Farmer Arrangement: Buy

Entering Farmer #20371

My husband and I are graduates of the PSU College of Agricultural Sciences and grew up actively involved in 4H and FFA. We do not come from farming families, but have found a deep love for it.

Chris previously worked as a Herdsman for 300+ cow/calf beef operation and a Relief Technician for Genex. He is now the Career and is now the Specialized Career and Technical Education Advisor – Agriculture for the PA Department of Agriculture.

I work in the Hershey Area as a Cancer Researcher using animal models.

We previously rented 150 acres, making hay, wheat straw, and corn; as well as maintaining a flock of roughly 100 commercial Katahdin ewes. We recently refocused our operation to buy more land (instead of renting) and improve our genetics. We have a strong customer base both for show lambs and hair lambs, and are desperately looking for land to buy in order to expand our operation.

Our current property is only 10 acres, on which we manage 10 head of commercial Katahdins brood ewes, 10 head of wether type crossbred show ewes, and 3 head of beef cattle. We grow our own hay and rotationally graze our stock roughly 8 months out of the year (but would love to do more!). While we do vaccinate our animals, we believe prevention is the best medicine, and therefore strive for the best management practices as well as select for the right stock in order to avoid the need for antibiotics and anthelmintics, unless absolutely necessary.

We are passionate about maximizing our rotational grazing and improving the soil, as well as supporting and educating local youth. We love the constant challenge to improve our genetics and systems to best meet the needs of our clients while remaining highly profitable.

Entering Farmer #20356

Hello there. Our names are Sasha and Tony Bellucci. We are respectively 35 and 37 years old and have resided in Colorado for the past 11 years. Tony grew up in Pennsylvania and lived there for 25 years before moving west. Sasha was born in Ukraine and came to Pennsylvania by way of California when she was 13. As we’ve built our lives and skills out west, we are looking to return to our home state to be closer to family and live out our long term visions of sustainability, permaculture, organic agriculture, and community enrichment. We’d love to tell you a little about ourselves and our intentions.

Tony has spent many years working around plants and trees. His introduction to farming began at Greenmoore Gardens in State College, Pa. At the farm, Tony, along with farm manager Laura, ran a 50 person CSA. This included the management of 2 large tunnels of vegetables, a 20×12 propagation greenhouse, drip irrigation water systems, and a flock of 40 chickens. In 2020, he was studying Horticulture at CSU and was selected to intern at the Colorado State Extension office in Grand Junction, Co. where he curated an garden growing indigenous Ute ethnobotanical plants, herbs, and trees. Tony holds a BA in Communication and designed marketing materials, brochures, and signs for use in the garden and community. Currently, he has been working as an arborist and will soon be ISA certified. Daily tasks include management of fruit trees, climbing and pruning, felling/removing dead trees, and management of landscape plants. In his free time, he loves to play all types of music though his primary instrument is guitar. He plays in a successful band called Tumbledown Shack based in Fort Collins, Co. which plays 4-8 shows a month. He is a passionate soccer fan and enjoys being outside through his work or various recreation activities such as disc golf and biking.

Sasha is a successful mental health therapist with a Master’s in Transpersonal Counseling. For the last 9 years she has worked with clients with varying degrees of PTSD and complex trauma. In 2022 she completed Equinox Center’s 10 month herbalism intensive and integrates herbalism into her work with patients. She is fluent in Russian and spends much of her free time creating various pieces of art including traditional Ukrainian folk art. She is an accomplished artist and sells art, herbal remedies, and her leatherwork at local artisan markets. She enjoys spending free time outside riding her bicycle and playing disc golf with Tony.

Together, we share experience and a vision for a sustainable future. In 2012, we went to Chile to volunteer on a small 2 acre permaculture in the foothills of the Andes. While there, we were given our first glimpse into permaculture practices and self-sustainability. We tended gardens, cooked using fresh ingredients, and cared for the land, trees, and property. From that experience on, we have managed our own gardens both in Pennsylvania and Colorado. In 2017, we volunteered at a 33 acre permaculture in southern Costa Rica. We were given a month of training then managed the property for the owners while they were away. Daily tasks included pruning of plants, harvesting of food, processing food, caring for various animals including ducks, sheep, horses, and cows, greenhouse and compost management, and community outreach. We received our PDC (Permaculture Design Certificate) in December of 2017 and began to construct our own vision for this lifestyle. In 2018, we returned to Costa Rica where we helped care for a small 1 acre property while the owner was out of the country.

Through various experiences and education, we have slowly formulated our own vision for an agricultural and permaculture based lifestyle. We have always dreamed of tending the land, growing food, educating and impacting community, and hosting enrichment events. Our life in Colorado is rich however, we wish to return to Pennsylvania where we would be better able to enact this vision. We would love to sell food through farmers market or CSA, cultivate herbs and herbalism products for the community, and design community events where people can experience professionally prepared meals with locally grown food.

Entering Farmer #20345

I am an aspiring farmer. I have been taking classes for over a year and now I am starting the loan process for my start up. I hope to be in business by this time 2026. Ive been grown my own vegetables and herbs in home and in my backyard since I was a child. I am self-taught, but I’ve taken classes to teach me the ends and outs of cropping.

Entering Farmer #20339

Honey Production:
My name is Maria, I have 3 years of planting Herbs, Flower and honey

I Need .access to water sources: Highlight the need for bees to have access to water for hydration and cooling the hive.
Space for beehives

Egg Production: Space for chicken coops: I need for space to house chickens, ensuring they have shelter, roosting areas, and nesting boxes.
Pasture or free-range areas: free-range or pasture-raised egg production, mention the need for access to outdoor areas for chickens to roam and forage.

Herb Cultivation: Soil quality: Highlight the need for well-draining, fertile soil suitable for growing herbs.
Sunlight and water, the need planting and cultivating herbs, including considerations for crop rotation and spacing.

Entering Farmer #20335

I am looking for land in PA to pursue my interest in farming in my home state. I have 4 years of farming experience, the majority of which has been in Middle TN. I have managed cattle, sheep, pigs, diversified vegetables, field crops, and an agroforestry system. One of my main priorities is to be an active member of my community while stewarding land through regenerative practices.

Entering Farmer #20331

We’re a military family that have been active since 2005. With retirement looming, we’re exploring how we might transition into farming.

Entering Farmer #20330

College degree in Business
5 years farming experience in the Gilbertsville, PA area.
Familiar with planting and harvesting
have a farm store in Royersford PA, also sell produce at The Farmer’s Market in Royersford, OA
Currently have a short horn herd of 32. We have 87 chickens for eggs production.
currently growing hay / organic soy beans / Lavendar / organic tomatoes / organic corn
Have a greenhouse and 2 high tunnels

Looking for farms and land in our area for sale to expand business / have young farmers working with us that are looking for opportunities.

Entering Farmer #20328

I am currently in search of a farm to own. I have advanced degrees in forages/grazing management and plan to have a multi-species grazing operation with hair sheep, cattle, and chickens. My goal would be to reduce amount of hay feeding days each year, so I would likely be stocked a little lighter, but employ strategies to extend the grazing season, such as stockpiling. If possible I would like to set aside a little land for pollinator habitat, and in a perfect world I would have some native warm season grasses to graze in the summertime. I would like to purchase yearlings or fall-born weaned calves in the springtime to take advantage of the spring flush of forages, graze native warm season grasses during the summertime, and then sell during the late summer and save the fall growth and stockpiled forages for the sheep to graze into the winter.

I grew up on a small conventional dairy farm where I milked Holsteins in a tie-stall barn, picked rocks, unloaded square bales, and chopped all of our hay once I turned 14. In middle school, I bought my own two Jersey heifer calves and worked to pay off their room and board, and their milk checks (along with working part time and coming home to milk cows) helped get me through college debt free. I interned on a ranch in South Dakota, which is where my love of grazing began and which spurred me to go to graduate school to study forages and grazing.

After moving around the country for school, I have finally found a place to settle and am looking to own a small farm. Ideally I’d like at least 20 acres of pasture and in a perfect world I would have some forested acres for hunting as well.

I have already thought out a business plan and created enterprise budgets for my dream farm, so now all I have to do is find it!