Originally known as Culler's Delight, the land on this farm was misused. In 1889, William Holter bought the farm from the Culler's when the family went bankrupt. Since then, this farm has been farmed by the Holter family, property rights being transferred amongst family members. In the 1950s the farm was streamlined and sucked in to the industrial aspect of farming. When bought by Ron Holter in 1994 he knew that something had to be done. He switched the farming system to pasture based dairying....Read More » »

Polyface is a local farm with a core of principles that keeps it pointing in the right direction. Transparency, grass-based, individuality, community, nature's template, and earthworms. Polyface is as transparent as glass. Anyone is welcome to visit the farm! Every corner is accesible by anyone and camera friendly. There is nothing to hide here. All diets on the farm are grass based. Allowed to graze on pastures, the animals get a highly diet and help to restore the landscape. Indivuality. Each...Read More » »

Raising food as naturally as possible is what the farmers of Painted Hand Farm strive to do. Using sustainable farming practices, this farm produces goat meat, veal, grass fed beef, pastured poultry, and organically raised herbs and vegetables. Pesticides, herbicides, hormones, and antibiotics are never used. 

A few sustainable practices Painted Hand Farm utilizes are mowing with goats and rainwater collection. Instead of using petroleum dependent machinery to keep weeds under control on...Read More » »

The three P's... my sorority has the three P's as well... but they're a little bit different! These three P's are pastured pork, pastured beef, and pick your own. These three P's are a kind of super power for local farms. If I can get pork, beef, fruits, and veggies all in one place (other than the grocery store) I don't need to go elsewhere! Hollin Farms in Delaplane, VA has got them all! 

Starting in the 1950s, this is a four generation family farm... as are most local farms! Robert Davenport...Read More » »

Sustainable farming practices help to keep the land being farmed healthy and nutrient rich. At Mount Vernon Farm, local farmers strive to maintain their land. By using a rotational grazing system they ensure that the land and animals stay healthy. By intensively managing the rotational grazing process, the farmers at Mount Vernon Farm prevent the animals from overgrazing one particular area and allow the land enough recovery time in order to replenish nutrients. This systems eliminates the need...Read More » »

Okay so there has been a long time battle in my family. My little sister and I are the youngest of 6 kids and we swear my mom taught us nursery rhymes the wrong way! The two of us thought for the longest time that the muffin man lived on Mulberry Lane. I mean... if we both thought that then it was definitely our mom who taught us incorrectly! Mulberry lane makes more sense than Poultry Lane though, right? According to my sister's boyfriend that's where there Muffin Man lives. 

It turns out that...Read More » »

I'm a little bit obsessed with dairy. If you've read my previous posts you'll see quite a few about cheese. However, my favorite dairy product is milk! When I go home my mom has to stock up on milk because unlike normal people who crave chocolate and candies, I crave giant glasses of ice cold milk. I will even drink milk with pizza or hamburgers and obviously they don't go together! Just give me milk and I'll be happy. 

So to my pleasant surprise, I found a cooperation of local farms that produce...Read More » »

I've been home alone now for about 5 days since my roommate left to start an internship back home and my sister doesn't return from San Diego for another few days. Being alone has made me just a teeny bit homesick. So, I decided to do a post on a great farm back home! I'm from a small little town in rural Pennsylvania and Yarnick's Farm provides great local produce to people in the area. 

Yarnick's Farm, located in Indiana, PA, has quite a variety of vegetables to choose from. Many of the...Read More » »

I have had my fair share of fruit salads in my lifetime and they all have been good but the one I just made trumps them all! I know that locally grown fruits taste better but I guess I never realized how much better. Probably every fruit salad I've eaten before today was made with fruit bought at the grocery store, nothing special. My salad today was made with all locally grown fruits. Most of the fruit in my salad today came from Mt. Olympus Farm.

Watermelon is by far my favorite fruit... just...Read More » »

I never thought I would see they day where I enjoyed eating a pickle. I always thought I hated pickles. I remember trying them when I was little and disliking the flavor and avoided them ever since. I just assumed I would hate them forever. It turns out I am wrong! I tried a pickle the other day and was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it! This has been happening to me a lot lately... coleslaw, sushi, mustard, etc. I guess taste buds really do change! 

Knowing that I do indeed like...Read More » »