Category Archives: Ag News

Each year, the Frederick County Office of Economic Development (FCOED) partners with Frederick Magazine for Frederick’s Top 50 publication. The 2022 issue, released in January, features Frederick’s Top 50 Under 40. Homegrown Frederick wanted to take a similar approach and highlight the young entrepreneurs and leaders in the agriculture and craft beverage industries. The Homegrown Frederick magazine, released June 1, announces Frederick County’s Top Young Agricultural Professionals. Each week we will be highlighting these individuals so you can get to know them better.

Allison Stewart, 31, owner and operator of Deer Run Farm in Emmitsburg, is named one of Frederick County’s Top Young Ag Professionals. Deer Run Farm is a Red Angus beef, Berkshire pork, and Heritage chicken operation that has been in the Stewart family since 1996. In 2014, Allison met Josh Stewart, her now husband, and began helping on the farm. She dove right into the family business introducing retail beef sales, establishing the chicken hatchery and expanding the operation to include pork sales. Allison recently helped Deer Run Farm secure funding for a no-till grain drill through the Frederick County Agricultural Innovation Grant. With the purchase of this drill, Deer Run Farm can be converted to a no-till operation to better protect and conserve the soil, the Chesapeake Bay and other natural resources. With this, they have also created an opportunity for other farmers to rent the drill and do the same.

Allison is extremely proud of the success of the chicken hatchery. Deer Run Farm is the only hatchery in the United States to regularly test and maintain a disease-free poultry operation. She has expanded the business over the past five years to include shipping hatching eggs, day-old chicks and started birds nationwide. Allison’s greatest business accomplishment is the growth of the hatchery. She has helped the hatchery expand from hatching 3,000 chicks in its first year, to over 10,000 chicks hatched in a year. She says, “Having grown our customer base to support that kind of growth has been humbling.”

Recently Allison was named one of the Top 10 Farmers on the Rise by Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit. She is an active board member of the Frederick Farmer’s Cooperative, secretary for the Mid-Atlantic Red Angus Association, and a member of numerous other regional and national organizations. She says her father has influenced her most in her work with his saying “No matter what you do, do it with all your heart.” She said, “It’s something I always consider no matter what I am doing because you never know who’s watching.”

We are proud to honor Allison as one of Frederick County’s Top Young Ag Professionals. The full list can be found here. It is safe to say the local agricultural industry has a bright future ahead with young leaders like her at the helm. Be sure to congratulate Allison on this well-deserved accolade!

Each year, the Frederick County Office of Economic Development (FCOED) partners with Frederick Magazine for Frederick’s Top 50 publication. The 2022 issue, released in January, features Frederick’s Top 50 Under 40. Homegrown Frederick wanted to take a similar approach and highlight the young entrepreneurs and leaders in the agriculture and craft beverage industries. The Homegrown Frederick magazine, released June 1, announces Frederick County’s Top Young Agricultural Professionals. Each week we will be highlighting these individuals so you can get to know them better.

Emily Snyder, 30, is part of Rocky Point Creamery and a Relationship Manager for Farm Credit Express. She is named one of Frederick County’s Top Young Ag Professionals. Emily grew up with horses and in her local 4-H program. In high school, she bought her own beef cows which ignited her love for cattle. Later she began a retail beef business on her own. The herd was housed on a dairy operation and there she acquired some dairy cattle and a passion for the industry.

Today, at Rocky Point Creamery, Emily and her husband, Chuck, milk 100 cows robotically to create over 120 flavors of ice cream and farm about 600 acres of cropland. Emily enjoys helping in barns and caring for the cows and calves. At the creamery, she helps with product development, social media, customer relations, payroll and more. With her position at Farm Credit Express, Emily serves farm equipment dealerships in the MidAtlantic region.

Emily currently serves on the Frederick County Farm Bureau Board of Directors and the University of Maryland Alumni Board and is an active member of the Rotary Club and a proud member of the American Society of Agronomy. She enjoys supporting the development of youth in agriculture by helping with 4-H and FFA events throughout the year. Each year, Rocky Point Creamery holds a fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital where 100% of the proceeds from their sunflower patch donations go to this amazing organization.

Emily says she started farming because of her love for animals and the outdoors and attributes her success to her hard work. She says, “You don’t have to be the smartest or strongest. Just put your head down and work…you’ll get ahead.” Emily says she is fortunate to have been surrounded by wonderful people her entire life. “I have to say, being a part of the agricultural community has shown me some of the smartest, toughest, most successful people I’ve ever come across. A lot of our farmers are self-made or have taken an operation that was making ends meet and made a wildly successful enterprise. Being privy to their minds has given me bits and pieces to meld together to make my own successes,” she says.

We are proud to honor Emily as one of Frederick County’s Top Young Ag Professionals. The full list can be found here. It is safe to say the local agricultural industry has a bright future ahead with young leaders like her at the helm. Be sure to congratulate Emily on this well-deserved accolade!

Each year, the Frederick County Office of Economic Development (FCOED) partners with Frederick Magazine for Frederick’s Top 50 publication. The 2022 issue, released in January, features Frederick’s Top 50 Under 40. Homegrown Frederick wanted to take a similar approach and highlight the young entrepreneurs and leaders in the agriculture and craft beverage industries. The Homegrown Frederick magazine, released June 1, announces Frederick County’s Top Young Agricultural Professionals. Each week we will be highlighting these individuals so you can get to know them better.

Katlyn Robertson, 25, is the Field Supervisor for Catoctin Mountain Orchard (CMO) and named as one of Frederick County’s Top Young Ag Professionals. She is the fourth generation to be actively involved in the family operation comprising 100 acres of mixed fruits, berries and vegetables and a retail farm market located directly off Route 15 in Thurmont. Growing up on the farm alongside her grandfather and inspiration, Robert “Bob” Black, and learning how to farm at a young age prepared Katlyn for the responsibilities she now has. “Katlyn has been involved with the family business ever since she could walk. She was my right hand then and now, going to orchard tours, meeting new farmers and making a name for herself,” said Bob. Katlyn expressed gratitude for the opportunities she has been given and the knowledge passed on to her, especially from her grandfather. She is passionate and dedicated to continuing the family legacy and name and providing consumers with the best local, tasting fruits.

Katlyn wears many hats at CMO. She manages the highly successful u-pick blueberry, black raspberry, cherry and apple operations on the farm. Katlyn is responsible for bringing u-pick apples to CMO. Fall has always been the busiest time of the year, and Katlyn thought “what better way to bring in more customers than u-pick apples?” After research, visiting other pick-your-own-apple orchards and developing a business plan, Katlyn was approved to move forward and began operations in 2014. This piece of the operation has increased sales while bringing new customers to the farm. To this day, she signifies the u-pick apples as her greatest farm business accomplishment. Katlyn can also be found helping with field work, assisting customers and ensuring proper food safety within the business.

Katlyn is committed to advocating for agriculture in Frederick County and giving back to the community. CMO partners with Farm to School Frederick to supply fruits to the Frederick County Public Schools lunch program. Katlyn is passionate about and eager to teach children the importance of farms in our everyday lives. Every week from July to November, Katlyn sets up a small farmstand to sell produce at Homewood Retirement Center. Providing this service is one of her favorites because she is helping those who may not have the ability to go to the grocery store. She is an active board member for the Frederick County Farm Bureau and the Vice Chair for Frederick County Young Farmers. She also serves as the Vice Chairman for the State Horticultural Association of PA Young Growers Alliance and is a member of the International Fruit Trees Association where she was a recipient of the young professional scholarship in 2020.

Katlyn is an exemplary young woman in Frederick County’s agricultural community, and we are proud to honor her as one of Frederick County’s Top Young Ag Professionals. The full list can be found here. It is safe to say the local agricultural industry has a bright future ahead with young leaders like her at the helm. Be sure to congratulate Katlyn on this well-deserved accolade!