About Us:
Riehm Farms has a five generation family legacy. John’s father George, and his father Leonard made the decision in the mid 1950’s to grow the first vegetables on the farm. In the early 1960’s cucumbers were harvested for processing and hired migrant labor was used.
In 1965, George expanded the family farm operation to include a half-acre patch of strawberries, but he sadly passed away before the spring harvest. George’s wife Anna, and their children harvested the berries and continued to grow strawberries until 1968.
A deep heritage was preserved by renting the farm to relatives until Anna’s children grew and were able to take over. The second son, John took over the farm in 1978, where he began growing tomatoes and experimented with other vegetable crops. The farm also grows soybeans, corn and hay for the livestock raised by the family. The roadside stand got it’s start in 1985 when a neighbor encouraged the Riehms’ young sons – Phil, Jeremy, and Cliff – to put up a table in the front yard offering tomatoes for sale, to earn boy scout badges.
Although she didn’t think they would sell, John’s wife Diane encouraged her children’s efforts. But the tomatoes DID sell. In fact, they sold so well that the boys added peppers to the table and those sold too. The produce table in the front yard grew and the Riehm’s decided to build a lean-to onto a building in 1991 to house the produce for sale. A 15′ by 15′ tent was eventually erected in front of the lean-to to add more space.
Since then, the roadside stand has grown to include a wide variety of produce, fresh eggs and cuts of frozen beef and pork from the farm. Amish cheese and baked goods along with their daughter-in-laws crafts complete the roadside stand. A peppermint stripped 30′ x 30′ building was constructed in 2014 for the opening in early May. Five greenhouses have been erected to extend the season from Spring Flowers to Christmas Adventures and our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program includes several pick-up sights in NW Ohio.