Our Farm

Established in 2011 as an aquaponic farm business, Fresh Harvest Farm soon grew into more than just a place to see and learn about aquaponics, but a dream farm for the owners Doug and Jeni Blackburn. 

Alpacas! Jeni's love of alpacas won Doug over and a herd of 3 moved in, Dottie, Sophie and Jesse.  Once these gentle creatures made the farm their home, Jeni and Doug began to expand the herd.  They purchased several from a farm that was downsizing.  It was from these that brought the first cria birth to the farm.  April, born from mom Cinnamon and dad Vic, was born in April of 2015.  She has since been joined by 5 other crias born on the farm. 

In December of 2018, Jeni and Doug were asked to help rescue alpacas that had been abandon in an animal hoarding situation. After arriving on scene to see the poor animals, they rescued 5 alpaca and 1 llama.  All were malnourished but otherwise in good health. Today, all are doing well and have settled into our herd as if they have been here forever. 

The alpacas are mainly for enjoyment as they are very gentle and soothing to be among.  To help them keep cool in the Ohio summers, their fleece is shorn once a year and processed into yarn. Alpaca fleece is extremely soft because of the small air pocket diameter of each fiber strand, and is five times warmer and stronger than that of sheep’s wool. This also allows it to be fire retardant and water repellant. Visit the shop page to see some of the beautiful processed yarn!

Did you say goats? Who could resist those adorable baby goat vidoes on Facebook? Not Jeni. She needed to add Pygmy goats to the farm.  It began like before, with one, "Momma Goat" was her name, then suddenly there was a small herd.  Today the farm is home to over a dozen Pygmy and Angora goats, with new babies welcomed every spring. 

Raised again, as mostly pet animals, the Pygmy goats also have become famous for their "Goat yoga". Who doesn't want a baby goat jumping in their lap or on their back during a yoga pose, right? We've added the Angora goats to our herd as they produce mohair fiber, one of the most prized natural fibers with its soft, silk-like texture. Mohair is used to make many garment items such as sweaters, gloves, scarves and coats.   

Both the goats and alpacas are available for yoga, weddings, pictures, and landscape maintenance. Contact Jeni for more details.