Origin of Farm Name
Our grandparents, George Hill and Alice Little, married in 1938 in New Jersey. They combined their family names to create their farm name: Little Hill Farm. George passed away suddenly in 1976, and their milking herd of Brown Swiss was quickly dispersed to George Bassler. Their son, Jim Hill, took over the farm and purchased Holsteins and Brown Swiss to start his own herd. In 1987, Jim and his wife, Billie, moved their family and farm from Sussex County, New Jersey to Lebanon County, Pennsylvania due to development pressures.
History
In November 1994, Jim's son, Rich Hill, and daughter, Terry Shuey, and her husband, Kevin, formed a partnership. At that time, they purchased the cows and limited equipment from Jim and Billie. In May 1995, the partnership began milking 3 times a day to increase cash flow without too much more investment. In January 2000, the partnership formed an agreement to purchase the 114-acre farm.
In June 2001, Rich married Gale Klim, which expanded Little Hill Farm to a four-way partnership. In October of the same year, Little Hill Farm purchased the neighbor's house, barn and six acres. Rich, Gale and their family now reside in that home, and the dry cows are housed in the barn on that property.
Areas of Expertise
In addition to third-generation farming experience under the Little Hill Farm name and formal education in agriculture and business, each member of this four-way partnership has his/her own concentrated area:
| | Areas of Expertise |
Rich | Dairy and Heifer Rations Crop Manager |
Gale | On-Site Mastitis Culturing Administrative Support |
Kevin | Herd Health A.I. Technician Holstein Mating |
Terry | Calf Raising Brown Swiss Mating Finances Marketing |
Primary Focus
One area of primary focus is Little Hill Farm's accelerated calf-raising program. Calves are fed three times a day on a regimen of 28% / 20% milk replacer; 22% starter; and 18% grower. It is our philosophy that this enhances our calves' growth, enabling us to meet our breeding goal sooner and freshen in heifers at 20 - 22 months at 1,250 pounds. This aggressiveness allows for internal herd growth, while still enabling us to merchandise our top-end pedigrees.
Current Events
In March 2008, Little Hill Farm expanded its tie stall barn from a capacity of 62 cows to 82 cows to better support the two families in this partnership. We will be making some minor adjustments to the housing of our dry cows, heifers and calves to accommodate the increased housing needs due to the expansion.
Kevin and Terry were recently selected as the 2008 National Brown Swiss Young Breeders.
An Aerial View of Little Hill Farm in 1993
