Subscribe to Fig Weekly

Fig Weekly is your digital guide to all things Lancaster. Every Thursday, you’ll receive fresh content including local stories, special features, upcoming events, and city insights, delivered directly to your inbox.

Suggest an Event

The online Fig calendar is a curated list of community events happening in Downtown Lancaster.

  • Contact Us

  • Search

    Cedar Meadow Farm’s CBD success is rooted in good farming practices

    Quality is the goal of Steve Groff’s third-generation family farm, Cedar Meadow Farm, in Holtwood, Pennsylvania.

     

    Steve is no ordinary farmer. As an author, international speaker, researcher, and advocate, Steve has been pioneering and promoting regenerative agriculture and soil health for decades, and these intentional practices are the root of his farm’s success.

     

    Soil isn’t something that most non-farming consumers think about too much, but Steve believes soil should be the number one factor to consider when shopping for produce and products. As he describes it, “healthy soil is alive!”

     

    Consistent, careful planting and rotation of crops are what lead to rich soil full of microorganisms, earthworms, healthy fungi, and ultimately, nutrient-dense produce. The pumpkins, tomatoes, squash, watermelon, and other produce that Steve grows and wholesales are more nutrient-dense than nearly any other on the market.

     

    He keeps his soil healthy with no-till processes that prevent those good nutrients from escaping. Tillage—the process of turning over the soil after harvest—disrupts the soil, loosening the root structures and allowing the good stuff to escape. Tilled soil effectively is dead soil and that is one of the primary reasons Steve encourages consumers to become educated about farming practices as they shop.

     

    “There are fields on my farm that haven’t been tilled in over 40 years,” Steve explains. “Good soil doesn’t happen overnight.”

     

    Rather than turn his soil over and leave it barren during the winter months, Steve plants again in the fall with specialized crops that grow during the winter and keeps the ground covered. Keeping roots in the ground year-round has enormous ecological benefits.

     

    In fact, some environmental scientists have touted soil health practices as the best way to combat climate change. But even better are the health benefits for you.

     

    So, when growing CBD hemp became legal in 2018, Cedar Meadow Farm was in the perfect position plant hemp in the exceptional soil he had spent tending year-over-year, starting into this venture in 2019.

     

    “Putting a plant as incredible as hemp into soil that is this rich in nutrients is like a match made in heaven,” he said.

     

    Although Cedar Meadow Farm’s line of CBD products is only two years old, they have already seen significantly positive reports from people who have tried their single farm-sourced CBD oil and lotions.

     

    Farmer Steve (as he’s commonly known) is passionate about education—for himself and for consumers. “We still run into so many questions when it comes to CBD,” Steve said. “We try to provide good and helpful information on our website so people feel confident about it.”

     

    Steve’s wife, Cheri, is the President of Cedar Meadow Farm and interacts with customers frequently. “Sometimes we can’t even believe the stories people have told us,” she said. “We’re just grateful they are enjoying them so much.”

     

    Cedar Meadow invites you to choose products made with you and the environment in mind. Use the code ‘FIG20’ at www.cedarmeadow.farm for 20% off.