Fox Hill Farm and Calkins Creamery are excited to share their old farms' new ways with people of all ages. Not only do they share a neighborhood, but both feel passionate about using sustainable methods to maintain their farms, families, the people they feed and the land they use.
Fox Hill Farm is a small farm with a big vision. The owners, Katharine and George Brown, use their 50 acre farm to raise 100% grass fed beef and pastured poultry, produce fresh cut seasonal flowers, and provide an atmosphere for learning, respecting and appreciating the beauty of nature. Through special management of the animals, pastures are not only preserved, but soil quality is improved. The beef, eggs, flowers and honey produced on the farm are sold throughout northeast Pennsylvania. Katharine, a former middle school science teacher, has transformed a simple landscape into a cornucopia of flowers, trees, shrubs, and fruits. Through garden design, weddings, personal bouquets, workshops and other avenues, she shares her zeal with whomever will listen! From the rock walls to the Civil War-era barn, Fox Hill Farm provides a perfect backdrop for learning about how it all happens and how everyone can do their part.
Calkins Creamery is a family-owned venture in the Upper Delaware River Valley that aims to sustain the family farm across many more generations while preserving farmland and conserving natural resources. The dairy herd consists of 100% registered Holstein cattle fed a natural diet free of added hormones and antibiotics. The cattle are seasonally grass fed and grain supplemented. Farmstead artisan cheeses are produced on-site in a separate facility 100 feet from the milking barn. Fresh, raw milk is transferred underground via stainless-steel process piping into the cheese vat in the creamery. Only natural ingredients, culture and vegetable-based rennet, are used in the process. Whole wheels are aged a minimum of 60 days, per state guidelines, in one of three different aging rooms (one of which is an underground cave). To handle the whey discharged from the creamery, 16 pigs are kept in a nearby barn, butchered twice annually, and sold farm direct. The farm also produced grass-fed beef and raw honey.
Why is a tour of Fox Hill Farm and Calkins Creamery a great idea? Let us tell you... -
- Compare dairy operation versus beef operation, both using sustainable practices
- Enjoy the beauty of two old farms using old practices in new and exciting ways
- Hands-on experience of doing 'chores' at Fox Hill
- Experience cheesemaking before your eyes
- Beautiful views, gardens, and animals
- See where your food comes from and why it is important to support local farmers
- Owners are also operators...and your tour guides!
