In 1988, Ohio lawyer Neil McKown signed a deal to buy 155 acres of overgrown, run-down land in Shelby.
asserted
McKown → sign → Shelby
When he got home that evening, he asked his family to get into the car to see what he had just bought.
asserted
he → get → what
His wife, Pamela, was not impressed by the property.
asserted
wife → impress → property
She thought it was an eyesore.
asserted
it → think → ?
But that quiet, impulsive purchase began a decades-long effort to care for the land.
asserted
purchase → begin → land
Thirty-eight years later, the McKown family manages nearly 500 acres in Richland County, raising row crops, alfalfa, hay, and cattle.
asserted
family → manage → crops
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.
uncertain
work → improve → Progress
Escape from the courtroom
Neil McKown spent years practicing law with his father.
asserted
McKown → escape → father
He and his family lived in a suburban home on seven acres.
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He → live → acres
Over time, the pressure of legal work began to wear on him.
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pressure → begin → him
He tried hobbies such as trap shooting and golf to relax.
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He → try → shooting
But people often approached him during his free time to ask for legal advice.
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people → approach → advice
"I needed to be by myself, without the computer, email, phone or people," Neil told Farm Progress editor Jennifer Kiel.
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Neil → need → Kiel
"I wanted to be left alone with my thoughts."
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I → want → thoughts
Going back to his rural roots seemed like the right choice.
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Going → go → choice
He had grown up five miles from where the family farm is today and had worked summer jobs on nearby farms.
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farm → grow → farms
But moving into farming full time was still a major learning experience.
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moving → move → farming
When he planted his first soybean crop in 1990, three neighboring farmers stopped to look at his grain drill.
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farmers → plant → drill
They were concerned that he did not know what he was doing.
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he → concern → what
Neil said he still laughs when he thinks about those early days, but the family kept going.
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family → say → days
Turning forced fun into family progress
The original property had about 80 tillable acres.
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property → turn → acres
The rest was made up of overgrown woods and pasture.
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rest → make → woods
Improving the neglected land became a family project for Neil, Pamela, and their young children, Sam and Lauren.
asserted
Improving → improve → Neil
To improve the timber stands, the family spent Sunday afternoons clearing grapevines through a conservation district cost-share program.
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family → improve → program
"We'd work until noon, 1 o'clock, and build a fire and have weenie roasts," Neil told Farm Progress.
asserted
Neil → work → Progress
"We called it forced fun."
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We → call → it
He let the children keep whatever cost-share money they earned from the work.
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they → let → work
Fixing the farm's drainage was just as difficult.
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Fixing → fix → drainage
The farm sits in a prehistoric lake basin with heavy, silty soil and only one working drainage outlet.
asserted
farm → sit → soil
Instead of depending on outside contractors, the McKowns worked with a neighbor to the south to dig a ditch that connected with an existing drainage system.
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that → depend → system
Over five years, they added tile drainage across the fields and planted 30-foot grass buffer strips along the ditch banks to help protect water quality.
asserted
they → add → quality
"A lot of things that we've done, we've just gone out and done, and really haven't sought a whole lot of outside help or resources," Neil told Farm Progress.
asserted
Neil → do → Progress
"We just do what's right."
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what → do → ?
Choosing trees over cash
The family grew its land holdings as nearby properties went up for sale.
asserted
properties → choose → sale
In the mid-1990s, they added cattle and hay equipment.
asserted
they → add → cattle
By age 14, Sam McKown was doing custom hay work for neighboring farms.
asserted
McKown → do → farms
Today, managing the woods is still a major part of the family's conservation work.
asserted
managing → manage → work
Working with a former Ohio State forester, Neil has focused on improving the forest over the long term instead of making quick money from it.
asserted
Neil → work → it
The forester told him that a heavy timber harvest could bring in between $400,000 and $500,000.
uncertain
harvest → tell → 400,000
Neil turned down the money.
asserted
Neil → turn → money
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
