Birch Creek assisting Brunton Dairy in time of need
Courtesy of Birch Creek Farmery
Chris, left, and Teddi Lombardi, owners of Birch Creek Farmery, are reaching out to help Brunton Dairy following a devastating fire.
Courtesy of Birch Creek Farmery
Pigs are prominent, but not hogging the spotlight at Birch Creek Farmery in this 2022 photo.
Courtesy of Birch Creek Farmery
Life is divine and bovine at Birch Creek Farmery, which started as a dairy farm 101 years ago.
Owners Teddi and Chris Lombardi have built up Birch Creek Farmery, in Eldersville, in recent years.
Teddi Lombardi has never met the owners of Brunton Dairy, but she and husband Chris will be supplying milk of human kindness to operators of a business enshrouded in tragedy.
“We can’t wrap our heads around how they are dealing with something like this,” said Teddi, co-owner with Chris of Birch Creek Farmery in the Eldersville section of Jefferson Township. “So we obviously wanted to do something for them.”
A massive fire on Oct. 26 destroyed milking and bottling barns at the Beaver County farm, a seventh-generation business that has been operating since 1869, on property that has been owned by the family since 1839. There were no human casualties, but several cows died.
An official in Independence Township, the Beaver County municipality where Brunton is located, said survivors in the herd have been moved to other dairy farms, where they are being milked. Managers at Brunton closed their dairy store – where they sell varieties of milk, ice cream and other items – a few days after the blaze. They also paused home deliveries.
Representatives of the dairy did not immediately respond to messages from the Observer-Reporter.
The Lombardis, who own a meat-production farm in northwestern Washington, bordering West Virginia, have monthly pop-up markets where they sell the meats they raise. They will be selling raffle tickets at their next market day – on Dec 16 – to raise funds for Brunton Dairy.
Tickets will be $10 apiece and the two winners each will receive a half-share of a Berkshire hog, custom cut and smoked, each valued at $500-plus. The drawing will be on Dec. 20. All proceeds will go to Brunton’s to assist with rebuilding and operating costs.
Birch Creek Farmery previously sold raffle tickets at the recent Christmas in the Village event in Eldersville, also to benefit the dairy.
The Lombardis are well aware of infrastructure costs. “We know how difficult and expensive it is to build barns,” Teddi said. “We just built two of them, Teddi said.
Until she and Chris married in 2022, Teddi was the sole owner of Birch Creek Farmery, which raises premium pastured meats and provides home delivery, pop-up markets and farm pickup. Their livestock includes chickens, goats, pigs, rabbits, lambs and beef.
Her parents – Anita and Ted Maslowski – own the farm, which is slightly more than 101 years old and covers 250 acres. The Lombardis also lease neighboring land for hay. Teddi’s great-grandparents launched a dairy farm with eight cows on the site in 1922.
“We’ve always raised animals here,” said Teddi Lombardi, a fourth-generation owner of this family farm. Anita and Ted, and numerous other relatives, ably assist Teddi and Chris with operations. The Lombardis appreciate them and employees who stay after their shifts.
The concept of running should be second nature to Teddi. She is a former professional athlete who, around kindergarten age, started to run. Teddi developed into a top-notch athlete as a teen, running at Steubenville Catholic Central High School, in Ohio, which was closer to home than Burgettstown Area High. That led to a full athletic scholarship at Duke University.
Pro competition followed, when she competed as a heptathlete for Santa Barbara Track Club in California.
Completing a master’s degree in environmental management enhanced her abilities to pursue her current vocation, one she enjoys. “We’ve grown so much in two years.”
Birch Creek Farmery is still in a growth mode, and doing what it can to help a fellow farm operation regain its equilibrium. As are others.
Brunton Dairy appreciates the support it has gotten in recent weeks, saying in a social media post: “We are overwhelmed with the love and concern everyone has shown us. It means more than we could ever express.”