Raised Well livestock with Flourish & Roam

Good Day Clermont! invited Sarah and Josh Ison of Flourish & Roam to discuss regenerative farming and the importance of local agriculture in Clermont County.

Sarah and Josh Ison are the full-time ranchers and owners of Flourish & Roam, a farm and produce market based in Moscow, Ohio. 

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After earning their PhDs in animal science at Texas Tech, the couple debated whether to take their agricultural practice abroad or return to Ohio to be near family and the tight-knit community they admired.

“If we moved away, we probably wouldn’t come back,” Sarah reflected.

Josh traveled internationally for eight years, learning and developing farming systems around the globe. His experience contributed to the couple’s decision to stay close to their local community and pass down quality farming wisdom to their children.

Sarah began teaching microbiology at Northern Kentucky University while creating the groundwork for Flourish & Roam with her husband.

The Flourish & Roam market.

The operation began as a beef market, where the Isons sold produce that the family raised. Soon, the couple added sheep, chickens, and pigs to their livestock roster. 

Raised Well™ farming is a slogan coined by the Isons. It reflects the regenerative farming process, which requires ranchers to manage their land from the ground up. Inspecting soil microbes, letting the animals graze as they please, and building infrastructure to support them during winter are just a few of the responsibilities Flourish & Roam oversee. 

“It’s not just looking at inputs like fertilizer and chemicals. We’re trying to work with nature. We let the animals help us manage the land. In return, they take care of providing products for us,” Josh explained. “If you take care of them, they will take care of you.”

The couple expanded upon the idea of Raised Well™ farming by including family and community in the mix.

“It’s not only our animals that are raised well, but it’s really our family; our kids, our community, and combining all of that is what the phrase ‘Raised Well’ means to us,” Sarah said.

The Ison family ranchers.

The Isons emphasized community engagement and support during their interview. They discussed how “the world is run by those who show up” and how they applied that principle to their produce market. 

Flourish & Roam supplies fresh produce to both local and Cincinnati / Dayton regional markets. The farm itself functions as a small meat distributor, operating during daylight hours. Visitors can explore the ranch and purchase food, and children are welcome to come see where the product originates. 

The Isons established drop locations in Mt. Washington and Dayton, where customers can pick up their online orders.

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Still, Sarah expressed the importance of having farms that can supply produce within a short drive. “Everything you need to nourish your family for life is just 30 minutes away,” she said.

When asked about the future of agriculture in Clermont County, Josh replied, “The community will definitely grow.” Clermont County is located near the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area. Moscow and the surrounding townships are communities that many families want to live in and thrive. 

“People are coming out here because they want their kids to be raised in a community like this and experience agriculture,” Josh enthused.

The Isons also spoke briefly about the opportunities farming has brought to their personal lives. They currently raise four kids, who themselves continue to learn the fundamentals of ranching, like taking care of the chickens and sheep. The Isons also met many friends and professional partners in the industry, bolstering their own sense of community.

Flourish & Roam cattle.

Sarah praised Clermont County for its diverse and widespread agricultural industry, even name-dropping Renee Koerner, a previous guest on Connect Clermont's YouTube channel — for her work as a Paddlefish farmer.

Josh concluded the interview with the hope that more effort would be put into protecting farms and workers in Clermont as the ranching industry grows. “Farmland preservation would be nice. When farming dies, communities and civilizations perish,” he warned.

Flourish & Roam is open every day during daylight hours. Visitors can find more information on their website and social media pages.

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