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Gallman Lands LLC, located on Gallman Road in Mendon, straddles the border of Auglaize and Mercer counties. The Farm, established in 1898 by Louis Jacob Gallman, is recognized as one of 160 Ohio Century Farms in the Grand Lake area.
CELINA - The Grand Lake area landscape is dotted with nearly 160 Ohio Century Farm signs, highlighting an enduring agricultural tradition.
The Ohio Century Farm program recognizes farms that have remained in the same family for at least 100 years. There are about 2,000 farms registered as either century, sesquicentennial or bicentennial farms in Ohio.
There are no sesquicentennial or bicentennial farms regionally due to settling patterns, according to program administrator Erin Dillon. These types of farm designations are largely concentrated in eastern Ohio, where agricultural lands were first established.
There are, though, 58 centennial farms in Auglaize County, 101 in Mercer County, 43 in Darke County and 50 in Shelby County.
In 1993, the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) started the Ohio Century Farm program as a collaboration with Ohio's Country Journal and the Ohio Historical Society to administer the Ohio Century Farm Program, according to an ODA news release.
Ten years later in 2003, the ODA became the sole sponsor of the program. To recognize the history of each of the farms, ODA presented certificates signed by the governor and the ODA director to all registered farm families.
In 2013, ODA adopted the Ohio Bicentennial Farm title to distinguish farms which had reached 200 years of same-family ownership, per the release.
That year, ODA began recognizing bicentennial farm families at local events. The Ohio Sesquicentennial Farm designation was added in 2016 for families who reach 150 years of farm ownership. With the new designation, the Ohio Century Farm program became the Ohio Historic Family Farms program, as it is known today.
The department commissioned an official yard sign available to century farm owners in 2005, a bicentennial farm sign in 2014 and a sesquicentennial farm sign in 2016.
Gallman Lands LLC, established in 1898 by Louis Jacob Gallman, is recognized as one of 160 Ohio Century Farms in the Grand Lake area.
One-two month old piglets. The Gallman Lands LLC farm, established in 1898 by Louis Jacob Gallman, is recognized as one of 160 Ohio Century Farms in the Grand Lake area.
Gallman Lands LLC is just one of the century farms in the area, straddling the border of Mercer and Auglaize counties in Mendon.
The farm was started in 1898 by Louis Jacob Gallman and is now run by his great grandson Jason Gallman.
Louis came from Wellsville, New York, during oil exploration in the late 1890's, Jason said.
"We don't really know why they picked this spot," he said. "It was already here (the farm). The more we looked into it, it surprised me how much it was already established."
Jason said his great- grandfather initially purchased about 80 acres of land, which he slowly added to over the years.
Now, the 126-year-old farm stands at about 650 acres. The farm consists of 425 tillable acres, with the rest of the land either covered by woods or enrolled in USDA's Conservation Reserve Program, he said.
"We put in 42 acres of wetlands about two years ago on the banks of the St. Marys River," Jason said. "We're in both Auglaize and Mercer County. The county line actually runs right through the farm."
Three-five month old hogs. Gallman Lands LLC, established in 1898 by Louis Jacob Gallman, is recognized as one of 160 Ohio Century Farms in the Grand Lake area.
Jason grew up in Celina away from the farm.
"My father was a banker at what is now First Financial," he said. "My mom was a teacher at Celina High School. But, I had an uncle who was living here. It's always just been, it's (been) one family."
Though Jason didn't live on the farm, he frequently went there with his family.
"There (were) hayrides and bonfires … all the normal stuff," he said. "You know, wandering around the fields and the woods, playing in the creek and that kind of stuff."
Gallman Farms raises 6,000 hogs a year on contract with Heimerl Farms of Johnstown. Gallman Lands LLC, established in 1898 by Louis Jacob Gallman, is recognized as one of 160 Ohio Century Farms in the Grand Lake area.
The farm currently raises 6,000 hogs a year on contract with Heimerl Farms of Johnstown. The farm was independent until about 2016 when they contracted with Heimerl.
"We raise probably close to 650 dairy feeder cattle, and then the ground is (a) corn, soybean rotation. We actually rent the ground out and just concentrate on livestock," he added.
After high school, Jason attended Ohio State University and earned a degree in animal science. He's led the farm for about 28 years now, he said. Jason is equal partners in the farm with his father, Joe, and aunt and uncle.
However, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day Jason is the sole caretaker of the grounds.
A typical day for Jason involves spending several hours a day just walking through the barn, observing its features and the animals contained within.
Two barns on Gallman Farms property. Gallman Lands LLC, established in 1898 by Louis Jacob Gallman, is recognized as one of 160 Ohio Century Farms in the Grand Lake area.
"There's always ventilation adjustments to make," he said. "We always have the feed made and chucked in, so you're doing feed orders. We have technically like three groups (of hogs) on the farm. It seems like one's always getting ready to leave and then you're bringing one in and that kind of thing. There's a lot of repairs, maintenance because we've got hogs in four buildings and cattle in two."
A hog usually stays at the farm for about five to six months, he said.
Once the hogs leave, Jason has to power wash and disinfect the barns to prevent the spread of disease.
Once the hogs leave the farm, the barns are power washed and disinfected to prevent disease. The Gallman Lands LLC farm, established in 1898 by Louis Jacob Gallman, is recognized as one of 160 Ohio Century Farms in the Grand Lake area.
"And then it starts all back up again with small things," he said. "It's very volatile. I mean, prices go up and down. And as soon as you get adjusted to one, then everything turns and goes the other way. It also tends to go opposite of the general economy. It usually seems like when we're going well, the general economy is not going as well."
Jason said he occasionally receives help from one of his sons, who will likely take over after he retires.
"I have two sons in their 20s," he said. "And one of them, for sure, wants to be on the floor, so he's the fifth generation. He's definitely interested and has started first time farmers programs and stuff like that for getting financing. He started buying cattle and raising cattle, buying some equipment, but still working a full time job."
Although Jason's not ready to retire, he said he needs to devise a timeline for passing on the torch.
"It's a neat program," he said of the century farm program. "We used to go down to the state fair and then Farm Science Review also would kind of recognize the people. It was kind of neat to see that. It's something to be proud of."
A hog usually stays at the farm for five to six months. The Gallman Lands LLC farm, established in 1898 by Louis Jacob Gallman, is recognized as one of 160 Ohio Century Farms in the Grand Lake area.
