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A Little History

We own and operate Rumbleway Farm, a 62 acre certified organic farm located in Cecil County, Maryland. The stone house and barn of post and beam design were built by Scotch-Irish settlers in the 1800's. The farmstead boasts a fifteen foot deep icehouse, the original milk house and an existing cistern well system.

The land was last farmed in the 1960's by a dairy farmer. We moved here in 1992 and have been restoring the buildings and working toward sustainable agriculture ever since. The chicken house has been completely rebuilt from the existing foundation. Other projects include re-pointing the stone work, clearing the pond, fencing, and additions to the barn and milk house.

Our first venture was custom meat from beef cows and pigs, and hay grass. We spent the next few years increasing our family size.

In 1997 we branched out into chickens raised on grass in moveable shelters similar to what Joel Salatin was doing in Virginia. We added turkeys and rabbits shortly after that.

In 1998 we installed an on-sight processing area which was expanded in 2000. In 2002 a certified kitchen was added and the processing area was enclosed.

In 1999 we applied for and were granted organic certification by the USDA and the State of Maryland. Dinner at the Farm and our yearly Farm Day started in 2000.

We felt it was important to keep our farm as close to the original intent as possible. Read below about how we raise our animals.

Chickens and Turkeys

Baby chicks and turkeys arrive from the hatchery by US mail at 2-3 days old. They are raised in the chicken house for the first three to four weeks and then are placed out on pasture. It takes about 9 weeks to raise chickens to a market size of 5-6 pounds. It takes any where from 20-25 weeks to raise a turkey to 25 pounds dressed weight. We start receiving chicks in March and finish our last processing in October. Turkeys usually arrive in June, July and August and are ready for Thanksgiving. Heirloom turkeys are very similar to wild turkeys in that they have smaller breast meat are smaller in size and can fly short distances. This variety offers a bird more suited to a smaller family. They range in size from 7-12 pounds dressed weight. Come to the farm and see them for yourself.

Beef Cows

The cows spend their days grazing on lush grasses and vegetation. They are supplemented with alfalfa hay and ground corn meal. They are bred once a year to our bull and the calves are born in the spring. All of this happens right here on the farm. The calves are weaned from their mothers in the early fall. We sell one to one and a half year old steers for meat. The steers are transported to a USDA certified processing facility locally. We then can sell the meat as custom orders or as freezer beef by the piece.

Ducks

The ducks are raised in free range pens on our pasture. They are supplemented with a ground meal the same as what we feed our other birds. We generally have three clutches a year and sell the young adults when they are 6 months old. We keep a brooding stock of hens and drakes.

Goats

We raise boer goats on the hedgerows around the farm. They are fenced in and enjoy all the weeds and vines. They are supplemented with a ground meal.

Articles about Rumbleway Farm

Rewewing the Countryside:
Rumbleway Farm - Delivering a Taste of the Farm

SARE's The New American Farmer, 2nd Edition profiled
Robin Way in their recent publication