Belvedere Farms

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

  • Our Story
  • On The Farm
    • Shop Farm Goods
    • Farm Events
    • Farm Dispatches
    • Farm Institute
  • Milk Cow 101
  • On the Blog
    • The Family Milk Cow
    • Milk Cow Blog Posts
    • Farmhouse Recipes
    • Canning & Preserving
You are here: Home / Our Story

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

Hey there friends! Long time, no see eh? . Popping Hey there friends!
Long time, no see eh?
.
Popping in to let you know I’ll be posting over at @belvedere.farms from now on.
.
Same farm, same milk cow / farming / homesteading / canning & preserving / free-range kids capers & misadventures kinda stuff, but a whole new chapter.
.
Sneak peek: if you’ve been around for awhile, you’ll know Maude (our milk cow Sandy’s first calf). She’s a brand new momma herself!
.
She and I are learning together how to train a milk cow from scratch. It’s an adventure, to be sure!
.
Come on over to @belvedere.farms and follow along.
.
- Raelene
Wow. Just wow. . This is how I feel every time I l Wow. Just wow.
.
This is how I feel every time I look at the pantry shelves, filling slowly but surely, bit by bit.
.
Summer’s bounty + hard work (and plenty of hot sweaty days in the kitchen) means my family will eat like kings all winter long.
.
It’s such a blessing to know these skills and get to pass them along.
.
Sign up for my newsletter (link in bio) so you know when the next homesteading/self-sufficiency class is happening here at Belvedere Farms and you too can start filling those pantry shelves with goodness.
.
.
.
#homestead #preservingtheharvest #canning #cannedpeaches #canningseason #selfsufficiency #homemadefood #homesteadmama
“She is little, but she is fierce.” Don’t pu “She is little, but she is fierce.”
Don’t put out that fire.
.
.
.
#farmraisedkids #farmher #farmgirl #ican #homesteadmama
Can I hear an AMEN? Just tell me one thing: Team L Can I hear an AMEN?
Just tell me one thing: Team Lake or Team Ocean?
.
Me? Lake. All the way. Nothing in the lake wants to kill me. 😱
.
#gooutside #wildandfreechildren #lakeday #summertime #outdoorkids
There’s nothing like the smell of fresh cut hay. There’s nothing like the smell of fresh cut hay.
.
.
.
#hayingseason #freshhay #hay #farmlife #summeronthefarm #hayfield #ohiofarm
Just like that, canning season has officially begu Just like that, canning season has officially begun.
.
I drove down to the vet’s to pick up meds for a sick heifer and since it takes me right through Amish country, I couldn’t resist stopping at a farm just off the road to pick up 10 quarts of small but luscious berries (the small ones are sweetest, I think).
.
Harvested rhubarb from the garden and a couple hours later : strawberry rhubarb jam.
.
When you’re filling shelves for the winter, every little bit counts.
.
Are you making jam this year? What’s your favorite fruit to use for jam? I loooove apricot jam, but have a hard time finding local apricots here in Ohio. If you know of a source - spill the beans!🤣
.
.
.
#canningseason #strawberryjam #homesteadmama #homesteadskills #oldfashionedonpurpose #preservingtheharvest
It may seem like a small thing, but it always make It may seem like a small thing, but it always makes my heart happy to look out the window and see the cows grazing in the pasture.
.
It took a lot of work to get here, and takes a lot of work to stay here, but working hard for something you love isn’t a burden. Instead it builds confidence, self-respect, resilience, and stamina.
.
Go, friends. Work your tails off at work worth doing. And stop every now and again to take stock of all you’ve accomplished and all you’ve learned. It’ll blow your socks off and give you the gumption to do the next hard and worthwhile thing.
.
.
.
#iamyourfarmer #milkcow #grassfed #rawmilk #farmlife #lifeouthere #hardworkpaysoffs #ohiofarm
Every farm needs a barn cat. We’ve noticed a hug Every farm needs a barn cat. We’ve noticed a huge difference between the years we’ve had barn cuts and the years we haven’t. They’re essential.
.
And yet, I’m pretty sure my kids all think we keep barn cats for the kittens.
.
There’s a new litter every spring and so far we’ve always been able to give enough away to keep from being overrun. Their momma, Scout, is a phenomenal mouser (and catches birds and squirrels and chipmunks too) and earns her keep many times over.
.
So much so that when she decides to give birth, she finds a spot in the basement and we let her come and go as she pleases while the kittens are teeny. That in itself is a testament to her place on the farm.
.
Are you team barn cat? How many do you have?
.
.
.
#barncat #kittens #kidsandkittens #farmraisedkid #farmkid #homesteadkids
Eleven brand spankin’ new piglets born on the fa Eleven brand spankin’ new piglets born on the farm yesterday afternoon/evening.
.
It never gets old this farming thing. There’s always something to work on, look forward to, get better at, learn from, grow into, and try again.
.
I’m here for it and doing my darndest.
.
#farmlifebestlife #babypigs #piglets #iamyourfarmer #supportlocalfarmers #berkshirepigs #farmher
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Recent Posts

  • 5 Meals or More With 1 Pasture-Raised Chicken
  • Tacos de Lengua – Beef Tongue Tacos
  • All About Cream : Part 1
  • How to help your milk cow adjust to Daylight Savings Time
  • What is A2A2 Milk?

Categories

  • Blog Post
  • Canning
  • MilkCow 101
  • Recipes

Copyright © 2023 · Modern Studio Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in