Growing Traditions at Oak Hill Tree Farm 

Raised on a small grain farm, Rachael Stine grew up surrounded by the kind of freedom, adventure, and hands-on learning that farm life can offer. After meeting her husband Matt at Purdue University and marrying shortly after college, the couple didn’t have the opportunity to return to a family farm of their own. Instead, they began building one piece by piece.

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“We wanted to provide that same lifestyle for our kids,” Rachael said. The journey wasn’t linear. Over the years, the Stines experimented with sheep, cattle, and even a produce business selling at local farmers markets. Some ventures worked better than others, but each experience helped shape the future of their operation. Eventually, they landed on an idea that blended agriculture, family traditions, and community connection: a Christmas tree farm.

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Today, Oak Hill Tree Farm and MRS Farm in Montgomery County include row crops, pumpkins, agritourism, and approximately 18,000 growing Christmas trees spread across 15 acres. While waiting for the trees to mature — a process that can take close to a decade — the family expanded into pumpkins and educational agritourism experiences to help sustain the business. What began as a farming dream has grown into a place where families return year after year to create traditions of their own. “The best part of the tree farm for us is seeing families come back and create that tradition,” Rachael said. “If people come to us more connected with each other and feel like they understand agriculture and the environment around them a little better, then that’s a win.”

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While the farm welcomes thousands of visitors each year, its deepest purpose remains rooted in family. When the Stines purchased the tree farm in 2018, their four children were just six, four, one, and seven months old. Rachael remembers planting trees with a baby in a backpack carrier and later mounting a car seat onto a tractor so her youngest could ride along. The work has never been easy, but she believes those experiences have given her children something invaluable. “We say the farm is just a vector for the life lessons,” she explained. “It’s a place where they have the opportunity to develop leadership skills, financial planning skills, and to take ownership of different parts of the farm.”

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As a woman in agriculture, Rachael is candid about the learning curve that comes with farming at a larger scale. She credits mentorship, community connections, and a willingness to keep learning as essential parts of her journey. “I couldn’t do it alone and am still learning every day,” she shared in her questionnaire responses. “I am honored and proud to be one of the many women making a life and lifestyle on the farm.” That mindset carries into the example she hopes to set for her children, especially her daughters. “I want them to see that they are capable and can accomplish whatever they are willing to work hard at,” Rachael said. “It might not look exactly like they envisioned, but they’re capable of anything.”

Conservation and stewardship are also central to the Stines’ operation. The family uses soil testing, reduced tillage practices, compost applications, cover crops, and wildlife habitat improvements to help care for the land long-term. “Just like people are different, each field is unique,” Rachael said. “We try to treat it so it can grow the best crop and stay productive for the future.” On their tree farm, those practices have helped create habitat for wildlife ranging from salamanders to wild turkey. Across every acre they farm, whether owned or rented, the goal remains the same: leave the land better than they found it.

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For women interested in agriculture, Rachael’s advice is simple but powerful: get involved, build relationships, and don’t be afraid to try. “We failed at a lot of things,” she said. “It takes trying things that aren’t ‘the thing’ to eventually find what is.” For the Stines, that “thing” became much bigger than growing crops or trees. It became a place where agriculture, conservation, family, and community all intersect — one season at a time.

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Learn more about Oak Tree Farm at https://oakhill.events or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/eventsoakhill