Roth Family Farms eyes expanded farm market in Lower Turkeyfoot
A few years back, Kelly and Tim Roth came to a realization: they needed fewer farm animals or more land. They chose more land. The couple, both in their 40s and running two small farms across the state in York County, began searching for more farmland, which led them to Lower Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County….
A few years back, Kelly and Tim Roth came to a realization: they needed fewer farm animals or more land.
They chose more land.
The couple, both in their 40s and running two small farms across the state in York County, began searching for more farmland, which led them to Lower Turkeyfoot Township, Somerset County. In the fall of 2020, they packed up their three children and bought a sprawling 400-acre farm on Colflesh Road, off Route 281 outside Confluence.
“We decided we needed more land or fewer animals,” Kelly said. “It’s been baby steps.”
Since then, the Roths – first generation farmers – have been raising cows, pigs and chickens to supply a budding farm stand on Colfresh Road and farm markets in Somerset and Deep Creek, Maryland. The Roths also have also added a range of fresh vegetables to the farm stand along with homemade pickles and fresh sourdough bread and other baked goods in what the family envisions as a year round market.
This year’s produce includes tomatoes, wax beans, onions and garlic. An expanded selection is planned for next season, Kelly said.
While the farm business gets up and running, Tim works as an equipment operator for PennDOT, while Kelly homeschools the couple’s three children, ages 13, 10 and 8, and manages the farm.
The market is good news for the small towns dotting southern Somerset County since the January closure of the Confluence Foodmart on Williams Street. The nearby DG Market has expanded since then, adding some fresh fruits, vegetables, but the Roth Family Farms’ advantage is that all of their meat products are natural.
Their beef is grass fed, the pork is non-GMO fed and the poultry is pasture raised. Filet mignon, Delmonico steaks, pork chops, sausage links, chicken wings and breasts are among the family’s products.
“You get a better product from your local source,” Kelly said.
The Roths use a USDA approved butcher in Farmington, Fayette County, Kelly said.
“If it goes as good as we hope, we have room to expand if we need to,” Kelly said. “We said once we had kids, we wanted to live on a farm.”
Roth Family Farms are among some 1,300 businesses in Somerset County that employ fewer than 20 people, according to census data. That compares to the total 1,647 businesses in the county.