————|Western Chester County Life|————
Better eggs come from Highspire Hills Farm Co-owner Deb Ellis gets award for products and education efforts By John Chambless
D
eborah Ellis and her husband, Duane Rehmeyer, could not be happier to own and operate Highspire Hills Farm in Glenmoore, which provides more than 3,000 dozen eggs a month to nine local restaurants, as well as to Kimberton Whole Foods markets. But there is much more to the couple than the successful business they operate. Last October, Ellis was recognized by the Chester County Board of Commissioners, along with the Agricultural Development Council, with the Distinguished Agricultural Service award. Ellis won for her ongoing work with the Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab program, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau that brings agricultural education to students all over the state through a classroom on wheels. A former Coatesville School District teacher, Ellis worked as the Ag Lab program assistant for the eastern portion of the state for ten years, guiding teachers during in-service workshops and teaching thousands of students a year about the importance of farming. During her last year as an Ag Lab employee, she estimates the Ag Lab program connected with more than 110,000 kids across the state. Despite retiring in 2016, Ellis volunteers as the Chester Delaware County Farm Bureau Ag Lab board member liaison, ensuring that the Ag Lab continues to visit
22
Courtesy photos
Deb Ellis at Highspire Hills Farm.
Duane Rehmeyer with one of the chickens at Highspire Hills Farm.
——Spring/Summer
2018 • Volume 2——
Chester County schools. In a recent interview, Ellis said, “My family is from Iowa, so I spent every summer from the time I was born, until about 16, in Iowa. My two brothers and I still own our great-grandparents’ farm near Altoona, Iowa.” As a teacher, Ellis taught special education for fourth and fifth grades in the Coatesville School District for 22 years. The Ag Lab, she said, is for ages kindergarten through eighth grade. “The seven labs are fully equipped with 30 science lessons, all related to agriculture,” she said. “The students participate in a 30to 50-minute, hands-on lesson.” Ellis said most children have no idea where their food comes from. “Children generally think that food comes from the store,” she said. “Our students are removed from the concept of farms, farmers and agriculture.” Ellis and her husband didn’t start out to build Highspire Hills Farm into a major producer of eggs. “We started out with a few chickens and big old, empty chicken house from the 1950s. Over time, somehow the chicken house filled up!” she said. The operation, while a large one, is not yet at capacity, she said. “We have around 2,000 birds now and are expecting to grow to just under 3,000 when we reach full capacity,” she said. “We also pasture birds, starting in March, in portable chicken tractors. We supply pastured eggs to our customers from March until September.” At Highspire, the “cage free” label