About Us
We are the same as other families but DIFFERENT.
The Logan Farm was established in 1894 as one of the three farming operations spun off the Eisaman Homestead that was founded in 1840. The roots of the farm run deep. Then a Logan married an Eisaman and the farm became the Logan Farm. This land has now seen five generation work its soil.
Carl and Nancy Logan have passed the land down to the present family of Tom and Joann Logan and their three children, Ben, Katie and Jacob. As children, the kids worked hard on the farm and enjoyed showing and participating with their livestock in 4-H. All went on to be Penn State graduates and have focused their careers in the agricultural field, much like Tom and Joann. Our oldest son Ben, has a distinct memory of playing street hockey with some of his friends from school: in the middle of the game, his Dad blew in with the pickup truck and said “get in the truck now, we have hay to bale.” Ben realized right then that he was different than other kids his age that lived in the community. He lived on a farm and work came first!
Ben and wife, Jenn take the lead in the agronomic/conservation side of the farm operation. The farm plants, harvests and markets nearly 2,000 acres of corn, soybeans, small grains, hay and other forages each year. Balancing the weather and the wildlife are challenges in our field production that we face every day of the year. Then the second step becomes what do you do with the grains, hays, straw and forages once harvested until it is either sold or feed to the livestock? Their toddler daughter and infant son enjoy tractor rides with their Dad.
Jacob is the go-to partner that makes arrangements for transporting the feed stuff whether it is just to the barn or over the road to feed mill operations and energy plants in the tristate area. When he is not on the road, Jacob is working with the land owners who entrust us with the use of their land. He watches to be sure that we use conservation practices and production protocols that keeps the soil healthy for next year’s crop. Jacob helps on the farm with is our machine operator for specialty projects on the farm.
Katie is our meat scientist. She works in the commercial meat world and helps us understand the properties and interactions of the ingredients in meat such as sausage and bacon or answers the question, “Why do the Denver and Flat Iron Steaks taste so different from other steaks in the animal?” Katie is the acid test on ensuring our handling practices are food safe and promotes quality assurance. She and her husband, Matt, have three children and live in the heart of America’s cattle world in the Midwest. Her husband, also, a Penn State grad, works in the agricultural field in sales.
Brandon is our “hog operations manager and part owner guy! With the increase in production of the Berkshire Pork, Brandon takes the lead. Brandon is a pseudo family member who came from hours of togetherness with our sons in the 4-H Youth Program. Besides caring for Mother Sows, discussion breeding protocols and raising the little pigs, Bandon has a unique ability to taste. He can distinguish good pork and sausage flavor profiles that aid us in producing great pork. With Brandon’s stamp of approval, we know it will be a great pork eating experience for all!
Tom and Joann met at the county fair showing cattle in 4-H more than a few years ago. Tom has farmed all his life and Joann is retired from a career with the 4-H Youth Development Program. Tom and Joann have taken the farm’s beef sales from freezer beef to a few neighbors to direct marketing and branding Logan Family Farms Natural Dry Aged Beef. Tom studies the cattle and hogs and is responsible for sire selection, breeding characteristics and the feeding protocol that makes the meat possible. Although Tom says he is turning the farming operation over to the boys, he still seems to have an opinion about any decision that is made on the farm from machinery, crops and of course the animals. Joann is enjoying serving as the face of dry aged beef at 8 farmer’s markets and with restaurant and corporate accounts. It only seems fitting that life’s wrinkles on her face would correlate to the dry aging process in beef! She feels she will be as famous as Betty Crocker some day!
The matriarch of the family is Nancy Logan, Tom’s mother. She can tell you lots of stories about the farm. She has milked cows, gathered eggs, dressed chickens, grown pumpkins and picked sweet corn until she was 75. She remembers the Pennsylvania Turnpike being built through the middle of the farm. She helped make pies and breads in the outside bake oven that were sold to the Turnpike construction crew. Now in her eighties, she is the keen eye that can drive past the cattle in the pasture and pick out the animal that has a sore foot or is missing her calf. She is the official Logan Family Farms Scout! Nancy, also met her husband Carl at the county fair and set the trend for the rest of the family. Carl was the cattle man and passed along his trade secrets to his boys. Carl left us in 2007.
The Logan Family Farms Family has grown with the adoption of a cadre of young adults from the community. The farm operation needed added support for farmer markets, picking sweet corn and baling hay etc.. They are recruited from the 4-H Youth Program, friends of the family and just plain arm twisting at local venues. They quickly become family and are treated like family, learning all the lessons of hard work and the circle of life and death that occurs on a farm. They share their lives and stories with us, keeping us in touch with their generation. Some have referred to their employment at the farm, as “Tom Logan’s Boot Camp!” While, Tom Logan, now in his sixties, describes our Maple Breakfast Sausage as “The bomb.” Where do you think he got that phrase?
We are a family farm with our own personalities bringing unique talents to our operation. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we don’t, but we always work hard (seven days a week), watch the weather and pray together. Family is first and the farm business is second except when it’s going to rain and we have hay on the ground to bale!
Watch for our virtual farm tour coming soon to the website and see what we do in a typical day!
Quality is our first concern, not quantity. That’s what Our Promise is all about.