Canter Hill
Farm
WHY WE GROW
We grow because we care what we eat. We care even more what our children eat. And we think you care, too. We founded Canter Hill Farm in 2008 with the goal of growing our own food so that we knew exactly what was (and what wasn't) in it. We didn't set out to start a business - we had two full-time careers of our own. But then we started talking to people who read the books that we did and cared as much as we did - and we decided to try to grow for them, too. That's how it all began....
WHERE WE ARE
2138 Valley Hill Road
Malvern, PA 19355
We are open on
Fridays from 12 - 4.
Email: canterhillfarm@yahoo.com
Phone: 610.827.1594
(For a quick response, email is best!)
HOW TO BUY
SCHEDULE
Bryn Mawr:
Every Saturday from
9 am - 1 pm
Location: Parking lot of the Bryn Mawr Train Station (Lancaster Avenue & Bryn Mawr Avenue)
Chestnut Hill:
Every Saturday
9 am - noon until Christmas
Location: in front of the Mermaid Inn.
Kennett Square:
Get on our "Kennett Dropoff List" by sending us an email
Media:
Email to get on the "Media dropoff" email list. I'll alert you when I'm coming to Media and we can meet up for a pickup.
Farm:
Friday from 12 - 4 pm
(or request an appt.)
really rare
chemical free CORN, super STEAK sale and a bit-o-BILTONG
There’s something so “summer” to me about having steak and corn. Whether you grill it, fry it or bake it, it feels like we’re holding on to those last rays of the warm season and savoring them.
CORN:
And besides, we’re always behind in the harvest, so our corn is FINALLY ready! I planted an heirloom variety called “Peaches and Cream” this year, and it lives up to its name! Tender and juicy, it melts in your mouth even before you boil or grill it! We grow our corn without ANY sprays or artificial fertilizers. It takes a little longer (like 3 weeks!), but it’s worth it. And this is the week! Grab our limited supply here at the farm today (12 – 4), at Bryn Mawr tomorrow or by pre-order for Chestnut Hill. $1 / ear.
STEAK:
Since it’s the perfect couple, we’re offering TWO different steak sales, and you can enjoy both ONLY if you pre-order or come to the farm:
BRYN MAWR: Save $2 / lb on NY STRIP STEAK (regularly $25 / lb, on sale for $23 / lb)
CHESTNUT HILL: Save $3 / lb on SKIRT STEAK (regularly $26 / lb, on sale for $23 / lb)
Please pre-order to: canterhillfarm@yahoo.com
BILTONG:
Finally! The weather is a little cooler and less damp – the ideal time for a batch of biltong (and droewors), and Wayne made a small batch. This will sell out this weekend, so either make your way to the farm today or pre-order for tomorrow if you definitely want some.
FLOWERS and PRODUCE:
We’re in the “sweet spot” (and it’s a narrow window) of the flower season! It takes me a while to get all those Dahlias planted, so my last plants are finally blooming and I have GORGEOUS orange, red and purple blooms to make the vases vibrant.
We’re trying something a little different (because Wayne keeps telling me that it’s tough to hold a bunch of dripping flowers) and bringing the flowers in mason jars that you take with you. Flowers will be $18 / vase but there’s a $3 vase credit if you bring back a Mason Jar so we can re-use it the next week.
TURKEY TIME:
Just when I talk about the last glimpses of summer I bring up Thanksgiving. Well, the time is upon us to start taking Turkey orders, and we’ll have order sheets at the market TOMORROW (and posted to the website).
BEHIND THE BIRD:
We were amazed how much politics impacted farming this year. We order baby turkeys (called poults) so that all the birds are the same age and size and can safely be raised together. We hatch about 20 – 40 in addition, but the purchased poults prevent big birds from squishing smaller birds and allow us to have some range of sizes (by purchasing two batches). This year, we got a call that apparently the eggs that are set by the hatchery come from Canada (didn’t know that before!) and were subject to tariffs. So our poult price doubled. When the time came for our first batch to arrive we got a call that the hatchery is located in Ohio and there was a case of avian flu, so no birds could cross state lines out of Ohio. I offered for Wayne to drive there (and he loved the idea of a road trip), but alas, he wasn’t allowed to bring them over state lines either. So what happened? We had to wait another MONTH until there were 30 flu-free days so that new poults could come. What does that mean? Well, hopefully the fall will be warm and sunny and they’ll grow nice and big. But our batches started later, so we might have smaller turkeys this year.
We are so thankful for such a faithful following who understand the challenges of farming and continue to support us through the tough stuff! We appreciate you!
KITTENS:
Anyone in the market for the friendliest, most patient, adorable kittens?
We have two 10-week olds ready for a forever home. Email or come to farm hours and meet them!
Send pre-orders to: canterhillfarm@yahoo.com
Honey Apprentice wanted:
Have you seen the hives at our farm? They are lovingly tended by skilled beekeeper Damon Ireland. Damon has many folks wanting hives, but needs more hands to tend them. If you have interested in an apprenticeship (he gets your labor, you get the learning!), send us an email, and we’ll shoot it on to him!
Our Mission:
We founded the farm on a simple premise:
Before chemicals, labs and factory farms got involved, God had created a perfect, workable system. We will learn about it, respect it, and we will naturally and successfully be able to be "beyond-organic" in our food supply.
New to farming, we had no pre-conceived ideas about raising animals or vegetables, and sought out farmers across the globe to learn what we did and didn't want to do. We quickly saw that most food systems raising just one type of offering needed external inputs - fertilizers, corn and sadly - sometimes chemicals and antibiotics. That's why we raise a variety of animals. Each has been chosen to serve a function for the others.
Over the last 10 years, we have grown and in addition to our home-base farm in Malvern, we lease 180 acres of grazing land from old family friends in Lancaster County. During the summer, we rotate half of our sheep flock through this land, and most of our steers call this land home. All of the land we graze is 100% free of any chemicals or sprays and we re-plant every other year to manage soil compression, erosion and to preserve a diversity of forage.
Canter Hill's beef and lamb is 100% grass (or hay) feed, and supplemented only with salt licks. We de-worm our sheep flock once annually, after lambing season (at the same time as sheering - typically the first week of June) and do not introduce any other chemicals or antibiotics. We have not experienced the same need to de-worm our steers. We have been migrating our sheep flock from Dorset to Katahdin, and therefore most of our sheep are now 50% or more Katahdin (a hair sheep), because we believe the meat tastes nicer! Our beef is both Black and Lowline Angus. We are shifting towards Lowline Angus which is more tolerant of 100% grass feeding and generally very hardy.
Canter Hill's poultry and pork is either pasture (for poultry) or forage fed (our pigs dig in the forest, and our turkeys also tend to roam!). They are supplemented with organic, soy-free feed. How much feed vs. forage do they consume? It depends on the weather. If it's raining or cold, more feed than forage. On warm days that aren't drenching, almost entirely forage. This is why we raise from March - November.
We STRONGLY encourage you to open your minds to frozen meat. If you're committed to pasture raising, recognize that you can't have fresh meat in the dead of winter, and purchase a great freezer!
We are committed to pasture-raised, antibiotic-free and chemical-free poultry, lamb and produce.