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Celebrate the people and projects changing the way we eat and live

Our Farm, Our Hometown - Help Us Grow!

We reached our goal thanks to many friends and family! Now help us reach our stretch goal of $10,000 to add implements for the tractor!

About

About Hoffman Appalachian Farm

We are a small, family-owned farm located in Northcentral Pennsylvania. I moved back to Pennsylvania in 2009 after spending six years in Colorado. I returned after a season working on a Certified Naturally Grown (CNG) Farm in Longmont (Boulder County). I realized Farming was in my blood and we had the land to make it work. In 2010, my wife Jenn and I were married at the Farm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to all our amazing backers we reached our $5,000 goal with 11 days remaining, giving us the much needed funds to purchase a solid, used tractor. Now we are focusing on reaching our Stretch Goal of $10,000 so we can add a number of implements as well such as a tiller, cultipacker, auger and possibly a combine!

 

The land has been in our family since the 1950's when my Grandparents (for whom the Farm is named after) purchased the land.


We have the land...we are in desperate need of some solid, used equipment!

 

Even though the land has been leased for almost 20 years by neighboring farmers, we haven't had the equipment to do our own work. The immediate need is for our hopyard and small grains, however within 5 years, we plan on developing a vegetable-orchard CSA, as well as farm-to-school and farm-to-restaurant business for the community.

 

We love our small home town of Saint Marys, however the past few decades have found more families mowing away, the economy becoming more depressed and the appearance of the town slowly falling apart. We want to be an integral part of the revival of our town and the nearby communities by encouraging other small businesses to develop and support a local, sustainable economy.

 

In our town, Straub Brewery has existed since the mid 1800's. It is one of the oldest, family-owned, independent breweries in the nation. "Fiercely Independent" is their motto and we share that belief. As a first step in the development of our Farm, we have partnered with Straubs to begin growing local hops (and soon malting barley) that will become part of a season line a local brews. 

 

To learn more about our unique local sourcing partnership with Straub Brewery, watch the video:

 

 

We've cobbled together equipment for our farming endeavors that are really not fit for the tasks at hand. Many times we are beholden to the schedules and fees of contracted operators to assist with larger jobs. As we don't come from a farming family, we do not have the types equipment that are often handed down from one generation to the next.

 

 

Please support our Barnraiser project. You'll be supporting more than our farm alone - you'll be helping to rebuild a community!

 

 

Here's our full story:

 

Our "Thank You!" Gifts

 

 

 

 

Farm T-Shirts

 

Farm Bumperstickers

 

 

English Toffee & "Munchie" Boxes (Goblin Chocolates)

 

 

Farm Beer Coasters (Woodland Craftworks)

** Slight variations in wood colors and hues will occur **

 

 

Beer Totes (Woodland Craftworks)

 

 

Framed Black & White Photos (JoshuaBrock.com)

** A full selection of black and white photos can be found at JoshuaBrock.com **

 

 

Farm Beer Growler (Moose Head Pottery)

** Image is a visual representation. Final production image will differ. You can see a showcase of their work here. **

 

 

 

 

 

 

Impact

 

 

 

Our Goal - $5,000

With $5,000, we can...

  • Put a solid down payment on a reliable, used tractor to help us finance the purchase
  • Add a bucket loader, pallet fork and/or auger
  • Our own tractor will allow us to drill and set our own hops trellis poles, till the soil with a rented tiller, harvest hops at season's end and much, much more!

A Stretch Goal of $10,000

With $10,000, we can...

  • Either significantly increase our chances of outright buying a used tractor (with a larger capacity) OR decrease our loan amount
  • Purchase all the implements mentioned at the $5,000 level
  • Possibly purchase our own tiller or cultivation implements

A Stretch "More" Goal of $15,000

With $15,000, we can...

  • Outright purchase the properly sized used tractor we've been hoping for with no debt to repay!
  • Put money towards a variety of implements mentioned above
  • Purchase a used tow-behind combine for harvesting barley and other grains, which is the next step of our Farm's growth towards local beer production!

A Stretch "Even A Wee-bit More!" Goal of $18,000

 

 

 

 

With $18,000, we can...

 

 

 

 

  • Outright purchase the properly sized used tractor we've been hoping for with no debt to repay!
  • Purchase all tillage, cultivation and harvest implements we need
  • Purchase either a tow-behind or used stand alone combine for grain harvesting
  • Sleep better at night knowing this local partnership is on solid ground, underway and has the support of the community, family and friends!

Team Members

 

 

 

 

 

Joshua & Jennifer Brock
Farmers - Owners
Hoffman Appalachian Farm
My wife and I have known each other since the 4th grade...same grade school, same high school...the kinda town where everyone knows everyone. We'd lost touch after high school and through the magic of the Internet (thank you Al Gore!) we reconnected when I was living in Colorado. I'd had a crush on Jenn since the 4th grade and well, I guess it was time to act on it...some 30+ years later. And the rest as they say...is history :-)

We believe in our little hometown and the belief in local, sustainable, community roots and agriculture. Help us realize our dream of being part of the effort to return  Saint Marys the kind of hometown we grew up in by supporting our Farm!

 

Mike Brock
Brother
Mike has been there from the very start, volunteering his time and efforts with each and every project at the farm. From high tunnel construction, to irrigation, hops harvesting and equipment maintenance, he's been an essential part of the farm's health and vitality.

 

John and Snooks Brock
Parents - Joshua
I can't say enough about my folks. They've been two of my biggest supporters of the farm since moving back from Colorado. My Dad helps with everything I do on the farm; debarking black locust poles, irrigation, hops harvesting, you name it. My Mom is always keeping an eye out for my safety (good thing someone is!), organizing meals, harvesting, on and on!

 

 

 

 

 

Mike and Winnie Engel
Parents - Jennifer
Everybody knows Mike and Winnie because at some point or another, Mike and Winnie have been there for you! Mike's helped out at countless church and school related events and activities over his many years of service in Saint Marys. He's also the lead designer for our hops oast and was instrumental in the construction of our high tunnel. Winnie is the epitome of a wonderful Mother, Grandmother, Aunt and Wife...she's the rock and the soul of the Engel clan. 

 

Our Partners
Straub Brewery (Saint Marys, PA)
Goblin Chocolates (Saint Marys, PA)
The Highlands (Saint Marys, PA)
Woodland Craftworks (Wellsboro, PA)
Moose Head Pottery (Waterford, PA)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAQ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.

  • October 23, 2015
    Update #7

    Video URL mentioned in last update

    Apologies...looks like some folks won't be able to view the embedded video we'd mentioned just a moment ago in the update.

    If not, here you go:

    https://youtu.be/-5HRle-IWak

     

    Thank you!