Growing healthy communities & ecosystems.
This week at Turner Farm has been distinguished by notable achievements as we honor Melinda O'Briant. From commemorating her birthday to celebrating her achievement of the OEFFA Stewardship Award, we must now bid farewell to her illustrious career as she retires.
Melinda earned a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture from The Ohio State University and a Master's degree in Education from Indiana State University. Her professional journey took her from flower shops and greenhouses in Indiana, Denver, and North Carolina to a tenured Assistant Floriculture Professor position at Vincennes University, before joining Turner Farm in February 1997.
Initially, Melinda joined our team as a Garden Assistant and soon became the head gardener in 1998, exemplifying the qualities of a skilled, outgoing, and friendly leader. As head gardener for over 15 years, Melinda managed the fields and CSA with her steady, calm, and welcoming nature, drawing from her generations-long farming heritage.
Melinda has also always appreciated and been a keen observer of the fauna on the farm. She worked to plant butterfly-friendly varieties like milkweed and nectar plants throughout the beds and fence edges. In 2006, Turner Farm became a certified monarch waystation largely through Melinda’s efforts. The monarch butterflies, along with other varieties like blue swallowtails, are frequent visitors to the farm and especially to the flower fields.
In 2014, Melinda transitioned to the role of Adult Education Director, teaching various gardening and flower arranging classes and maintaining the flower gardens. She particularly cherishes the spring season, when her favorite flowers, Sweet William and Larkspur, are in bloom.
Melinda, your impact on Turner Farm is as deep as the roots you’ve helped us plant. From teaching us how to 'keep 'em coming' in our own gardens to being a guiding light for our staff and customers, you’ve cultivated more than just crops—you’ve grown a community. We are so grateful for your wisdom, your warmth, and the indelible mark you leave behind.
Happy Retirement!
Melinda O’Briant & Bonnie Mitsui
2026 WINNERS OF THE OEFFA STEWARDSHIP AWARD!
From 1994 until her passing in 2013, Bonnie Mitsui assumed the ownership and farming of Turner Farm, one of two working farms remaining within the Village of Indian Hill in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1996, she hired Melinda O’Briant to help manage the farm, bringing her agricultural education and experience to a blossoming Turner Farm.
Together, with the aid of their CSA members and a team of working draft horses and donkeys, Bonnie and Melinda grew vegetables, herbs, and flowers, also raising hogs, sheep, dairy cows, and chickens. Melinda helped to develop all of the vegetable production methods Turner Farm still uses today.
We are so proud to announce and celebrate this achievement with you!
Between 1992 and 2012, 31 million acres of agricultural land in the U.S. were irreversibly lost to development.
American Farmland Trust, 2018, Farms Under Threat: The State of America’s Farmland.
It is our mission to permanently preserve Turner Farm and Meshewa Farm, drawing lessons from our rural heritage to help build a positive future, demonstrating that local, organic, low-impact food production grows healthy communities and healthy ecosystems.
Feeding Body, Mind & Spirit
FARM
Rotating fields between certified organic crop production and regenerative grazing, we grow 50-plus varieties of vegetables without the use of unnatural chemicals, and humanely raise grass-fed beef and lamb, as well as pastured chicken, eggs and heritage pork, all of which you can buy straight from the source at our on-site Farm Market.
KITCHEN
At our Teaching Kitchen, students of all ages learn how to confidently cook healthy meals using our region’s freshest seasonal food, including vegetables and meat from our own fields and pastures.
COMMUNITY
Through education and outreach, we cultivate a healthier future for not only the people we teach, but also the planet. Our programs include community gardens, veteran farmer training, gardening classes, and wellness workshops with the UC Center for Integrative Health & Wellness. Turner Farm is also available for private event rental.
