Est. 2012 · Peninsula, Ohio · Cuyahoga Valley
Trapp Family Farm
Horse-powered, family-rooted, and intentionally small in scale. We grow vegetables, raise animals on pasture, and offer what the farm produces daily at our front-door stand.
Find the Farm
Peninsula, OH 44264
Farm stand 8a – 8p
At the Stand
Seasonal vegetables, eggs, and meat — available daily at the front door until sold out.
See what's availableAnimal Husbandry
Laying hens, broilers, turkeys, and sheep raised on pasture with organic feed.
Learn moreThe Farm Story
Founded in 2012 with draft horses, healthy soil, and a commitment to staying small and independent.
Read moreHow We Got Here
Our farm draws its inspiration from many sources, but it all began in earnest with a trip to Burlington, VT and upstate New York in November 2010. I was on a mission to discover Essex Farm in Essex, NY — a modern horse-powered farm that seemed, in writing, to solve so many of the problems that had been vexing a young millennial searching for a different path forward.
Essex Farm did not disappoint. Nor did a generous and hospitable farm couple at Intervale in Burlington, who introduced me to the Small Farmer's Journal and the unparalleled work at Beech Grove Farm — four decades of thoughtful cultivation. I still recall watching their DVD on weeding methodology, in awe, fifteen years ago.
Since founding in 2012, we have subscribed to William Albrecht's prescriptions of balancing soil cations — calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and boron. As we continue to learn about soil ecology, we work to feed soil microbes with fewer off-farm inputs and more energy from the sun.
The Farm in Brief
- Family- and community-centered from the beginning
- Draft horse cultivation since founding — no fossil-fuel fieldwork
- No synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides, or fungicides
- Diverse mixed crop-and-livestock production year-round
- Part of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park working farm network
The farm stand at the front door — Peninsula, Ohio.
"The small family farm is one of the last places where the maker — and some farmers still do talk about making the crops — is responsible from start to finish for the thing made." — Wendell Berry
Draft Horses
Using horse power for compost hauling and field cultivation.
Finding Inspiration in Every Muscle
Our draft horses are at the heart of how we work the land. They reduce reliance on fossil fuels and keep a pace that fits small-scale, diverse production. They move our flocks, till our fields, and connect us to a tradition of human and animal partnership that remains both practical and meaningful today.
We use draft power to haul feed, move our laying hens daily to new pasture, and cultivate between crop rows. Horses never compact the soil the way a tractor does, and they work quietly — a quality that matters more the longer you farm.
The draft model gives the farm its most visible distinction, but the deeper significance is operational: it shows how older and newer forms of efficiency can coexist on a farm that intends to remain fully itself.
"Husbandry is the name of all practices that sustain life by connecting us conservingly to our places and our world." — Wendell Berry, Bringing it to the Table
At the Stand
Vegetables
Grown without synthetic inputs using draft cultivation and cover crops. Garlic, brassicas, root crops, and seasonal greens — sold by the pound at the stand.
Eggs
Laying hens on fresh pasture from April through December, fed organic grain from Maysville Elevator. Available daily at the front door until sold out.
Sheep & Lamb
Hair sheep on rotational pasture nearly year-round, exclusively grass-fed. Contact us to arrange availability for your home or institution.
Explore the Farm
Our Beginnings
Our farm draws its inspiration from many sources, but it all began in earnest with a trip to Burlington, VT and upstate NY in November 2010. I was on a mission to discover Essex Farm in Essex, NY and see a modern horse-powered farm that seemed in writing to solve so many of the problems that had been vexing a young millennial searching for a different path forward. Essex Farm did not disappoint, nor did the power of a generous and hospitable farm couple at Intervale in Burlington. Benner and Dana welcomed me into their farm field and later home, kidded me a bit, but ultimately were supportive and non-judgmental about my zeal to start a horse-powered farm.
They introduced me to the Small Farmer's Journal Cultivating Questions section featuring Eric and Anne Nordell and their unparalleled work at Beech Grove Farm over the last four decades. A PDF booklet on the Nordells' site describes their unique and thoughtful approach to Weeding the Soil, Not the Crop. They also recently posted a beautiful presentation describing their market garden and cover cropping methodology. I still recall watching this DVD, in awe, fifteen years ago as I crafted a plan for a future farm. It has not lost its effect.