Farmer County: Adams

Entering Farmer #20382

I am a hard worker who enjoys learning new and old methods of production. I love getting my hands dirty, lived near cow farms and mushroom farms my entire life so no smell adjustment needed. I also have experience with growing plants and limited work with animals(milking cows and getting chicken eggs and feeding them). I am a fast learner and very people oriented, I am also fairly good with marketing and business strategies, I am good at onboarding criticism. my weaknesses: I am stubborn, tend to work to exhaustion and I can be overly caring.

Entering Farmer #20376

4th generation farmer looking to grow the operation to afford opportunities for my kids to come back to the farm after school.

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 #20369

I am 35 years old and a 5th generation farmer in search for a 1st generation farm for my wife and 4 children. I was born and raised in Pennsylvania. I am a U.S. Army OEF veteran. The farm that I grew up on was in Tilden Township Berks County. We raised feeder pigs, chickens and a cow/calf operation. We grew cattle hay and horse hay along with cash crops such as corn and soybeans. I’m looking to use more regenerative techniques to work the land to improve soil health and to use organic matter as fertilizer. My goal is to be more organic than the generations before me and to give my children the life I had growing up on a farm.

Entering Farmer #20364

Looking to build and grow a regenerative farm. We are not experienced in this but are hoping to get started and learn more as we grow.

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 #20354

I am currently a Livestock Nutrition Consultant for a supplement company, but I have previously worked in roles as a vegetable farmer, field technician, and livestock manager. All of these prior positions were held on organic farms.

I am looking to work into having a beef herd of my own. I would also be interested in operating a dairy, if the situation is right.

I currently have a few beef steers of my own, and help out on a dairy farm on most weekends.

I would likely have to keep my office position while I started the farm, so starting small-ish and local would be ideal. The office is located in Lancaster County, between Harrisburg and Lancaster city.

Entering Farmer #20349

Hello my name is Eric Frain. I have been around small scale crop farming most of my life. In may of 2023 my father passed and I took over his farming operation. Currently Iam leasing a little over 200 acres in Franklin County Pennsylvania and Washington County Maryland. I am a us army veteran and I’m looking to own land or lease land for horse hay production and cash crops would be also interested in finding pasture land for beef cattle. I currently do work full time as a diesel mechanic and shop manager. I also currently own all the equipment I need to produce all crops and harvest.