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 agriculture 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 final Top 50 feature highlighting three more of the Homegrown businesses honored.
Summer Creek FarmWith over 30 years of growing experience, Summer Creek Farm in Thurmont is a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) certified organic farm supplying vegetables to grocery chains including Mom’s Organic Market, Roots Market and more. They also manufacture organic horticultural soil-less mixes for all types of gardening needs, and even developed the first available peat, perlite and vermiculite-free, organic certified, soil-less mix. The company’s product line includes ten soil-less blends that are organic, sustainable and outperform national brands. Ingredients used in the mixtures are from the waste stream, reduce carbon and produce a larger root volume with less water. Summer Creek’s most recently developed mix, HiDra 4, replaces peat and coir fiber with domestic wood fiber. This product is a game changer with 95% of the product sourced domestically, drastically reducing supply chain issues. The cost to the customer decreased by nearly 20% while still yielding the same performance.
The Kombucha LadyFor years, Liz Dodson has had a passion for brewing kombucha and sharing its health benefits with the community. In 2016, The Kombucha Lady began operations after their kombucha flavors became popular at local farmer’s markets. They are also the only local on-farm kombucha brewery. Brews start as high quality organic teas that are fermented and flavored with fruits and herbs grown on their farm in Rocky Ridge. The Kombucha Lady products differ from many store-bought varieties because they brew in small batches to control the fermentation process Liz developed after many years of experience. High mineral well water is used in the fermentation process to help produce the smooth and unique flavor they are known for. Their products also stand out among competitors because the fruits and herbs used to infuse the kombucha stay in the jar and continue to infuse flavor and health benefits into the beverage. Their new farm facility was completed in May of 2022, and has helped increase sales while making business operations more efficient and productive. You can find where to purchase The Kombucha Lady products by visiting their website.
Walnut Ridge Farm/Moo Cow Creamery
This Middletown dairy farm was founded in 1936. In 2020, Moo Cow Creamery was created by diversifying operations to include selling value-added products like artisan cheeses and butter direct to consumer. Currently Moo Cow Creamery offers more than a dozen flavors of artisan cheese, salted, unsalted and flavored sweet cream butters and more! What makes Walnut Ridge Farm unique is their Guernsey and Jersey cows that produce rich and high component milk. Not only is the milk rich with beta carotene, but the cows are also A2A2, meaning that their products are an option for those who can’t digest dairy. Most recently, Moo Cow Creamery announced the addition of A2A2 cream line, pasteurized only milk to their product line! They aren’t stopping there. Stay tuned to the upcoming release of additional products including ice cream, drinkable yogurts and more. You can find Moo Cow Creamery’s cheeses and butters, along with beef chicken and eggs, at the farm’s Middletown location, and at farmers markets throughout Frederick County.