Pasture Raised Meat
We are the first farm to raise poultry and receive Food Alliance certification. We are very proud to be certified in our farm practices by this well respected group.
Welcome to the virtual home of Sunnyside Farm, your go-to place off the I-83 corridor for pasture-based, intensive graised grass-fed beef, pork, chickens, farm fresh eggs, turkeys (for Thanksgiving) and raw honey. We also offer salmon, wild caught in Alaska. Located between York and Harrisburg in southern Pennsylvania, Sunnyside Farm welcomes visitors, just requests that you call before visiting. Homer Walden and Dru Peters have been farming for years on leased land, and in August 2009 acquired the property that is now Sunnyside Farm.
Intensive Grazing
Our animals live outside, on grass. They are raised in smaller paddocks or in pens and we move every animal every day to a new patch of grass. This enables the cattle, pigs, chickens and turkeys to consume fresh grass daily. Homer has refined our chicken and turkey pens every year, working to balance the weight of the pen and the need to keep our birds safe from predators. The cattle paddocks are segmented with electric fence, and when we open the gate is it such fun to see them kick up their heels as they enter the new paddock.
Updates
September 10, 2011: We are now also at the Farmers Market in Hershey every Thursday 3-7PM. After weathering almost 20 inches of rain in less than 4 weeks, we are all waterlogged but fine. Our livestock has fared well, the vegetables will require replanting and we will have to get rid of some mold growing. Other than that! We are now accepting deposits on turkeys for Thanksgiving. Since we process here, we can provide fresh, not frozen, turkey for earlier dinners. We require a $40 deposit on each bird, which, at $5 per pound, will cover the first 8 pounds of turkey. The balance is settled up when you get your bird. On the field now are Holland White and Midget White, 2 heritage breed birds that will grow out to taste amazing. On the field for months, Homer moves their pens twice a day now. In early October he will move them 3 times a day. They consume shoulder high grass in the space of about 8 hours right now, leaving little behind them. These make for an amazing Thanksgiving dinner: delicious and beautiful birds.
May 7, 2011: Beautiful days here, with cool nights, the best time of year on the farm! lots going on these days, see you at market!
April 20, 2011: We will be at the Farmers on the Square market in Carlisle beginning in mid-May. Wednesdays, from 3-7PM. On Tuesdays we will be at the Hamilton/Lauraville Farmers market, 4-8PM, beginning in early June. And starting in mid-May we will offer on farm sales of fresh eggs and chicken Saturdays from 11-2..Homer and I will both be here most Saturdays, stop in, bring a lunch, get a chicken a throw it on the grill with us, wander off and enjoy a picnic, a nap, a trip down the zipline..and there might just be another weekly event Friday happy hour in Baltimore..
April 16, 2011: Busy days! If the sun comes out we work outside, if raining we weed in the hoophouse or get paperwork completed..60 blueberry plants in the ground, Denzel Mitchell (and family) visited and taught us how to trim and weight the apple trees, cleaned up the bee hives and zip line riding..
April 3, 2011: The house is repaired and we are planting seeds on a regular basis. Many have sprouted and are growing nicely. Our cattle will be delivered this Wednesday: bull calves from Keswick Creamery: Jersey cattle raised on grass for generations, from a closed herd. We have read that Jersey's are the only breed shown to have marbling throughout the meat when raised on grass, so are excited about this years herd and the results! Turkeys arrive next week, the first batches of broilers are in the brooder, eggs are being produced at a great rate, duck and goose eggs are in the incubator. Pigs are plowing up the beds, 60 blueberry plants are on order, to be delivered mid-April..in 2 years we will have lots for our CSA members! We also hope to get asparagus beds established this year. Spring is just about here, and we can feel the pace quicken..and the sun out for longer and longer each day.
February 28, 2011: We had a small fire in late January that kept us off the farm for a month. Actually, it was the smoke damage that caused the restoration crew to be busy in this little house for so long. We are back on the farm now, unpacking and sorting (it is like we are moving in again!) and have been ale to start vegetables under lights, acquire some calves that we will grow out on our fields this summer, and to acquire 7 piglets. Our laying hens are starting to produce eggs again, more every day as the daylight increases. And we have a flock of 50 Arucana chicks that will provide us with those beautiful blue/green eggs this fall. CSA shares are filling up..so get in touch if you are interested. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
January 6, 2011: We are accepting CSA memberships for the 2011 growing season. Please email me This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like more information. Be warned: the beef, pork, vegetables and eggs sell out very quickly..
These pages will be filled with news and notes about our practices, noting our successes and available products. We'll provide frequent updates, so check back to keep track, and to make sure you don't miss our specials. You can also create your own account — using the login form at right, simply enter a username and password, to receive our News and Notes for Friends of Sunnyside Farm.
Links of Interest
CSA article from Harrisburg paper: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/04/community-supported_agricultur.html
We are Food Alliance certified!: www.foodalliance.org
And Homer is interviewed in Central PA Magazine: http://www.witf.org/a-la-carte/going-for-the-gold-pastured-eggs-april-2011
Interview with Homer in the local paper: http://www.pennlive.com/west-shore/index.ssf/2011/02/newberry_township_farmers_let_their_animals_do_the_work.html
Slow Foods Baltimore mentions us: http://slowfoodbaltimore.blogspot.com/
Link to notice of our speaking engagement at Berkshire Elementary School February 12, 2010: http://www.bcps.org/news/articles/article2137.html
Interview with Dru at the Pennsylvania Farm Show: http://www.wjactv.com/news/22229516/detail.html
Read about us in the November 06 Urbanite magazine
Raw milk available in PA: www.agriculture.state.pa.us click on publications, then select Bureau of Food Safety and Laboratory Services where it says to choose by Bureau or Commission then scroll down to Listing of PA Permitted Raw Milk Producers.
Buy from Local Producers: www.buylocalpa.org has a listing that includes many local farms, farmers markets, restaurants..
Another source for buying local: www.localharvest.org
Article about traditional food production and health risks to humans, by a doctor at Johns Hopkins Bloomburg School of Public Health http://www.jhu.edu/jhumag/0609web/farm.html
Buy local at Mill Valley, Baltimore, MD.
