pollinators to produce fruit, and interplanting flowers among the vegetables is one of the best ways to encourage pollinators to visit.

-Sam Dunbar, Aesthetic Garden Coordinator

The Magic of Summer Camps

Our 2021 summer season revealed the true magic that camp brings. It seemed even nature itself cheered when little boots, water bottles and tie dye shirts arrived in June! Once Upon a Camp, Fun on the Farm, Nurture Nature, Arts in the Natural World, Gone Fishin’… all camps sold quickly and the waiting lists filled up.

Education Administrative Coordinator, Katie Brown explained, “After the 2020 pause, the heightened interest in Greenacres Summer Camps became clear. Even so, we did commit to maintaining small groups with an average of one Greenacres Educator to five children, putting the safety of our families first.”

With camps returning, it was a great opportunity for local high schoolers to once again build their leadership skills over the summer. 31 local high-school student volunteers for the Greenacres Leaders-in-Training (LIT) Program. Under the guidance of the same Greenacres Educators that host thousands of children for field trips each school year, our LITs learned valuable skills on how to safely run a camps, helping ensure that over 290 children enjoyed a safe and magical summer.

“After the 2020 season pause, the heightened interest in Greenacres Summer Camp became clear. Even so, we did commit to maintaining small groups with an average of one Greenacres Educator to five children, putting the safety of our families first.”

-Katie Brown, Education Administrative Coordinator

Camp magic continues with the release of the 2022 guide before the end of the year and registration to open in early 2022 on our website, https://green-acres.org/camps/ .

A Roost for Turkeys

Our livestock team is always looking for ways to increase the quality of life for the animals we raise at Greenacres. Whether it’s shade structures for our cattle or improved chicken tractors for our broilers, no detail large or small is over looked in the process. Even though turkeys are only on our farm for a short period of time, we treat them with the same care and respect that we give to all of our animals.

Every year after Thanksgiving, our team sits down and reviews what they can do to improve our ability to raise turkeys. “Our turkeys have always had access to clean water, fresh pastures, and the safety of our poultry tractors, but we were overlooking their natural instinct to want to roost” says our Livestock Manager, Leevi Stump.  “We looked at our options and decided we could come up with a solution to this challenge before we brought turkeys back onto the farm”. Working with the some of the master welders on our estate crew, a roosting system was designed and construction began in (June?). The build went smoothly and the roosts went out into the field in August waiting for our turkeys to get big enough to use them over the fall.  “We think these will go a long ways to making our turkeys more comfortable” says Stump, “it helps protect them from ground predators and lets them exercise that natural instinct to be in trees”.

“Our turkeys have always had access to clean water, fresh pastures, and the safety of our poultry tractors, but we were overlooking their natural instinct to want to roost.

-Livestock person, Livestock person

A Pollinator Garden for the Farm Store

We’ve enjoyed seeing all of you in the Farm Store this summer. The most noticeable change is our new pollinator garden. In late winter, spring, and early summer of this year, a thick, black tarp was covering the landscaping in front of the store. This tarp prevented the growth of the plants underneath, which had become overgrown. The heat and moisture trapped by the tarp also acts to supercharge the biological activity in the soil, helping the microbes break down the decaying plant material underneath, in a process known as ‘solarization’.

When we removed the tarp in early summer, the soil was beautiful and much improved. A layer of our own compost was added, and a thick layer of natural wood chip mulch to retain moisture and suppress weeds. We’ve intermixed native and ornamental perennials and annuals, to provide year-long flowers for the visiting pollinators. Some of the species we’ve planted are also host plants for caterpillars, such as butterfly weed, a type of milkweed that serves as a host plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillars. Over the next few years we will be adding additional perennial species, and mixing in different annuals to see what produces the most beautiful results. We are very grateful to our garden crew for providing such a beautiful and beneficial garden to enjoy.

Summertime Music

Our friends from the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra returned this summer for another great series of “Music Under the Stars” events.. The sellout crowds enjoyed beautiful evenings in July and August listening to members of the Pops play summertime favorites in the gardens at the Arts Center. Late in the summer the entire Cincinnati Pops, and members from the Cincinnati Opera, Cincinnati May Festival, and Cincinnati Ballet, returned for our annual Celebration Concert in the Grand Tent. It was an amazing performance and a perfect cap to end summer.

Between our concerts, we hosted nine weddings from June through September. “We were thrilled to host a full slate of weddings this season after so many couples had to postpone their 2020 wedding dates. We know that was a really tough decision for them, so it was nice to finally see them get to have the event of their dreams.” says Diana Wheeler, Private Events Manager.

“We were thrilled to host a full slate of weddings this season after so many couples had to postpone their 2020 wedding dates.

-Diana Wheeler, Private Events Manager

Ohio Native Warm Season Grass Trials

This past summer our Lewis Township site became one of four test sites in Ohio for establishing native warm season grasses under various management regimes. This three year experiment is being coordinated through the Ohio State University under the direction of Dr. Marília Chiavegato. Three different establishment protocols were used representing both conventional and non-chemical management strategies. Big bluestem, Indian grass, eastern gamma grass and switchgrass were planted and their growth and development will be documented. Increased pasture diversity in Ohio is important for ecosystem resilience under a changing climate. “Doing collaborative research with external institutions is extremely important as it allows Greenacres to develop relationships with scientists and experts in fields that support our mission. At the same time it allows Greenacres to share their expertise and promote research and knowledge to a much larger community,” says Research Director Chad Bitler.

The research team collecting data in treatments sown in cover crop.

“Doing collaborative research with external institutions is extremely important as it allows Greenacres to develop relationships with scientists and experts in fields that support our mission. At the same time it allows Greenacres to share their expertise and promote research and knowledge to a much larger community

-Chad Bitler, Research Director

22 Sep 2021

Michaela Farm Product Availability

Michaela Farm Product Availability

Pricing is available in-store. 

Eggs

Pasture Raised Eggs are available in the Farmstore.
If you want to learn more about our mobile chicken coop, click here to see a video!

Fresh Cut Flowers

  • Daffodil Bunches

Fresh Vegetables

  • Seasonal Mixed Greens
  • Fresh Cut Chives
  • Spinach
  • Baby Kale
  • Kale Mix
  • Pea Shoots
  • Sunflower Shoots
  • Confetti Radish Mix Microgreens 
  • Yellow Onions
  • Carrots
  • Hakurei Turnips
  • Sweet Potatoes

Herbs

  • Dried herbs:
    • Chives
    • Spearmint
    • Rosemary
    • Sweet Basil
    • Oregano
    • Lemon Balm
    • Parsley
    • Lemon Verbena
    • Lavender
  • Dried Peppers:
    • Cayenne
    • Fresno
    • Jalapeño