A Sweet Day, Ride, And Some Syrup Too

By Tonjua McCullough

Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.  And on that farm he found the Leadership Medina Class of 2016 Silver Jubilee, E-I-E-I-O.  With a moo-moo here and a moo-moo there, everywhere a moo-moo; Old MacDonald had a farm, E-I-E-I-O.

Our farm adventure started bright and early at Boyert’s Greenhouse for a scrumptious omelet breakfast.   We learned how the Boyert’s began their greenhouse and farm.   John Fitzpatrick introduced us to Farm Bureau and how we can team up with the organization.   The class boarded the bus without me and headed to Boyert’s farm.  Fortunately, a class member saw me chasing the bus and stopped and gave me a ride to the farm.

Mike Boyert introduced his son Jacob who taught us about the impregnation of cows.  To my surprise, the bulls are used as “clean-up” when the injection method doesn’t work.  I figured it was the other way around.   We were able to see the end result…baby calves.   Oh, they were so cute.   We boarded the bus (yes, I did not get left behind this time) and headed to Richardson’s Farm.

Richardson’s Farm had a variety of produce like tomatoes, peppers, kale, and lettuce.  The farm services many restaurants in the area and they participate in farmer’s markets daily.   Richardson’s Farm also raises chickens.  They raise turkeys in the fall.  I noticed a couple of cows and cats there too.   One unique thing to mention about Richardson’s Farm is the solar panels they use.  I never dreamed a barn could have solar panels, but you can sure find them at Richardson’s.

We boarded the bus and headed to TSA (the truck stop) for a bathroom break before heading over to Buckin’ Ohio.   We were greeted by Denny and Eileen Thorsell upon arriving at Buckin’ Ohio.  They made everyone feel welcome.  We saw a real cowboy working the bulls and getting them ready for an upcoming show.   Buckin’ Ohio has five Pro Bull Riding Events scheduled for 2016.  I plan to attend one of the shows.  They also offer a Christmas at the Ranch event in early December.  I think I will try to attend that as well.

At this point everyone was getting hungry, so lunch was the next stop.  As we travelled to Letha House Park for lunch, we drove by a new park.  Lunch was awesome!!  We had a fresh salad, Lentil soup, roast beef sandwiches, our choice of chocolate or white milk, several pies from which to choose, and three flavors of the best ice cream I’ve ever had.   A few of our classmates got to spin the wheel and won nice door prizes donated by the farms we visited.

We boarded the bus and went nowhere.  The bus had mechanical issues so we got off the bus and went back into the lunch building.  Steve Arters brought his farm to us, well, his tractor that is.  We learned about GMO, farm equipment, and GPS technology for farm machinery.  We viewed Steve’s tractor and we had permission to sit at the wheel inside the tractor cabin.  I was amazed at the huge tires.  The tires were taller than me.  I have a photo to prove it.  Someone fixed the bus so we boarded and headed to Richman Farms.

We were introduced to dairy farming at Richman Farms.  We toured the farm and learned about milk analysis and milk safety.  The sweet part of the tour was the “straw” ride to the maple sugaring operation.  We saw the maple syrup process and even sampled the syrup.  Many class members took home jugs of syrup.  We boarded the bus and headed back to our cars at Boyert’s Greenhouse.  We had an exciting day as we visited the various farms in Medina County.  Old MacDonald had a farm…E-I-E-I-O.