Belvedere Farms

Farming for Flavor and Raising our Family on 47 Acres in NE Ohio

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Our Story

Hey there! Welcome to our farm.

We’re a diversified, regenerative agricultural family farm in northeast Ohio. With 47 acres, an 1883 barn, a 1908 fixer-upper farmhouse, and 5 little-farmers-in-the-making, we’re always fixing something and always learning some new skill.

At Belvedere Farms, we have two main priorities:

  1. to raise nutrient-dense, delicious food using sustainable, loving, and environmentally-sound practices and management
  2. to raise our children to be hard-working, compassionate humans who understand, appreciate, are in awe of, and thoughtfully contribute to and care for the natural world around them.

People often ask what we raise on our farm, and though we know they’re really asking about the animals and produce, our first answer is always: kids! We have five kids, all of whom contribute in meaningful ways to the daily operation of the farm – from the pre-teen to the toddler – we all live here, we all eat here, we all work here.

We moved to the farm in 2015, just after our third child (and feisty only girl) was born. It had been leased and farmed in conventional row crops for more than 30 years with little to no inputs. The land was depleted and the declining yields year after year reflected that neglect. Little by little as time, money, and energy permits, we’re rebuilding and regenerating the biodiversity of the soil, water systems, and forage of our 47 acres.

We came to farming in search of flavor, looking for nutrient-dense foods bursting with natural goodness  that can only come from sun on grass and free-ranging, happy animals (and plants!) living their best lives. We believe in good food – in sourcing the best whole ingredients from responsible local growers, and learning the basic old-fashioned skills necessary to create simple, wholesome, nutrient-dense, from-scratch meals with those ingredients.

 

About Us

Jordan grew up in Las Vegas, but spent two years as a missionary in southern Italy where he refined his tastes and interest in good food. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science, a Master’s in American Government, and a PhD in Political Theory and American Government from Claremont University in Claremont, California. He taught Political Science at the University of Nevada Las Vegas before we moved to the farm in 2015. He is an aspiring pastry chef and the impetus and genius behind most of the fancy food we eat here on the farm. He also runs our off-farm business (WallQuotes.com) to pay the bills and keep the lights on. He is a dedicated cyclist and puts in hundreds of miles each month riding the rolling hills within a 50 mile radius of the farm and executes a grueling 100 mile ride south to Columbus every summer.

 

Raelene grew up on a cattle ranch in northern British Columbia, Canada. She rode horses, chased cows, checked fence, and loved being outside. She loved how she grew up and always hoped to have a few acres so her kids could have a similar experience. She has Bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and French and a Master’s degree in English Literature. She loves to read and always finds a way to sneak in a few minutes of reading every day. She makes the garden plans and spearheads all the canning and preserving we do every summer. Peas and tomatoes are her favorite things to grow and she feels that the best way to eat both is straight out of the garden, sun on her shoulders, dirt on her hands.

Together with our five kids, we are your farmers.

We raise beef, pork, chicken, eggs, and fresh vegetables. Most everything we eat is grown right here – farm to fork. We are passionate about sharing our story, our knowledge, and our hard-earned old-fashioned skills in the hope of inspiring you to make the most of the best you’ve got – whether that means growing your own food in your backyard and making more meals from scratch or sourcing the best ingredients you can find from your own local farmers.

 

And if you’ve got questions, we’d love to hear ’em.

Contact Us
First

belvederefarms

This time of year I worry about too much grass gro This time of year I worry about too much grass growing too fast before I can get the cows over to eat it down and make the most of it.
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As a grass farmer, it’s the very best kind of problem to have: grass tall enough to get lost in.
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Speaking of which: can you find the baby? Comment with a 👍 when you do!
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#grassfarmer #grassfedbeef #iamyourfarmer #farmraisedkids #intensiverotationalgrazing #grassfed #grassfedbutter #farmlife #homesteadlife #supportlocalfarmers
That milk pail foam tho 🤩🤩🤩. . Those firs That milk pail foam tho 🤩🤩🤩.
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Those first few weeks hand milking can be disheartening. Dribbles and squirts, milk running down your wrist, sticky fingers, and sore forearms. 
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Milking is a skill. No one is good at it right away. It takes practice. The more you practice, the better you get. The faster you get, the more sure and even your squirts.
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And then one day, there will be foam in the bucket and you’ll know you’ve arrived. Your squirts are fast and firm and sure and the sustained pressure of all that milk hitting the pail makes the most gloriously frothy foam.
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Keep at it friend. Whatever skill you’re working on now. Just because you’re not that great at it right now doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing or that you won’t get better.
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Keep working. Keep trying. Keep learning. The foam will come.
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#farmlife #milkmaid #modernmilkmaid #milkmaidlife #milkcowlife #handmilking #rawmilk #homesteadskills #traditionalskills
Transcript of a real-life conversation we had this Transcript of a real-life conversation we had this morning:

Me: Whaa? Why is there a frozen turkey on the counter?!

Seamus (4): Because I like turkey and chicken meat.

Me: So you went out to the barn…

S: …and got in the freezer. And brought in a turkey.

Me: Oh, love. We can’t cook a turkey until we have a stove [kitchen reno still on going 🤦‍♀️].

S: Well, then you can cut it up and cook it piece by piece in the microwave.

Me: Actually, that’s not going to work.

S: (looks outside) Well, it’s raining today but tomorrow when it’s not raining we can make a fire and cook it outside on the fire.
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Ever the problem solver, he was full of ideas. 🤣🤣
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I did finally convince him to put it back in the freezer and wait until we have a stove - with the caveat that we cook it for his birthday.
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#kidssaythedarndestthings
#farmkid #farmlife #homesteadmama #lifeonthefarm #farmraisedkids
We have two cows in milk right now: Sandy (old fai We have two cows in milk right now: Sandy (old faithful and best friend, there on the left) and Clara (new to our farm and momma to Ruby).
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How much work is two cows vs. one? I was so nervous about adding a second cow because the additional time/labor was an unknown, but when it comes right down to it, it’s about 20 mins more time milking. That’s it.
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Everything else is pretty well the same. It takes the same amount of time to bring them in to the milking shed. The same amount of time to move them to fresh grass. It still takes under an hour door to door to milk & do what needs done, and even less for evening milking.
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And since our oldest boy (14) helps milk the majority of the time, that extra 20 minutes doesn’t often figure in. Many hands (and even just one extra pair!) make light work.
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It does take a little more time to deal with the milk: more time straining, more time washing jars, more cream to skim, more butter to churn. But if more cream and butter are the cons, I’m here for it.
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What would you say is the biggest obstacle holding you back from getting a family cow?
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#familycow #milkcowlife #keepingafamilycow #milkcow #homesteadlife #rawmilk
Mud pie hearts. . Just because this day or month o Mud pie hearts.
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Just because this day or month or season or year is hard does not mean you are not heard or seen or loved. There is beauty all around, if we have eyes to see it, hearts open to feel it, and wild, barefoot, dirty, outdoor-loving farm kiddos to deliver it.
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#farmkids #wildandfree #mudpie #mudseason #springonthefarm #homesteadmama #farmmom
My cup - ahem. shirt - runneth over. Same same. . My cup - ahem. shirt - runneth over. Same same. 
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I gather eggs every morning and again every afternoon. Farm life is a constant reminder that there is #alwayssomethingtobethankfulfor 
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#farmfresheggs #farmeggs #rainboweggs #farmlifebestlife
Hello Friends! Jordan here, and it has been a hot Hello Friends! Jordan here, and it has been a hot minute. I went to Las Vegas last week to visit my brother and we made beef tongue tacos. I love using the whole animal and this was a fun process with a delicious outcome. You can check out the blog to get the recipe. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
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#wholeanimalbutchery #wholeanimalcooking #beeftonguetacos #tacosdelengua  #cincodemayo #grassfedbeef #homesteadkitchen
T-minus 3 days until our first frost and we’re s T-minus 3 days until our first frost and we’re spending these lovely fall afternoons gathering in the last of the garden.
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Today: dried beans (Christmas Lima and Cherokee Trail of Tears), Reagan’s sunflowers and luffa, the last of the tomatoes (gah! they just won’t quit!), and the rhubarb.
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Tomorrow: chopping, freezing, cooking, and canning.
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Months from now: bellies full of homegrown garden goodness.
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#homegrown #gardenlife #farmlife #preservingtheharvest #garden #fallgarden #ohiogarden #growyourown #sunflower #familygarden #kidsinthegarden #gardeningwithkids #happyfall #harvesttime #harvest #fallharvest
Hello, fall. 👋 You’re long overdue and oh so Hello, fall. 👋 You’re long overdue and oh so welcome.
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This morning was the first I stayed in a long sleeve shirt to milk and didn’t have sweat dripping down my face.
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It’s the first the temperature has dipped below 60* (even though the humidity is a resilient 100% what with the rain, mist, and fog).
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Technically, our first frost date should have been this week, but Ohio’s holding out and it doesn’t look like that’s gonna happen for another two weeks at least.
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In any case, it finally (finally!) feels like fall and oh am I ever so here for it. So much so that once the must-do chores are done (yogourt, butter, beans and laundry), I fully intend to curl up on the couch with a cuppa and read.
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#fallonthefarm #hellofall #fall #fallleaves #fallscene #farmlife #farm #ohiofarm #smallfarmcharm #simplehappycountrylife #homesteadmama #home #ilovefall #october
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