For the past ten years, Our Harvest Cooperative has had the extraordinary experience of building a farm co-op here in Cincinnati at the Bahr farm. We are very happy to share astounding news: as of a few weeks ago, the Bahr farm has officially been donated to the Cardinal Land Trust by incredible mentor, friend, and pillar of the community Dale Bahr. The fact that we will see the farm stay a farm—protected from development and preserved as a community agricultural space—is frankly life changing!
This step was made possible through the help of an anonymous donor, along with massive collective love and support for the farm. Best of all, Mr. Bahr will be tending his cows as well as helping with the historic restoration and transition. The arrival of this moment feels like a certified miracle!
Shortly after we concluded our tractor fundraiser in the spring, we discovered that the tractor in question (the one we needed to fundraise to repair) would be transferred in ownership to the new land trust, and that the trust would be repairing the tractor. Given this incredible development, the cooperative decided it would make the most sense to replace the broken boiler heating system in the prop house. This is a huge and expensive undertaking and definitely the second most important repair needed for farm operations.
It has been one of Our Harvest’s greatest hopes and dreams to see the Bahr farm stay a farm, and we are delighted to have played a part in this process. This could never have been done without the generous support of our incredible donors, Weekly Harvest Box members, farmers, Food Hub members, family, as well as the many community owners, mentors, board members, and of course Dale Bahr himself. We are humbled to have this opportunity to witness this transition and help keep farms in the city of Cincinnati!
