Our Story

We moved to Somerset, OH, in 2011. When we found our property, we fell in love with the possibilities of how we could live off the land while still treating it with care. At that time, we were learning so much and had goals of becoming more self- sufficient and knowledgeable on many fronts.

Ian had grown up on a farm outside of Lancaster, OH. By his late 20’s, after several years away from farm life, he began (with the help of Gene Logsdon and a few other authors) to miss it. He moved back home, and with the help of his family, began to rediscover the country living of his youth.

I (Meg) had grown up in Newark, OH. I had very little experience with living in the country but had a great appreciation for the simplier enjoyments that the natural world has to offer.

So together we both went ahead little by little, finding what we needed to do and learning to become a homesteading family. Fast forward thirteen years and lots of trials and tribulations along the way, we are able to start our Raw Milk Dairy. We wanted to have the best milk for our family and, in turn, wanted to share this with our friends and community. So in 2021, we decided to keep me home from my career in teaching and really focus together on our journey to raising cows and healing our land. In 2022, we were ready to begin selling shares and officially became Schwartz Family Homestead.

Ian and Meg Schwartz

Ian is a timber framer, dairy farmer, a big fan of coffee and lover of all things cows( just ask his kids!) Meg is a stay at home mom/homeschool teacher, a dairy farmer and loves foraging and studying about medicinal uses of plants and drinking tea!

Bridget

Bridget is I7 years old. Along with Eleanor she is in 4H and helps take care of their ducks and rabbits. Bridget enjoys taking walks, baking and art. She is very helpful in bottling the milk and cleaning the milk room. Bridget also helps us in our digital and website designs.

Eleanor

Eleanor is 12 years old. She has a love for nature, herbs and animals. She loves reading and drawing. She is a fan of a good cup of nighttime tea. Eleanor helps us fill up the milk bottles and organize the customers milk. She does 4H in our community. Her focus is on our ducks,raising rabbits to breed one day and raising our dairy calves for fair.

Henry

Henry is 9 years old. He is our early riser that loves going out in the morning. He is a curious kid that loves asking questions. He likes anything about cars and trucks, old and new! Henry is also in 4H and helps raise our calves for fair. He enjoys helping us build things, bottling milk and cleaning up the milk room.

Lawrence

Lawrie is 2 years old. This little guys is all about the monkey see, monkey do right now. He loves helping with all things, especially moving cows, taking gator rides and feeding animals. We are excited to see what he gets into in the future!