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:
Farm hours are
Friday from 12 - 4 pm (or request an appt.)
STEAK OUT!
Staying home for (all or part of) Memorial Day?
Make it memorable and delicious - and a little cheaper - by snagging fresh, juicy, grass-fed steaks on SALE!
SALE:
Save $3 / lb on Delmonico (boneless ribeye) or NY Strip Steaks (both regularly $25 / lb, on sale for $22 / lb)
but ONLY at the FARM TODAY or if you PRE ORDER for pickup in CHESTNUT or BRYN MAWR tomorrow!
You HAVE to pre-order: canterhillfarm@yhaoo.com
What else?
We'll have fresh chicken, sausage, strawberries and asparagus.
Pulling out the smoker this weekend? Order your brisket, pork belly or pork shoulder today!
Overwhelmed?
Sometimes I just can't organize my brain to plan my meals, so grabbing some basics gives you options:
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ground beef
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boneless/skinless chicken breast
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beef or lamb cubes (what's better on the grill than kebabs?)
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hanger or skirt steak (marinade it, and it cooks in a flash and is delicious!)
Flowers & Herbs:
Our garden is coming along! We'll have fresh herbs that we'll cut when you come, and flower bouquets are only a month away!
FRESH PRODUCE:
If you visit the farm, you'll see our "kitchen garden" beginning to yield. We grow things our family enjoys, and just a little more than we need. This week, we have spring onions ($3 / bunch), Early-Glo strawberries ($7 / pint) and asparagus ($5 / bunch) {asparagus is from our friends who we lease our steer-grazing land from). We also have fresh salad greens, micro greens and radishes - cutting and pulling them TOMORROW for peak freshness when you pick up at the farm.
PLEASE pre-order these items if you'd like us to send them to Media, Kennett or a Saturday market.
BUYING BONES:
One of my very favorite things about first-of-spring produce is its unbelievable flavor and freshness. These early treats are PERFECT for simple soups or risotto, because they are packed with flavor. My FAVORITE soup recipe for spring is a simple Cream of Asparagus Soup (recipe link below). Topped with micro-greens, this soup packs a healthy, filling punch while looking like it's straight out of a magazine. Grab the asparagus, micro greens AND the chicken stock from us to make it a straight-from-the fields special.
(Also note that we offer chicken backs, beef bones, lamb bones AND pork bones if you prefer to make your own stock! Please pre-order these. Since they are big and bulky, we only bring a few...)
Pre-Order Guidance:
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We will sell out. Pre-orders are highly encouraged.
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Large Orders: Looking to stock up? PLEASE pre-order if you're looking for 5+ packs of something. We don't want to sell out THAT fast!
Remember: Please try to place your pre-orders by Friday morning at 8 am. This helps us print your order and pack it during the day Friday. Please email Media orders by Thursday night at midnight:
SEE THE STORE:
Our shelves continue to fill. In addition to delicious meat, poultry and eggs, we have local honey, handcrafted natural soaps and now our beloved Whisky Hollow maple syrup. It’ll be worth your drive!
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.