Their Own Design: Brothers change the blueprint of their family farm

Sam and Brian FoxThough he and his brother, Sam, were raised on a conventional dairy farm in Northeastern Pennsylvania, Brian Fox took a completely different career path before realizing that he’d rather be farming. Brian spent his days as a graphic designer in Washington, D.C., before delving full-time into tending vegetables and cultivating garlic. But

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3 mins read

Retail Value: Improvising on sales gets to the meat of the business

Randy ShanerThe red shale soil sloping down to the Manatawny Creek in Berks County is ideally suited for grassland, and even in Pennsylvania, grassland means cattle. Here Randy Shaner, his father, Bob Shaner, and his cousin, Chad Hoffman, raise grass-based, grain-finished 100 percent Angus cattle on 900 acres at the Peterson & Shaner Farms in

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2 mins read

Living The Dream: An idealistic vision becomes a dynamic business

The Brownback Family, owners of Spiral Path FarmSpiral Path Farm is a well-oiled machine. Tidy rows of kale, tomatoes and broccoli line sections of the farm in Loysville, Pennsylvania, and when you see their community supported agriculture (CSA) operation, it’s clear that a considerable amount of planning and organization went into the farming and the

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4 mins read

Pork Life: Connections, smart decisions plump up production

Paul and Ember CrivellaroEmber Crivellaro speaks affectionately about the city’s most highly regarded chefs as though they’re the neighborhood kids with a lemonade stand. Ember, and her husband, Paul, are some of the preemminent porcine professionals of Philadelphia. Country Time Farm’s customers include Le Virtu, South Philly Tap Room, American Sardine Bar, Southwark and the

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2 mins read

Family Trees: Innovation bears fruit for seven generations

Ben Wenk, the youngest generation of Wenk family fruit farmers.Fruit farmer Ben Wenk has the unusual distinction of living on a street named after his family. Three Springs Fruit Farm on Bendersville Wenksville Road in Aspers, Pennsylvania, has been in operation since 1818 and there, with his father and uncle, Wenk grows apples, cherries, peaches

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3 mins read

Sewing the Seeds of Production

Amid the hum of sewing machines and chatter of their operators, in a space nestled away from the sidewalk in Old City, a small-scale production movement is taking on steam. MADE Studios is a workshop, school and collaborative space where emerging and advanced designers can give shape and texture to their dreams. Young fashionistas come

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6 mins read

Where’s the Beef?: Russet brings the farm to the table all year long so you never have to ask

Andrew and Kristin Wood, chef-owners of RussetThis time of year, the word “russet” calls to mind potatoes and perhaps their dusty, tuberous and root vegetable brethren. Fortunately for Philadelphia locavores, Russet is also the name of the rustic, elegant Rittenhouse BYOB operated by chef-owners Andrew and Kristin Wood. At the height of summer, it may

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2 mins read

Small-Batch Distillery Opens

Many people think that they have great ideas while drinking, but the founders of Manatawny Still Works, a new craft distillery in Montgomery County’s Pottstown, may have actually been onto something. The group of friends, including John Giannopoulos, one of the managing partners of Sly Fox Brewhouse & Eatery, was drinking last winter and someone

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1 min read