Bahr Farm

Bahr Farm

Bahr Farm

Welcome to the Farm

This story began over 15 years ago when a relationship developed between Dale and Carol Bahr and conservation enthusiasts Clare and Cardinal board member Roland Johnson. The Bahr farm had been a part of the family since 1916, originally purchased by Dale’s grandfather. The Bahrs knew about Cardinal Land Conservancy, but were so busy taking care of the farm and the family business that protecting the land was not on the forefront of their minds. However, in Spring 2021 the Bahrs decided to pursue permanent protection of their 32-acre family farm.

Cardinal was able to work with the Bahrs who were willing to gift their property to Cardinal in exchange for us to protect it from being developed, forever.

Cardinal worked with Dale and Carol to retain a life estate, resulting in Cardinal’s ownership of the farm and the house, where the Bahrs retain the right to live as long as they like. In addition to this amazing gift, Cardinal was fortunate enough to raise additional funds to help make an immediate impact on the farm.

Cardinal looks forward to working with community leaders to help guide us in ways that will allow us to better work with community members. This include one of our key partners, Springfield Township. The community will then be able to learn about local food production and have a way to enjoy nature. 

Bahr and Waldorf Crop

Property Details

Cardinal works with tenants who lease six acres to grow produce for local residents to purchase on a weekly basis. The group is called Our Harvest Cooperative and they have been on the farm for 11 years and will continue to lease property and grow local food. The vast majority of the property is utilized for cattle, where we have a cow/calf operation of mostly black angus grass fed beef. There are a few garden plots that we are working with Our Harvest and the Southwest Ohio Catholic Charities’ Refugee Program to allow immigrants to grow their own food.

Our Work

Fall 2021

After taking ownership of the farm on July 1st of 2021, Cardinal has spent much time cleaning up and organizing materials in the barns while increasing the capacity of infrastructure by adding a parking lot and graveling the road. After realizing that we have what must be the oldest barn in Hamilton County, built early 1800s, we are working on finding a contractor that can help us restore the barn in a way that preserves the historic value and will allow a visitor experience to interact with some of the animals on the farm. We are upgrading the electric services, restoring the pond by fixing the dam and adding fish, and hope to restore the pastures, install new perimeter fence and remove the invasive plants.

Spring 2022

Our growing farm staff with now 2 full-time employees and a summer intern have been hard at work at Bahr Farm over the past 6 months. To help Our Harvest’s farming efforts, all electrical wiring was moved underground and now areas like our historical barn have electricity and outlets. This improvement in combination with hours spent cleaning up the barn and taking care of problematic trees allowed us to host our annual member meeting inside! There were also improvements made to the water lines to prevent freezing over the winter. The pond is now full and has been stocked with bass, blue gill, catfish and more from Jones Fish Hatchery. The grass around the pond has been seeded and there are plans to install a wind powered aerator. Now that the pond is functioning, the team has seen lots of wildlife like ducks and birds using the pond as a haven. Cardinal has welcomed two calves, Libby and Damien, and spent countless hours with Damien who had trouble latching to her mother. The team bottle fed her multiple times a day to ensure her survival and we are excited to report she is doing great! Three pastures have been fenced off for rotation and reseeded into warm season grasses. The south field has been set up for hay and the team has completed one harvest and hopes for 3 more this summer. Bahr Farm’s team posts regular updates and friendly cow videos to our Facebook page, so follow to stay updated!

We look forward to having public visitors soon!

     

790 Garfield Avenue       P.O. Box 957       Milford, OH   45150
Email: info@cardinallandconservancy.org     Phone: 513-752-2828     501(c)(3): EIN 31-1673211
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