Only a five-minute car ride from campus lies a hidden gem of Ohio University facilities. A sign marking the abrupt turn off West State Street reads “Ohio Student Farm,” offering no indication of the deep intricacies of the space tucked away at the end of the long gravel driveway.
The first person visitors are likely to run into at the end of that road is Tony Noble, the farm manager from the past year. Whether he’s assisting students with field work for a class or picking produce for a local delivery, Noble's work goes to serve the land and the lessons it can teach.
“There are so many intricate details and wisdom you gain from hands-on farming that you just can’t learn in a book,” Noble said. “You have to do things, fail at them and figure out how it works. (I hope to teach) techniques of how to farm and how to recover from tiny disasters because they’re always happening.”
While the farm primarily hosts summer interns, students in plant biology classes and members of the university’s student farming club, Noble believes students from all backgrounds and fields of study could benefit from spending time on the farm.
“It’s really relevant to whatever major you’re in because you always have to learn how to adapt and problem solve,” Noble said.
Aside from general life lessons, students with a special interest in farming can gain valuable insight by working on the farm. One of these students is Joey Haas, a senior studying plant biology and the president of the Student Farmers Club.
“It’s good for learning … planting schedules, knowing how much water something should get and just more sustainable practices, as opposed to conventional farming where they’re just dumping stuff on it to get it to grow,” Haas said.
Haas also believes the farm offers a good outlet for students to remain connected to the food that sustains them, a connection easily overlooked in modern consumerist society.
“I think it’s a really good resource just because it’s good to know where your food comes from,” Haas said.
Another one of these students is Kaya Stone, a senior studying environmental science and sustainability. Stone recently served as one of the farm's summer interns and was thus able to connect with the community through an outlet related to her studies.
“The farm would connect with anybody that was interested,” Stone said. “We had a kids camp come this summer, we had a couple (of) people just wanting to do tours and then they would buy small portions of stuff.”
In addition to the community connection, Stone enjoyed learning about the details of the farm's USDA-certified organic plot which is separated from the rest of the farm by the driveway. Opposite the organic plot is the entrance to the other half of the farm, a gated flower garden leading to a tunnel of 40-year-old bamboo, according to Noble.
A circular door at the end of the tunnel opens into a circular garden, the focal point of which is a towering bald cypress tree. Fanning out around the tree are beds of peppers, okra, squash and various other products that will eventually make their way to local establishments like Kindred Market, Little Fish Brewery and Salaam.
Exiting the circle garden leads back to the main entrance via two high tunnels which allow production to continue through the winter. The tunnels are currently filled with fruitful cherry tomato plants and exploding beds of basils, all of which were planted by summer interns like Stone.
“It’s nice to see how organized you have to be,” Stone said regarding the lessons she learned while interning at the farm. “I think farming is very … industrious, because there’s not that much money coming in, so you have to use what you have and just be creative.”
David Rosenthal primarily handles the financial aspects of the farm and is an associate professor of plant biology and the farm’s de facto coordinator. Rosenthal said a major challenge in his work is continually searching for people to assist and fund a farming position.
“(Noble) is not OU staff per se, and so his position is incumbent on grant funding which is limited, and Dr. Trese is effectively doing now what he did as a faculty member when he wasn’t retired, which is to … be a volunteer manager of the farm,” Rosenthal said.
The farm is open to volunteer work through Givepulse. Rosenthal said volunteering is an opportunity every OU student should consider.
“We serve not just the students in Plant Biology, but learning communities and all across the college,” Rosenthal said. “We interface with community nonprofits and provide food to local food distribution centers, as well as Cat’s Cupboard. Really what I’m hoping for the future is to integrate the farm not just as an instructional place but also as a fundamental part of the university.”
