Fair Farming in Ohio

The Rocky Road Crew visits Farmer Dick Jensen's Flying J Farms.

We had a blast in Pittsburgh yesterday, but the road show must go on. We got back on the highway early on Wednesday morning, and headed to Columbus. Hang on, Sloopy! (Ohio’s official state rock song.) Our first stop was at the Ohio State Fair, cow suits and all. (If you haven’t yet seen the cow suits, they are as versatile as they are refined.) The plan was to talk to fair-goers about the Department of Justice and USDA hearings being held this summer to investigate the lack of competition in agricultural markets. Needless to say, big agribusiness isn’t a fan.

But people at the Fair were overwhelmingly in support of helping small farmers make a fair living. At first I thought they were just drawn to the cow suits for a photo op but everyone turned out to be very receptive, concerned and supportive of what we were saying. Sadly, some torrential rainfall cut our visit short, but not before we collected over 80 petition signatures in support of a fairer system for farmers and consumers.

After leaving the fair we drove slightly east to Johnstown, Ohio to meet up with Farmer Dick Jensen at Flying J Farms. (Fun fact: The land for the Village of Johnstown was originally set aside by President John Adams in 1800 and given to a soldier of the Revolutionary War named John Brown.) Dick runs a small organic farm where he does everything from raising cattle and vegetables, to making maple syrup. He also makes his own biodiesel. Denison University gives him tanks of used frying oil (they had previously been spending $600 each month to get rid of it), and he converts it to use in his tractor and other vehicles on the farm.

The storm had knocked down power lines in the area so Farmer Jensen and I turned his solarium into a make shift demo kitchen with a generator and a gas grill. He provided me with an incredible selection of heirloom tomatoes, fresh basil and two rib eyes from his very own grass fed cattle. I added a few items I picked up on the way; organic baby arugula, capers and Parmesan cheese and threw together a fresh heirloom tomato salad with grilled grass fed beef. Delish!

Chef Rocky Barnette prepares a dish for Farmer Dick Jensen and friends.

After a wonderful time hanging out with Farmer Jensen, we headed back to Columbus to eat and rest and get ready for the next leg of our journey: the Chef’s Garden in Huron and Growing Hope Community Potluck in Ann Arbor Michigan!

Don’t forget to check out our photos!

-Chef Rocky Barnette