Our Story

Our farm, the Copper Penny Farm, is now located in Adamstown, Maryland, in southern Frederick County.  We are a small family farm and believe in raising animals humanely and allowing them to live as naturally as possible. 

how it all started…

The idea for Copper Penny Farm began in 2005, when we, Chuck and Nancy Gardetto, first met.  We quickly discovered two things:  first, we each owned a dog, one named Copper and the other named Penny, and second, we had a mutual interest in raising animals and playing in the dirt.  We both were working “real” office-type jobs at the time, and we surprised many of our friends when we purchased a hidden gem of land in Hanover, Maryland, and declared ourselves farmers.   First came the chickens, then a couple of pigs.  And as fencing went up, so did the variety of animals increase.  (Although if we are to stick to the absolute truth, usually the animals arrived first, followed by a mad rush to put up fencing to contain them!)  After reading every farming book and magazine we could find, and after talking with every farmer who would answer our endless questions, we found that we liked the idea of sustainable farming and heritage animals.  And so Copper Penny Farm began to take shape with heritage pigs, Katahdin sheep, Galloway-cross steer, plus a flock of ducks and chickens.  

In 2019, we expanded!  We moved to a much larger and much more open piece of property in Adamstown, Maryland.  Copper Penny Farm 2.0 has allowed us to expand our pasture-based farming into new directions.  We look forward to sharing our new adventure with you!

copper penny farm in the news…

In July of 2014, we had the pleasure of being filmed for the Maryland Public Television series "Maryland Farm & Harvest". The producers were filming a segment about the Frederick Farmers' Co-op to show how animal feed is made, and they wanted to show the feed actually being fed to cows. We have been loyal customers of the Co-op for years, and so they asked us to be a part.

After thunderstorms rolled in on the original date scheduled for filming, we re-scheduled for what turned out to be the hottest day of the summer. Armed with ice-packs and popsicles to keep cool, we spent several hours with the filming team, and thoroughly enjoyed their company. It wasn't until December that we saw the final product, when it finally aired. Click here (or watch below) if you'd like to see us having our fifteen minutes (fifteen seconds?) of fame! (Our portion is in the second half.)