Prairie Foods is an Amish regenerative farming collaboration.
Our farmers include:
Daniel Allgyer & family - owners of Prairie Foods, cattle finishing, custom butcher
Eli Fisher, Jr. & family - milking cows, value-added dairy products, laying hens
Leroy Stoltzfus - cow-calf pairs, cattle finishing, order fulfillment (packing & shipping)
Reuben Stoltzfoos & family - cow-calf pairs, broiler chickens, pork
Daniel Allgyer
Daniel L. & Lydia Ann Allgyer, along with their three children, farm 200 acres in Indiana County, PA, and 130 acres in Clinton County, PA.
Allgyer children
- Rebecca Lyne, born 1/17/16
- Johnathan Lee, born 12/16/17, died 8/28/18 in a farm accident.
- Calvin Jacob, born 10/15/19
- Anne Elizabeth, born 8/10/22
The Allgyer family are the owners of Prairie Foods. They grass-finish fat cattle on both farms, and operate a custom butcher shop. The Allgyer family is very passionate about regenerative farming, and about providing good, clean, safe food to themselves and others. They have pioneered many things on their farm, including mob grazing, free-range eggs, organic produce, pastured broilers, and pork. Much of this they now have other farmers growing (under their protocols and consultance), in order to help spread out the workload and achieve the high quality they strive for.
Our Story (by Farmer Dan)
I grew up on a 200-acre farm in Clinton County, PA, where we raised some beef calves and finished grain-fed fat cattle on about half of the farm. The other half of the farm was leased out to another farmer. Once I was old enough, I got a construction job, and shoed some horses on the side for a number of years. The whole farm was then leased out another farmer.
By 2014, I was having health issues. The hard physical work of construction and of shoeing horses was taking a heavy toll on my body, which I could no longer take. So, I decided to hang up the hammer and try my hand at farming. This was also the year my wife and I started dating.
We got married in 2015, and we moved onto the home farm after my parents moved to an adjoining property. We farmed hay, corn, beans, and wheat, for a few years. I also custom grazed some dairy helfers on the land where we could not grow crops.
One day, a friend invited me along to a grazing conference, and a seed got planted. Over the next several years, we switched our farm to a regenerative, all-grass grazing operation. This came with a steep learning curve. We attended a lot of conferences and business schools, read all the books we could find, and learned from our mistakes.
The best part of all this was that, as we started to see the results of regenerative farming in our soils and animals, we also started to notice an improvement in our own health, as we consumed the products from our farm. We started to realize that not only had we been poisoning our land and animals, but we also had been poisoning ourselves and our children. We were able to reverse this poisoning by discontinuing the use of chemicals on our farm, and by consuming good, clean, healthy, regenerative foods. I am now healthier and feel better than I did most of my younger years.
One thing that continued to plague us - and almost put us out of business - was the lack of market for our products. No matter how healthy our products were, if we had no one to buy them, we could not continue farming regeneratively.
This is why we started Prairie Foods. The vision was to provide a market for our family, and to fellow farmers in the community who wanted to farm regeneratively, but could not because of lack of market. We got very fortunate to connect with the right people, who were able to help us with our production and marketing needs. We feel it was a blessing from God. Prairie Foods would not exist without these people.
The home farm eventually got split up as more of my siblings got married and needed a place to live. We ended up purchasing 40 acres of land off the home farm, and we built a barn on it to house our cattle during the wintertime. An opportunity then came up in Indiana County, PA, when a 200-acre grass farm became available for lease. Since land prices in Indiana County were half as high as what we were used to, and a lot more land was available there, we decided to make the two-hour move, instead of spending money it would have taken to build a house on our farm in Clinton County. We kept our 40 acres in Clinton County, and continued to lease an additional 80 acres there. With the help of Leroy, who manages the cattle in Clinton County, we now finish cattle on both farms (Indiana County and Clinton County).
Let us praise God for all good things, for we are not worthy of praise for the things he has so generously given to us. We feel that God has called us to be good stewards of the land and of the animals he has placed in our care, and we cannot express enough thanks to all who purchase from us. Without your purchases, we could not do this.
We wish each of you of you God’s rich blessing, a happy healthy life, as we journey though this short life together.
- Farmer Dan
Eli Fisher, Jr.
Eli Jr. is responsible for the care of the milking cows, and for the production of Prairie Foods' raw grass-fed milk and value-added products (such as raw cream, raw butter, and drinkable yogurt).
Eli Jr.'s small herd of A2/A2 Jersey dairy cows is 100% grass-fed. All of the cow’s fresh grass and hay feed is raised hyper-local on the Fisher Farm, a 45-acre Certified Organic farm in Clinton County, PA. In the growing season, the dairy herd is moved on an intensive & frequent rotation, meaning they are moved once or twice daily to a fresh area of green grass. In the winter, the cows are given access to a few acres of land around the barn, as well as a fresh bedding pack inside the barn. This bedding, which builds up layer by layer, is later distributed onto the land - in the form of a rich, bio-available, all-natural organic fertilizer. These regenerative practices support soil health and result in excellent nutrition for the cows (and for those consuming their milk).
Eli Jr. is transitioning into full-time regenerative farming this spring (2023). Until recently, he was farming part-time (he raised the Prairie Foods broiler chickens last year) and was working in construction. When asked about how he started working with Prairie Foods, he said, "Dan asked me if I wanted to produce milk for him. That got my attention, as that's something I'd like to do. I like to take care of the cows ... and I take a great interest in farming."
Eli Jr. is committed to continually improving the soil and microbial life on his farm. He employs Certified Organic and regenerative farming practices. The 45 acre farm which he stewards has been Certified Organic since 2018, and his family's farming practices were organic prior to certification. He is blessed that his farm is adjoined by land owned by other members of his family, some of whom are stewarding their land using similar practices.
Eli Jr.'s plans for the future include expanding the dairy cow herd, producing more raw value-added dairy products, continuing to raise Certified Organic crops (corn, spelt, and alfafa), raising laying hens, producing non-GMO soy-free eggs, and growing Certified Organic produce for local sale. He is excited to be part of the Prairie Foods' team.
Leroy Stoltzfus
[Coming soon]
Reuben Stoltzfoos
Harmony Springs Farm is owned by Reuben and Sylvia Stoltzfoos. The farm is located in the hills of Northeast Centre County, and has 132 acres of pasture and woodland. The farm was established in 2017 after the Stoltzfoos family moved there from Atglen, PA.
Our Story (by Reuben)
My wife Sylvia and I are both in our mid to upper 30s. We both grew up on small properties, not on farms. We got married in 2004. We currently have 6 children, ranging in ages from 2 to 14, so there is never a dull moment.
In 2011, our one-year-old son developed a terrible rash, and he also had asthma and ended up in the hospital several times. We were not content to just use drugs, steroids, etc., as a solution to this major problem.
We started looking for answers, and were led to Dr. Carlton Busko, MD. That was a life changing moment, and was the start of a journey, the start of a new way of living and doing things.
Dr. Busko took some time, observed some, did a few tests, and then said “I wonder if he would like some butter.” We were speechless. We had had our son on a severely limited diet. I cringe now when I think how we had approached it.
Dr. Busko went on to explain about a lot of food-related issues, and then he said to us, “Your son is like the canary in the coal mine, showing you how badly we have messed up our food, and what it should (and doesn’t) provide for us humans.”
So we started slow, bought lots of local food, butter, lard, meat, whole wheat flour, etc. As they say, one thing led to another. We moved to a 6 acre property, got some chickens, 2 pigs, and 2 beef cows. Over the next few years, I leased a few more acres for the cows, made hay on another neighbor’s field, and started dreaming of more things like this.
Joel Salatin was a huge source of inspiration in this phase. Sally Fallon’s recipes were a huge help as well.
We purchased this farm in 2017. For many years, it was owned by a single lady, and it was very run down. It had been severely over-grazed as well, but was fallow for a year prior to us purchasing it.
It has been quite the journey up until this point - starting from scratch with almost no buildings, never having lived on a farm. Every day seems to bring a new adventure with it.
We called the farm Harmony Springs Farm because we feel that if animals and plants are raised in harmony with the way that God intended, the result will be happier animals, healthier soils, and much, much better food for humanity.
I currently do work a job off the farm. Making the switch to full-time farming looks to be a challenge, but it is the long-term goal.
We have partnered with Prairie Foods to help provide markets for us. It has been a blessing to team up with like-minded farmers, and we are excited as we move forward.
We are currently raising pastured meat chickens in portable coops which are moved twice daily on the hillsides of the farm. Why in coops? So that the fox does not eat up all the chicken dinners, instead of us and our clients / members eating these dinners. :) We also have a small herd of mama cows, and we provide calves to Prairie Foods to fatten. We also have several sows (female pigs), some half-grown hogs, and more piglets on the way. The pigs spend a lot of time in the woods, having a grand old time doing exactly what God intended for pigs to do. If you ever stop by our farm, there is a good chance you may see a pig race, as they frolic from the woods to the barn, whoofing as they go.
Our animals on the farm are all named, except the chickens.
Sadie, who is 14, is passionate about animals, and always notices is one is ailing a little. And she apparently has an inexhaustible supply of names.
J. Abram, at 12, is in charge of feeding the pigs, and loves romping with dogs, and also with the goat kids.
Susanna, who is 10, is a great sidekick, loves horses and dogs, and most of all, loves reading, and can remember just about anything.
Andrew, who is 6, gathers the eggs when he gets home from school, always wants along if Dad is driving the tractor or skid-loader, and is the chief of observing all things.
Priscilla is 4 and loves the chickens. She has one favorite, Pearl, who lets her carry her around everywhere, to Priscilla’s delight.
Joshua, who is 2, loves rides with Daddy, and is enthralled with all things related to skid-loaders.
Sylvia, my dear wife, as you can imagine, does a lot of everything. Currently, thanks to her, we enjoy sourdough, kombucha, yogurt, all sorts of home-canned goodies, frozen berries, and so on. Sylvia is also very passionate about her family’s health and is always reading up on topics related to health and wellness and on using food and natural products.
May you and yours be richly blessed! Wishing you God’s richest blessings.
- Reuben