About Us
The Farm
The land that makes up Bale Kenyon Family Farms has been in our family for over 100 years. The Bales were the first to settle on the road which serves as the business's namesake, and the first Bales settled here in the late 1700s. It has been a traditional farm, with crops of corn, wheat, and hay over the years, with a large number of cattle and a few horses as well, but in more recent years the farm has been primarily used for various 4-H animals and projects in the raising of children with good work ethics and an appreciation for The Farm.
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The Father & His Dream
My name is Rick, and I retired from the corporate world in the late summer of 2020. I've always had a love of the farm I've spent my life on, but running the farm as a Farm to Market business is new to us. We're on the front end of a dream to make use of this property to remember the family and agricultural heritage that helped build this area, as early pioneers moved 'west' and settled here in Orange Township in the southern end of Delaware County. Our objective is not only to make good use of the farm but to help connect our customers to the farm and perhaps just as importantly, to the farmers. We believe in faith, family, relationships, and the benefits of farm life, and in farm-grown products. Our goals include helping you to beautify the landscape at your home with our plants, to improve the health and taste of your food, and we even have the desire to have family educational and other events on our farm as we get more established. This should give you an additional outlet to increase the quality of time you have with your families, all while getting to know your local farmers. We'll start small but hope to have more variety available with time.
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The Son & His Dream
Hey! My name is Josiah. I've had a passion for plants for quite some time. I was 10 when my mom suggested that I take a gardening project for 4-H, but I was not thrilled about it. After some convincing, I took the project and I ended up loving it! Watching my plants grow through the season as I put in the work to care for them was so fascinating to me. When the time came for college I decided to major in Greenhouse and Nursery Management at Ohio State ATI. After finishing these Associate Degrees, I decided to broaden my focus and finished my education at Ohio State main campus with a Bachelor's Degree in Horticulture Science minoring in Agriculture Business. I have always been entrepreneurial, wanting to own my own business in the future. There is an enormous amount of enjoyment I get from seeing my customers walk away with plants that they're excited about. Teaching others about just how cool plants are is something I don't think I'll ever get tired of doing. I truly look forward to working with you and your family to find you exactly the type of look and feel you are trying to accomplish with both your inside and outside plants!
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The Rest of the Family
My wife's name is Patricia, and she is the one that puts the magic in the recipes. She is an amazing cook and I'm sure we'll see some of her favorite recipes on our social media and websites, periodically. Our daughter's name is Atalie. She loves and appreciates the farm as much as anyone, but keeps herself busy in her own right by being a professional photographer (one of her favorite settings is right here on the home place!). Our other son Caleb and his wife Bailey live just about a mile away and are forming their own dreams in their new home. During our after-church Sunday family meals, we've enjoyed discussing some potential ideas for the farm. Caleb has also participated a good deal in helping assemble our first greenhouse. Each of Josiah, Atalie, Caleb, and Bailey have entrepreneurial spirits and may help in forming the future for Bale Kenyon Family Farms so that we can serve YOU better!