Farmer County: Allegheny

Entering Farmer #20418

Our young family is looking for land to start a small operation. We plan to begin with a homestead to meet our needs and then eventually expand to sales to others. We love to create spaces for people to have real experiences and would love to offer those experiences to people.

Although I am technically a novice, one side of my family were orchard growers and the other side were dairy farmers. I grew up going to my grandparents conventional dairy farm and helping out there. I’ve also owned chickens and I have experience with horses and goats. I have always had a garden, whether a small apartment garden or a large garden on the 5 acres I grew up on. I have a lot of generational knowledge that is just part of me and I didn’t realize I had until I moved to the city. My husband brings business management, real estate, and budgeting experience.

Although my family farmed conventionally, I’m interested in more sustainable and organic practices on a smaller scale. I plan to start with a large garden and quickly add chickens and angora rabbits for wool. From there, the plan will depend on the land and what systems are already in place. Some land is better suited for goats vs sheep or full size dairy cows vs mini cows. If roosters are allowed, I would love to breed lavender or splash Orpingtons.

Entering Farmer #20411

I have recently relocated to the Pittsburgh area and am working or UPMC as an administrator. I have a natural science degree in rangeland ecology and management from Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas where I studied natural holistic sustainable ranching practices. I am a third-generation rancher from South Texas and have managed a registered Limousine cattle ranch out of college and then started my own cattle business 25 years ago. My plans are to bring my ultrablack genetics up her and purchase additional registered Angus females to start a angus cow herd up here.

Entering Farmer #20410

Future farmer, semi-retired, in search of one to two level acres of paradise to start a small farm. I would like to raise a few chickens, a dog, and enjoy the quiet. I have a medical background with a desire to become a farmer. My experience with farm animals is through volunteer work. I anticipate that this endeavor will take time to accomplish.

Entering Farmer #20398

Hello I am a novice hemp farmer, looking to lease affordable land for a year or more. My goal is to gain experience in the hemp farming industry, with a low cost initial investment.

Entering Farmer #20386

I am 22 years old and have 3 years of regenerative farming experience. I have worked on a farm on Lopez Island, Washington where I learned about rotational grazing of cattle, market gardening, and commercial compost production. Next, I worked on a farm in Havre de Grace, Maryland where I grew veggies and berries in a 2 acre market garden, rotationally grazed cattle, sheep, and chickens, raised pigs in the woods, and even had my own personal dairy cow and taught myself how to make cheese. Finally, I worked on a market garden in Sellersville, Pennsylvania where I learned a bit more about the business side of operating a farm.
I would love to have my own farm one day to grow veggies in a market garden style, graze livestock in a rotational system (cattle, chickens, pigs, sheep), and would also like to have some dairy cows (would be interested in starting a small creamery). I am looking for a piece of property where I could make my farming dreams a reality and live on the property, too. It would be nice to take over a farm that someone is no longer interested in farming and eventually buy in from them. Since I am young and have been farming, I do not have the capital to buy a piece of land outright.

Entering Farmer #20384

My wife and I are beginning farmers primarily looking to learn! My wife has experience with cultivating land, raising animals, and growing crops (much more than I do). We are eventually looking to purchase land in order to grow and sell crops.

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 #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.