NEW INCENTIVE:

Some of you attended our 2012 Farm-to-Table dinner outside in the fields of Bird's Haven Farms. It was a beautiful evening to share local food prepared by one of our favorite chefs. We are ready to take it to the NEXT level! 

Details: Farm-to-Table Dinner!

Date: Saturday, June 7, 2014

Where: The fields of Bird's Haven Farms - then protected by a NEW community funded deer fence!!

What: This dinner will be catered by The Green Chef, Kitty Leatham from Granville. She will prepare a full 4-course meal will all local ingredients. We will showcase our partner CSA farms such as Lucky Cat Bakery, Osage Lane Creamery, Oink, Moo, Cluck, and more. The food will be paired with local wine and beer from Otter Creek Winery and Homestead Brewery. We are also in talks with having a great little local band playing live music! This is not to be missed and will be a classy dinner to THANK our contributors. 

Update: 

11/8: WOW! Even more offline donations. We are now over 50% there with $4,250!!!! WOO HOO!!!

10/21: We have had an additional $400 in offline donations. Bringing our total to $2,366.57.... or 30% OF OUR GOAL!!!! Help us get to 40% by Sunday 10/27.

Who We Are:

Bird's Haven Farms has been a family farm committed to Licking County and the Greater Central Ohio local food community for over 17 years. We have been at  your dinner tables in some capacity since 1995. It all started when family matriarch, Ann, thought it would be fun to take some tomatoes, eggs, and garden vegetables to the Granville Farmers' Market behind the Centenary Methodist Church. She came home with $6.40 and we thought we were rich! Tom, Lee and Bryn continued to help each Saturday morning, waking before the sunrise to pick our family's harvest. After college Lee and Bryn were both hooked and have returned to the farm to make it a multi-generational and multi-family operation. 

Boy... how we have grown. We now support 215 families each week through our community supported agriculture subscriptions, in addition to serving the patrons of five community farmers' markets, providing fresh produce to students at Granville Schools and Denison University, and now the patients of Licking Memorial Hospital. 

After years of loosing 30+% of our annual crops to deer damage we can no longer make it financially viable to continue without a real, strong, 7', 3-D deer fence. Such loss of labor costs, seed, time, cultivation have begun to create a deficit in our business.  We had hoped to finance this project on our own but because of unforeseen circumstances in needed irrigation upgrades we cannot finance both. 

We were working with USDA Natural Resource Conservation Services and their Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) for irrigation but because the 2012 Farm Bill was not passed programs are currently unfunded. Therefore, we will be working to finance both of these much needed upgrades. 

What Is At Stake?

Our family farm has been loosing over 30% of crops each year. In just 2013, we lost:

- 18,000 strawberry plants

- 3 acres of sweet corn

- 15,000 squash plants

- 20,000 beets

- 1 acre of sugar snap peas

- and countless pumpkins, melons, flowers, and lettuce

We have worked to control the pest damage and population through less expensive means such as liquid fencing, netting, frost blankets, and noise irritants. However, all previous measures have been ineffective. 

For Conservation:

Having this fence we would be able to cut our current planting by 40%. This would  allow for us to have fields in rest and better conservation practices. 

Where Is The Money Going?!

Our family is committed to supporting other local businesses in this venture and will be purchasing all our material from Eads Fence Company, Inc in Loveland, OH. 

We are working to SAVE MONEY through our own labor costs. This saves $4,000 of labor expenses. Also, we will use existing tree lines and trees instead posts saving another $3,000!!

Current Estimate to Deer Fence 20-Acres:

Deer Fence Standard - 7.5' X 330 - Full Roll X 13 Rolls  = $2,978.04

1 5/8" X 10 1/2 " Commerical Grade Post = $3,225.00

DD BLK 8 ga Monofilament Fence Wire 3000 ft = $468.00 

DD Monofilament Sleeves 25 pk  = $13.90

DD Monofilament Crimper Rental   = $15.00

DD Hog Rings Heavy Duty 9/16in. 2500 pk = $225.00

Stanly Hog Ringer = $233.40

DD sod Staples Case = $208.30

DD #50 White Flags - 50 pk = $62.91

Sales Tax 6.5%  = $482..92

Other Ways You Can Help

We understand many won't be able to financially contribute. But that doesn't mean we don't appreciate your support. 

• Share the Story. Write about it on your social media websites. 
• Ask to share posters and postcards. We are happy to send you material.
• Purchase produce and continue to support our family farm.