Rowantree Farm-Pennsylvania
Rowantree Farm sits on 104 acres in Cumberland County, PA. In mid-July, the farm is an idyllic scene: vibrant fields surrounded by woods, with a historic barn, milkhouse, and farmhouse completing the picturesque setting, along with goats, pigs, chickens, sheep, and highland cows scattered throughout the property. Farm owner Rowan Miller runs the farm mostly on her own.
She established the farm in 2014, when Rowan bought what she now calls the “small farm” and began raising sheep, chickens, and pigs; growing vegetables; and homesteading. For Rowan, farming was directly connected to her interest and background in health. Rowan worked as a home health nurse and a licensed massage therapist and was trained in Functional Medicine. Through farming, she knew she could provide nutritious food to support her own health, her family's health, and her community's health, and this still motivates her today.
In 2022–23, Rowan participated in an American Farmland Trust Women for the Land Cohort, funded by a Conservation Innovation Grant from Pennsylvania Natural Resources Conservation Service and a Northeast Sustainable Agriculture and Education program grant. The cohort, a group of nine women farmers in the Susquehanna watershed, met in person and virtually over nine months to focus on advancing soil health as part of whole-farm systems. She hopes to stay connected with the group moving forward.
With funding from the Women for the Land program, Rowan was able to improve her farm, such as upgrading electric fences. Rowantree Farm provides customers with a variety of products, from fruits and vegetables to pastured meats and eggs; customers can find these products at farmer’s markets, on the farm’s website, or by signing up for a CSA.
On the Rowantree Farm website, you’ll see the motto displayed across the home page, “Our food is our medicine.” For Rowan, healthy soil not only makes the land and animals healthier, but it also contributes to human health; by nourishing the soil, she can then provide nourishing food to others.
