Pike County Farm, LLC was formed to provide a second career for Randy Sanders (who retired from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources as the Environmental Administrator) to help manage the natural resources of the family farm in an environmentally and economically sustainable way.  It is a small family owned and operated business that offers the following four types of products and services

Native Plants:   More than 200 species of native plants  grow on the farm and nine acres have been permitted as a nursery.  The primary source of potted plants comes from the thinning of wild populations in periodically disturbed habitats (e.g. fields, road and power line right-a-ways).  Plants for sale include a diversity of trees, shrubs, ferns, milkweeds and wetland species with an emphasis on woody species beneficial to wildlife. 

Woodland Products:  Environmentally sustainable forestry practices are used to manage approximately 150 forested acres at the family farm. Forestry and wildlife management practices and principles include the reforestation of old fields, tree plantings, biodiversity, invasive plant control, timber stand improvement, crop tree release, and uneven aged stands with an emphasis on large healthy trees. Woodland products are made primarily from weather damaged and dying trees.  After cutting them into logs, a  portable band sawmill is used to mill live edge slabs, timbers, lumber and cants with an emphasis on character grain and wood from all of the tree species growing on the farm.  After the wood is air or solar dried at the farm, the wood is moved to a woodworking shop for small scale manufacturing.  Woodland products for sale include live edged slabs, timbers and handcrafted picture frames with nature photographs taken by Randy. The business will soon produce a small number of other custom made products (e.g., stools, benches, tables, and composting bins).  Randy can also do custom lumbermill work at the farm.

Wildlife Habitat Consulting:  Randy has more than 15 years of experience managing a variety of terrestrial and aquatic habitats at the farm for abundant populations of game (white-tail deer, ruff grouse and wild turkeys) and non-game (dragonflies to butterflies) species.  Contact Randy to discuss a plan for your property or to learn how he does it.

Environmental Education:  Randy enjoys sharing and teaching what he has learned during his professional career as a state biologist and how he manages the family farm.  Contact Randy if you are interested in presentations on a wide variety of subjects such as Ohio streams, the fishes of Ohio, Ohio’s great woody plants, farming for wildlife, or even how to handcraft picture frames from a tree that has fallen during a wind storm!  

 

Native plants offered for sale include chestnut oaks (Querqus prinus) and greenbrier (Similax spp.) - two common woody plants growing in the forests of Pike County, Ohio.

Handcrafted framed pictures of a tree or shrub made out of the species’ wood is a signature product.  A winter view of one of the many redbuds  (Cercis canadensis) on the farm is shown here.  The redbud wood was milled from a dead tree blown over during a wind storm.

For more information about products and services contact Randy Sanders at:

Pike County Farm LLC

183 Oakland Park Avenue

Columbus, Ohio 43214

Phone: (614) 262.8940

Cell Phone: (614) 288.0604

E-mail:  rsanders2913@scpwildblue.com

www.pikecountyfarm.com

Presentations and courses can be scheduled on a number of topics ranging from Ohio streams to Ohio’s great woody plants.  Randy is the principle author of A Guide to Ohio Streams.

Logo Design: From the beginning, Randy knew his new logo had to include one of his favorite native plants - the American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis).  Randy passionately promotes the species as an important tree to protect and plant along Midwestern streams due to their strong root systems and preference for flowing water (Sycamores, Streams, and Wildlife).  The “growing nature” includes not only the biodiversity and habitats grown at the farm, but also the company and farm management principles including the promotion of the beauty, value and conservation of the farm’s natural resources.