Who We Are
“In him we have obtained an inheritance…”
Ephesians 1:11
Sometimes in life, it’s impossible not to look around, and just stand in awe of how mightily the Lord works in our lives. Neither myself (Steven) or my wife (Elyse) grew up on a farm. My family has been “off the farm” for almost a hundred years, yet we feel that God chose us to farm and worked a miracle to bring us together, onto this farm. Reason and logic would tell us that it’s impossible, in 21st century America, to just start farming and milk a very small herd of Jersey cows for a living. Yet here we are, located just north of Orrville, defying the odds by using a beautiful old bank barn built in the 1830’s, milking in a four stanchion parlor built in the 1950’s, grazing our cows on lush green pastures, to provide the highest quality raw milk for our community of herd shareholders. We have done nothing to deserve the honor of stewarding such a beautiful farm or to provide for such an amazing community of shareholders, but we thank God for it all and give Him the glory. With gratitude in our hearts, we strive to work hard everyday to produce high quality, all-natural, 100% grass-fed, raw milk and to reconnect people with the cows, the land, the farmers and most importantly the Lord, who provides it all for our families’ health and well being.
-Steven and Elyse Machamer
“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel… ‘I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant. Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.’ ”
Joshua 24: 2, 13 & 14
Our Story
After almost a hundred years “off the farm,” in 2021 the Lord blessed our family with a beautiful farm to own and steward. Steven and Elyse Machamer own and operate Providence Homestead LLC. Believing cows produce the healthiest milk when eating only nutrient dense pasture and hay, their Jersey herd can be seen grazing lush pastures and happily laying outside chewing their cud on the corner of Five Points Rd and Crown Hill Rd, just north of Orrville. Join our story by visiting and allowing our family to provide healthy raw milk for your family’s table.
His Story
My name is Steven Machamer. I have always loved being outside, enjoying God’s creation. After high school I started working part time for a beautiful and historic small dairy, owned and operated by Irvin Gresser; it was there and then that I fell in love with the simple but hard life of being a dairy farmer. However, at the time, I faced the cold, hard reality that my family owned no farmland and had been “off the farm” since at least the 1920’s. With land prices ever soaring, I knew it would take a miracle if I were to be able to own a farm. Merriam-Webster defines “Providence” as “divine guidance or care.” That’s why in 2016, I created Providence Homestead LLC, with the hope that God’s divine intervention and guidance would bring our family back to a farm.
In pursuit of learning more and gaining hands-on experience with grazing dairy cows, I signed up for the DGA (Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship) program. There were several farms I could have chosen to apprentice at, but unbeknownst to me, God nudged me to apprentice at Canal Junction Farm. It was there, on the wide open, flat plains of western Ohio, that I learned how to graze cows from a family that had been a 100% grass-fed raw milk dairy for over 20 years. It was also there, through the simple and peace filled lives of that farm family, that I found my need for our Savior and was baptized in the Junction Apostolic Christian Church. I am forever grateful for that farm family.
My father, Tom Machamer, owned and operated a successful wholesale greenhouse since 1986. In 2021, partway through my almost two year apprenticeship, God was at work again; my father was able to sell his greenhouse business to Oakland Nurseries, from Columbus, Ohio. At the same time, my father approached Don and Laverne Zimmerly about buying their beautiful and historic family farm. In what can only be described as miraculous, they said yes and agreed to sell us their farm. So with the funds from selling the greenhouse, God provided the means to buy their farm. Thus, after almost 100 years of being “off the farm,” God brought our family “back to the land.”
Soon after moving back to Wayne County, I felt God calling me to send a proposal to a young lady from that same Junction church I was baptized in. So, I sent the proposal to her and on March 21st, 2023, Elyse Linn Manz had the faith to accept my marriage proposal. We were then married on July 9th, 2023. She loves living the farm life, milking cows and helping me with all my crazy projects. We make such a great team and I could not ask for a better help-mate and best friend to farm with.
With all that said, we feel that God has ordained us as His servant farmers, to tend this piece of land He has brought us to. We look forward to serving Him, by providing for and furthering His kingdom with our herdshare program.
-Steven J. Machamer
Founder and Co-owner of
Providence Homestead LLC
Growing up in rural Ohio’s Paulding County, I noticed the year round hard work and dedication of the farmers in our community. With my maternal grandparents owning a dairy and crop farm, I heard many stories growing up of how farm life used to be and still is. However, it never made a serious impact on my life, until I was about 16 years old and was searching for a job. I had attempted to find a job at local nursing home facilities, but was continually unsuccessful. No one was hiring what I was qualified for. At the same time, my mother’s family farm was looking for a part-time employee to milk cows in their parlor. My mother asked if I would consider milking cows there. This was met with much hesitation and disgust from my 16 year old self. However, I decided to give it a try and after a short while, simply fell in love with it. I appreciate the repetitive and methodical routine of milking. It’s a prime opportunity for peaceful reflection, prayer and meditation. Simply said, the parlor became my Sanctuary.
I’ve had many special moments in the milking parlor. One such moment was when I received the message from our church’s Elder, that I had a proposal from Steven Machamer, who had been a dairy grazing apprentice for another farm family from church. I was blown away and uncertain about God’s direction for my life. But God provided the peace and faith for me to marry this dairy farmer. So, on July 9th, 2023, we were married and started our life together. We often chore together, do projects together, laugh together, cry together and pray together. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
As said before, we feel that God has ordained us as His servant farmers, to tend this piece of land He has brought us to. We look forward to serving Him, by providing for and furthering His kingdom with our herd share program.
-Elyse L. Machamer
Co-owner of Providence Homestead LLC
Her Story
The History of the Farm
The farm was settled in the mid 1830’s by Swiss immigrants, when they built the barn and farmhouse. Don Zimmerly’s family bought it in 1838 and has stewarded the land and buildings in such an amazing and heartfelt way ever since. Don remembers his parents milking 6 cows, by hand, in the old bank barn. In 1956 Don’s father built a milkhouse and parlor under the bank barn, where he milked about 15 cows until 1976. It’s always a sad day when the milk system’s vacuum pump shuts off, presumably for the rest of eternity, and the cows are sold. However, this was not the case for our farm, as it is this same parlor that we milk our cows in and the same barn that we house our cows in. We have been so blessed with this rich heritage and we strive to preserve it, infuse it into what we do today and pass it on to the next generation.