The Farm's History

Deer Run Farm farm sign in front yardDeer Run Farm is a small farm in Frederick County, Maryland. We specialize in Registered Red Angus Cattle, Berkshire Pigs and Heritage Breed Chickens meant for breeding stock and consumption (meat & eggs). 
Deer Run Farm was established in 1996 when Ronald and Annie Stewart purchased a farm in northern Frederick County Maryland. The farm, prior to becoming DRF,  started off as "multi-purpose" in the early 1900s and transitioned throughout the years from dairy, to housing dairy heifers, to a horse farm, and now to its current use: crops, beef cattle, pigs and chickens. Originally the Stewart's planned to purchase pigs and beef steers, raise all of their own feed and market the freezer meat. However, in the fall of 1996 they decided to start a herd of beef cows. After a family vote it was decided Red Angus would be the farm breed.
The first four registered Red Angus bred heifers were purchased from the Zepp family that Fall. At that time Joanna and Josh (Ronald and Annie’s son and daughter) were active in the 4-H program. Many calves were shown at the local fairs, along with pigs and lambs that were all born and raised on the farm. They slowly grew the herd over the years by keeping quality heifers and purchasing a few along the way. When Joanna and Josh left for college the pigs and sheep were sold to lessen the workload on Ronald and Annie. With only the beef cattle left on the farm, the herd slowly grew to its present size of around 39 mother cows.
Josh petting the Red Angus cows
Currently the farm is busy throughout the year as all forage and grain is grown here on the farm. The cow herd grazes pasture throughout the warmer months and is fed corn silage and baleage during the winter. The majority of the calves are born in March and April and are weaned from their mothers about 7 months later. After the calves are weaned, few are reserved for replacement mothers while the others are fed for freezer beef or breeding stock.
While the farm is a full time job all year round, Ronald remains the primary cattle care taker. Annie maintains farm financials and records while assisting with farm duties when necessary. The children, now grown adults, have their own careers. Joanna, once a large animal veterinarian in Minnesota, now resides in New York as a small animal veterinarian and chiropractor. She remains active on the farm by providing veterinary advice when needed and helps perform preg-checks when home visiting. Josh is a successful project manager through a regional general contractor. He and his wife, Allison, introduced the retail beef cut operation on the farm in 2016. Together they help manage and maintain the herd from birth to butcher. Retail products can be purchased directly on farm in their mini retail store or at the local farmers' markets they attend.  
Allison and Josh holding Welsummer chickens
In May of 2017 the opportunity to own a pre-existing, successful poultry enterprise from a close neighbor came up. After a family discussion it was decided that Josh and Allison would take up ownership of the poultry enterprise from Whitmore Farms. In doing so, a new building was put up to work as an office and hatchery for more than 500+ birds with 4 different colonies (Ameraucana, Delaware, Marans and Welsummer). Allison left her job as a graphic designer to become a full time farmer and care for the birds and the business. Customers can purchase eggs directly from the farm or at the local farmers' markets they participate in. Baby chicks, started juveniles and started pullets can be ordered on our website for both pick up or shipping.
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Your Farmers:

  • Ronald "Ronnie" Stewart

    One could say Deer Run Farm would not exist today if it weren't for Ronnie. Many, many years ago Ronnie had a dream to own a farm one day and in 1996 he turned that dream into a reality when Annie and him purchased the farm. He never dreamed the farm would be as big as it is today, but he enjoys watching it grow. Customer's will often times see Ronnie working away making feed or preparing equipment in the driveway when visiting our store. He has a solid collection of Allis Chalmers tractors that he upkeeps and still uses on the farm today.

  • Annie Stewart

    Annie is the engine of the farm. Without her the Farm wouldn't go. She's our keeper of the schedule, meal maker and Grammy! Because of her, we can farm late into the evenings when we're behind on harvests and know there will still be a warm meal to come in to. We can trust that Carmen is safe and being taught all the necessities of life while we do the hard farm chores. We won't miss a butcher date or a doctor's appointment all because she cares enough to keep us on track when the farm becomes overwhelming from season to season.

  • Josh Stewart

    Son of Annie and Ronnie, Josh is the 2nd generation farmer of Deer Run Farm. He's the farm's main muscle and usually has the final say to all farm decisions. He currently has a full time job off of the farm as a Project Manager for a general contractor, but spends most evenings and every weekend working hard to keep things going on the farm. Josh's main function of the farm is managing crops to ensure the farm maintains enough product to be able to meet the feed needs of the animals we raise. Josh is super excited to be able to offer our homegrown chicken feeds to customers in 2024.

  • Allison Stewart

    Head chicken tender of the farm, Allison, is most likely the one customers will have contact with. Allison is the full time farmer of Deer Run Farm and manages the majority of the day-to-day on the farm. She is a walking chicken encyclopedia and works hard to keep her flocks healthy and conforming to their standards of perfection. She has a degree in graphic design and frequently uses her design abilities to maintain a fresh take on our farm's brand.

    When not farming she can be found on the soccer field or off dreaming up her next travel plans out of the country.

  • Carmen Stewart

    The newest addition to the farm and the beginning of the farm's 3rd generation is Carmen! Carmen has only just started her life on the farm in January of 2023, but has already developed a love for the animals we raise here. She's an avid treat giver and enjoys observing how chores get done on the farm. One of her most favorite things to do on the farm is ride on the Polaris to help with miscellaneous tasks. Friends can follow along with Carmen's life on the farm by following her instagram account!

  • Lieu & Sarge

    Lieu (pictured in the front) and Sarge (pictured in the back) are Deer Run Farm's trusted guard dogs and night owls. They regularly keep watch over our 65 acres we keep our chicken flocks on. They keep foxes, raccoons, coyotes, opossums, hawks, bald eagles and all other unwanted predators away so that our chickens can free range 24/7. They can be very skeptical of strangers so they do a good job of keeping intruders away too.

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