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.

My husband previously worked as a Herdsman for 300+ cow/calf beef operation and a Relief Technician for Genex. He is now with 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.

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Entering Farmer #20371 - At A Glance

Desired Acreage: ,
Arrangement Type: ,
Region:
If Strategy Is Other, Please Describe: We utilize our strong social media presence and the local livestock market to successfully and profitably sell our lambs
Types: ,

Additional Information:

Formulated Business Plan: Yes
Marketing Plan: Yes
Years of Experience: We have a combined total of 30 years of experience raising livestock and some crop management
Currently Has Herd: Yes
Herd Description:

We have roughly 10 head of wether type brood ewes for producing highly competitive show lambs, as well as roughly 10 head of commercial Katahdin ewes for production of breeding stock and meat lambs aimed at the Easter market.

We also have 2 beef cows and a steer calf.

Agricultural Class & Degree Info:

Wife: BS in Animal Bioscience from PSU College of Ag Sciences, MS in Lab Animal Science from Drexel

Husband: BS in Ag Science from PSU College of Ag Sciences, and a Master’s equivalency in Ag and Extension Education

Please Note:

PA Farm Link maintains a privacy policy with our data base members and cannot provide their contact information to interested parties. If you have a farming opportunity that may fit what this Entering Farmer is looking for, please send information on your farming situation and contact details to farmland@pafarmlink.org. Your information will be sent to the Entering Farmer for review and if interested, they will contact you directly to discuss the opportunity.