Young adults keep family farms growing
While the mental image of a farmer might be an older man, many young people in the county and region are stepping up to fill the boots of their predecessors.
Winfield Township couple Zach and Brittany Speer, ages 24 and 26 respectively, serve as co-chairs for the region's Young Ag Professionals. The group represents District 15, which covers Butler, Beaver, Lawrence and Mercer counties.
Brittany Speer is the granddaughter of 81-year-old Harold Foertsch, owner of Har-Lo Farms in Jefferson Township. Zach Speer's Portersville-area family farm, Fisher Dairy, recently ceased operations and is now rented to another farmer who uses the fields to grow crops.
While farming is in their blood, Brittany Speer works full time at the Clinton Township-based manufacturer II-VI. Her husband works full time at Har-Lo Farms.
“For today's times and young people, one spouse usually has to work away from the farm to make ends meet,” Brittany Speer said. “A lot of (Y.A.P.) members have full-time or part-time jobs that are away from the farm.”
Legislators in the state capitol are looking at ways to encourage more young people, like the Speers, to take up farming full time and help them make that dream a reality.
A committee led by state Sen. Scott Hutchinson, R-21st, is meeting today to discuss Senate Bill 478, sponsored by state Sen. Elder Vogel, R-47th, who introduced the bill in March.
Through the bill, tax credits would be given to landowners who sell or lease land to farmers just starting out. Vogel said the bill addresses a disparity in the number of farmers in the state, pointing out how there is only one farmer younger than 35-years-old for every four farmers over 65.
The bill could also help young people with farming backgrounds return to the business. If a person grew up farming, but pursued a different career as an adult, they could still be considered new farmers should they return to the profession.
Brittany Speer said the regional Y.A.P. group started four years ago and aims to reach farmers between the ages 18 of 40. She said while the group has nearly 80 members overall, about 15 are active.The group is the product of the National Young Farmers and Ranchers, which the Pennsylvania contingent renamed Young Ag Professionals. Y.A.P. operates under the umbrella of the state Farm Bureau.“We're considered the future leaders of agriculture, so we are going to be the ones filling in the spots when the older Farm Bureau members retire,” Speer said.Y.A.P. meets quarterly to plan public events, discuss goals, talk farming and socialize. The group is hosting a social hour event this weekend in Mercer County. Brittany Speer said the event encourages young farmers to network and get to know one another better.Speer said the group plans public events in an effort to educate residents on farming. One such event even saw Y.A.P. members bring a young calf to a local farming supply store.“It was amazing how many people, both older and younger, thought it was a dog,” she laughed.Another project of the Y.A.P. group is to raise funds to buy grain rescue tubes for local fire departments. The tubes allow farmers trapped inside a grain storage container to be rescued.Speer said the Prospect Volunteer Fire Department has a grain rescue tube, and Y.A.P. is raising money to provide one for the Butler Township Fire District Station 7.Y.A.P. raffle baskets at this year's Butler Farm Show will help with the grain tube fundraiser, she said.As for Har-Lo Farms, Speer will continue to serve as the social media expert for the farm her grandfather owns and that also employs her husband.“It's so interesting to see how many people enjoy the social media pages and how many different shares and comments and questions we get,” she said. “It's good we're educating people and (the information) is coming straight from the farm.”
Two members of the Y.A.P. group are sixth-generation farmers on a 300-acre dairy in Jefferson Township that was founded in 1868.Twin brothers William and James Thiele, 25, live and work at the family farm owned by their parents, Ed and Lorraine, located along Route 356.The family milks 40 dairy cows daily and tends to the various crops that feed those cattle.William Thiele said he never thought of becoming a doctor or engineer or anything other than a farmer.“It just comes kind of second nature to you because you grew up with it,” he said. “The farm is right there, ready for my brother and me, so it seems dumb to just let it go.”Thiele said because he has spent 95 percent of his life on the family farm, there is no learning curve to his chosen profession. He said there are other advantages.“A lot of people have to work under someone,” William Thiele said. “It's good to be your own boss and make your own decisions.”His twin wholeheartedly agrees, adding how he appreciates the freedom that comes with running a farm.“It's all I know. I don't know anything other than farming,” James Thiele said. “You can tell yourself 'I'm going to do this or that' and you have the freedom to do it. You are your own boss.”He also likes tramping around on the same soil worked by Philip Lauer, the German ancestor who originally bought the acreage and started a dairy operation. He said he often wonders what the farm was like post-Civil War and what the land might have been before it was a farm.Like other young area farmers, Thiele also enjoys the camaraderie of Y.A.P. and the projects the group pursues.He said a current project is to distribute “Farmers at work — slow down” signs to group members and others who live near a farm.The signs are meant to protect farmers who are slowly driving their huge pieces of equipment from one location to another.“We are on the roads and we do not go 60 mph because we can't,” James said. “We are trying to tell people to be patient.”The white campaign-style signs with orange and black letters have begun to pop up on rural roadsides across the region as farmers prepare soil or plant in their fields.All four young farmers say the farm lifestyle will remain their goal for life. Speer encourages anyone interested in agriculture to join the Y.A.P.
What: District 15 Young Agriculture Professionals mixerWhen: 6:30 p.m. SaturdayWhere: My Brother's Place restaurant in MercerCost: FreeFOR MORE INFO: Zach Speer, 724-856-5346
