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.
In April 2012 we received the Governors Award for Environmental Excellence from Michael Krancer, Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection.
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. 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
April 22, 2012: We have plenty of eggs available! We have more than enough to supply our CSA members, so if you would like beautiful, flavorful spring eggs, we have them! Food Alliance Certified, GMO free, no antibiotics, no arsenic..the laying hens live in our mobile pens that get them off of their waste every day, and onto fresh grass! $5 per dozen, available here on the farm, at Hershey next weekend, in Towson on Sunday or Wednesday..
April 10, 2012: Our CSA opportunities for 2012 are now full. If you would like referrals to growers we love, drop a line This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , tell me where you are located and what you are looking for, and I'll get information back to you.
March 29, 2012: Join us on Saturday, April 7 in a pen building workshop. We can provide a materials list so you can bring the parts..and leave the farm with a completed pen! Register here: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2861736531
March 2012: We will commence egg CSA delivery by mid-April. Our schedules are rapidly filling up, as our busy season is upon us. Cut off for 2012 CSA membership is April 5, 2012..you can get chicken, eggs, beef, pork (and pre-order Thanksgiving turkey) from us on a per piece basis after that, as we have available. Vegetables are only available via CSA..with farm pickup or pickup in Towson the options for vegetables. Bulk orders of meat are always available..with notice!
Eggs: heritage breed hens, as listed on the threatened/endangered/rare section of the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy. Pasture raised, Food Alliance ceritified, moved to fresh pasture (and off their waste) in the mobile pens Homer has designed and built, GMO free feed, and a mix of brown, white, blue and green eggs. $130 for 26 weeks, begins mid-April.
Vegetables..heirloom, open pollinated varieties, no chemicals either organic or synthetic, grown in compost. weekly delivery of an average of 8 items..we have been told that the heirloom tomatoes alone are worth the price of the 26 weeks! $300, starts in mid-May.
Chicken: Whole chicken only. No antibiotics, no immunizations, no growth hormones, no arsenic! Grown in the brooder the first 2 weeks, then out on the fields, in our mobile pens, until to size. GMO free feed..and they eat their feed in about 10 minutes in the morning, the rest of the day is spent doing what chickens love best..scratching in the ground, eating what they find. When our chicken is roasted, or used to make stock, you will notice there is not a ring of hard fat formed when the juices cool. We are not certain why this happens..we believe it is the way they are raised, serving as our grass mowers and fertilizers..average of 4 pound bird each week, begins early June, $350 for 26 weeks. Many people (us included) put extra in the freezer to be able to enjoy all winter. Our birds can be cooked any way you would cook a chicken..we grill, roast, fry, put in the stew pot, brine, make soup..all good..
Beef: grass fed beef, available by the piece. $6 per pound for ground beef, $8 for every other cut. No commercial feed.
Pork: pasture raised, fed leftover bread, vegetables that have started to turn (from a green grocer) and pulp from juicer bars..no commercial feed. $6 for a pound of sausage, $8 per pound for other cuts.
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
Sunnyside Farm wins 2012 PA Governors Award for Environmental Excellence: http://paenvironmentdaily.blogspot.com/2012/03/pec-announces-april-18-event-to-honor.html
article about Homer, here and in Pennsylvania Magazine: http://cindyrosstraveler.com/2012/03/04/move-that-livestock/
Dru, at the White House: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/6810854684/
Homer on WITF: http://www.witf.org/smart-talk/sustainable-agriculture-and-local-foods
Homer's PASA workshops: http://www.pasafarming.org/conference2012/workshop.htm
Dru, at Hopkins Center for a Livable Future/Creative Alliance screenings: http://www.creativealliance.org/events/eventItem2886.html
Homer's workshop at CASA/Future Harvest: http://www.futureharvestcasa.org/events/calendar/view/440620/date/2012-01-13
Homer & Dru in Detroit: http://www.mocadetroit.org/pastevents-2012.html
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
