The Frederick County Office of Economic Development (FCOED) collaborates annually with Frederick Magazine for Frederick County’s Top 50 publication. This year’s theme highlights the County’s most innovative businesses. Nine of our Homegrown Frederick businesses were among those honored:
Amber Fields Malting and Brewing McClintock Distilling Summer Creek Farm
District Farms Moon Valley Farm The Kombucha Lady
Fingerboard Farm Rocky Point Creamery Walnut Ridge Farm/Moo Cow Creamery
Within the ag and craft beverage industries, technologies are endless, and we are proud to highlight innovative businesses and bring awareness to the technologies within our Homegrown Frederick industries. Read on for our latest Top 50 feature highlighting three more of the Homegrown businesses.
McClintock DistillingMcClintock Distilling, located in downtown Frederick, is an internationally awarded distillery producing craft whiskies, gins and vodkas, all from local ingredients. Established in 2016 and named after renowned Frederick inventor McClintock Young, McClintock Distilling focuses their mission on innovation and a commitment to sustainability. They designed and built their own wastewater recycling system, and also source renewable energy for the distillery through a partnership with CleanChoice Energy that uses smart grid technology. With these technologies, they can see the exact amount of water reduced (almost half a million gallons per year) and the clean energy savings the business has by reducing its carbon footprint. Not only is McClintock on track to be one of the first waste-neutral distilleries in the country, but they are also a leader in sustainability for the entire distilling industry. McClintock gladly shares their knowledge and technologies with others in the industry to have an even greater impact on the environment.
Moon Valley FarmMoon Valley Farm is a 25-acre operation in Woodsboro that grows organic vegetables for their year-round Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), the public school system, and restaurants throughout the DMV. The farm adopted software programs to offer a wide variety of local ingredients delivered safely to their customers’ doorstep. They have streamlined processes, partnering with dozens of other farms to help supplement subscription boxes and expand offerings for chef clientele. Not only does Moon Valley offer produce delivery to its customers, but they also provide support through education about the Mid-Atlantic seasons, storage requirements of produce and recipes that can be made from items included in the subscription box. Moon Valley is proud to be a part of localizing the food system and combining that with 21st-century technology!
Rocky Point CreameryA true cow-to-cone operation, Rocky Point Creamery in Tuscarora milks 130 dairy cows robotically, supplying their on-farm store with milk and cream used in their hand-crafted ice cream. They are one of the few dairy operations in the county that has utilized robotics for milking purposes. In January 2021, Rocky Point Creamery transitioned milking operations from manual labor to exclusively using robots. This has led to improved cattle health, happiness and milk quality, and increased their overall herd management due to the abundance of data the machines collect and organize. The farm also utilizes precision agriculture which includes self-driving tractors and GPS planting, fertilizing and harvesting. Precision agriculture helps to optimize the return on inputs while preserving resources. The agricultural innovations Rocky Point Creamery uses in its day-to-day operations help increase the business’s herd and crop management productivity and efficiency.