In 1988, Ohio lawyer Neil McKown signed a deal to buy 155 acres of overgrown, run-down land in Shelby. When he got home that evening, he asked his family to get into the car to see what he had just bought. His wife, Pamela, was not impressed by the property. She thought it was an eyesore. But that quiet, impulsive purchase began a decades-long effort to care for the land. Thirty-eight years later, the McKown family manages nearly 500 acres in Richland County, raising row crops, alfalfa, hay, and cattle. Their work to improve soil health, manage water, and care for the woods has earned them the Ohio Conservation Farm Family Award, according to Farm Progress.
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