NAVARRE, Ohio — She worked for a large logistics company for 10 years. He was a longtime union carpenter. Together, the father-daughter duo of Alex and Alexis Dragovich had enough of the corporate world and decided that concentrating on their 30-acre farm was the way to go.

Mud Run Farm is a small, organic, diversified farm resting in Stark County in northeast Ohio. This  duo is proud to say they now grow and mill small grains for their region and serve as stewards of organics and the environment.

“In 1995 I decided to quit my off-farm job and concentrate on what we could make here,” Alex said. “Corporate is a rough world to be in if you don’t like corporate to begin with. When you do this job you have a little bit of freedom, you don’t have that when you work off the farm.”

Alex wasn’t raised on a farm, though he did have two uncles who were farmers.

 “I quit, too, but I was too young to retire,” Alexis said. “We always lived on this farm and had cows, rode horses, grew vegetables and some grain. We still grow some corn for our animals and grow some vegetables for ourselves and the farmers markets, but in the end we decided to concentrate on grains exclusively. At one time we were growing grain and having another mill do the milling for us.”

In 2005 the farm was certified organic. Slowly but surely, the two discovered their heart (and income) rested in the growing of organic grains.

 “We just felt that this was something our region and community was lacking,” Alexis said. “We discovered that a lot of people don’t know about fresh-milled flour.”

 For several years the two had been selling 20 pounds of their grain each week to another organic mill for grinding when the idea came to them to construct a small mill of their own. Eventually, they constructed a 24-by-24-foot, on-site grain mill, allowing them to transform organically grown corn, wheat, spelt, rye and oats into items like flour, oatmeal and grits for sale. The two frequently sell their flour at area farm markets and wholesale bakeries.

 “What we’re trying to do is be very local,” Alex said. “The customers we are trying to reach are primarily in northeast Ohio, though we do have a market in Columbus, Ohio. We sell primarily through farmers markets, and that’s a rough road to go. Through the farmers markets we’re able to connect with local home bakers. Again, we want to stay very regional and local.”

It’s not out of the ordinary to catch either behind a pair of working horses.

“When we started, horses were part of the program,” Alex said. “As I get older I have to use more mechanical contraptions because the horses are quite a handful to deal with. I will still use a tractor to use with my combine or do some baling. Sometimes in farming you get behind and you reach for a plow to bail you out. Still, we try to do as much as we can with horses. Engines are not my forte.”

 No longer sitting behind some desk for a large company, Alexis’ days are now filled with driving horses, making maple syrup, hauling trailers, milling grains and even raising bees. The two also produce maple syrup, dried beans, eggs, pancake mixes, cornbread mixes and even some ready-made goodies like puffed corn with honey.

 “I don’t miss the corporate world at all,” Alexis said.

 The two participated in the 2024 Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association’s (OEFFA) Farm Tour and Workshop Series last month, allowing visitors to see their organic operation up close. Theirs was one of 10 organic and sustainable farms on the summer tour.