OXFORD, Ohio – At Kolb Family Farm, David and Brittany and their four kids value their heritage and traditions. They are the fourth generation on the farm. Yet they share their adventures and market their products in a way David’s great-grandparents couldn’t imagine – on the internet.

‘We believe in raising our animals with care and doing things the right way – from our pasture to your table you can feel confident in the food you feed your family,” a recent post said.

David, with his dad, who is also David, his cousin, Johnny, and his uncle Michael have a grain operation. Brittany, David and their kids, Mason, age 19, Payton, 18, Kennedy, 15, and Kylie, 13, farm hay, cattle, sheep, and hogs. Plus, the girls have horses for 4-H.

When they process their cattle they usually have people wanting to buy a side of beef, Brittany said. They have found, however, some people don’t have the freezer space or can’t afford that much at one time, yet they want that good quality, locally sourced beef. So, they decided to offer some of their beef a la carte.

“So far the beef has been going over well,” Brittany said. “We are trying to make it as reasonable as we can but still making it worthwhile for us as well. We are starting with ground beef because that is that thing that people use most often. In order to sell it that way to the public, you have to have it USDA certified, so we decided to go that route and we’ll see how that goes. So far so good.”

David takes pride in the family garden. He said they’re not doing anything new or fancy, just what people have been doing for generations. Feeding your family with food you’ve worked hard to grow and enjoying the challenge.

“It also gives us the opportunity to share the hard work with family and friends,” David said. “It’s a lot of work but we all have our roles. The girls like to help pick vegetables. It almost becomes competitive for them.

“Then when it’s time, we sit outside snapping beans and shucking corn to prepare to can or freeze,” he explained. “They could be doing a hundred other things. but I think they have a good time doing that together like we do.”

Brittany enjoys making bread and while she is not ready to sell it, she might at some time. Now, she takes it to school to share with her students, along with eggs and other things.

“I work in the alternative education department,” she said. “So, we have some kiddos with different needs, maybe they aren’t as a fortunate as other kids. We have all different breeds of chickens and lay different colored eggs. Many of the kids have never seen that. They didn’t know eggs came in green or blue. I have students that are surprised that hamburger comes from a cow. It shocks you.”

Another hobby that may turn into a business – Brittany recently decided she was going to figure out how to make vanilla. It was time consuming, but she was successful and she shared the process on Facebook.

“I ordered all the supplies, I did all of the research I could on the internet,” she explained. “It wasn’t a business at first, but I have had so many people inquire that I think I will try that out. I shared it thinking people might want to try it to but it was like ‘I’d like to buy some vanilla.’”

Another motivation for the garden, the bread and vanilla is that Brittany lost both of her grandparents this past summer. Those things are a connection to previous generations that she feels many have lost.

“That is a way to keep your kids connected with that heritage,” she said. “They need to know they don’t have to rely on a grocery store to have food.”