About Us / History
Hijos Hill Holsteins was founded in 1942 by the late J.W. and Carrie Stoner. The original farm consisted of 240 acres and was purchased for the whopping price of $22,000. J.W. and Carrie raised seven sons and one daughter on the farm. Growing up the kids were involved in school sports, but always contributed to farm chores. With this size of labor force, the dairy herd quickly grew from 20 original cows to nearly 100 by the 1950's.
In 1961, with the increases in technology, J.W. and the boys decided to build a milking parlor to accommodate their growing herd. This parlor milked sixteen cows at a time which gave them the opportunity to expand the herd to 120 cows.
Sadly, the children lost their father in 1969. By 1970, six of the eight children (John, Jay, Gene, Herb, Bob and Dave), and their mother Carrie, formed the corporation known today as Stoner's Hijos Hill, Inc. ('Hijos' is Spanish for 'sons'). The brothers continued to purchase land and expand their herd thru the 1970's and 80's. Working together the Stoner boys each established their own niche in the business.
By 1990, the farm had grown to 1,300 acres and 300 milk cows. The old milking facility was becoming outdated and overcrowded. The next generation of Stoner's was on the rise and also beginning to help at the farm. This got the brothers thinking about another expansion and the future of their dairy. The present dairy facility was built on the other side of Oellig Road in 1992. The new milking parlor is double the size of the old parlor which allowed the brothers, to once again, expand their herd size.
With their growing acreage, the brothers decided to become involved in Ag Land Preservation in an effort to keep precious farmland from being developed. Currently, the Stoner's have approximately 1,000 acres preserved and are hoping to preserve additional acreage within the coming years.
In January 2000, the corporation was transferred over to the next generation (J.W. & Carrie's grandsons) consisting of six sons of the original shareholders. Currently the Stoner's are milking 550 cows and farming 1,700 acres. Their daily labor force, still consists mostly of family members, including 9 full-time employees. Many spouses, children, aunts, uncles and family friends help out whenever needed. From an average of 1 1/2 million pounds of milk each year in the 1960's to 13 1/2 million pounds of milk this last year, Stoner's Hijos Hill, Inc. has grown tremendously.
Thru the years, the Stoner's have won numerous awards, including: the State Grassland Farmer of the Year Award for their forage cropping program; the Master Farmer Award sponsored by Pennsylvania Farmer magazine and the Cooperative Extension Service of The Pennsylvania State University; the Dairy of Distinction award; the Franklin County Conservation Farmer of the Year award; the 2006 Mercersburg Area Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award and the 2006 Franklin County Area Development Corporation Small Business of the Year Award. In 2011, Stoner's Hijos Hill Dairy Farm was honored for their 50-year membership of the Maryland/Virginia Dairy Cooperative. Most recently, Stoner's Hijos Hill was awarded the Agricultural Acheivement Award by the Chambersburg Kiwanis Club.
In 2004, the farm held the first annual Harvest Farm Festival in an effort to help area organizations raise money for their programs. Throughout the year, various groups and schools visit Stoner's Hijos Hill for agriculture education and memories that will last a lifetime. We hope you, too, will take time to experience Stoner's Hijos Hill Dairy Farm.
