I recently had the opportunity to spend some time with Tom Calvert and from the moment we started chatting I knew he was what I would call the salt of the earth. Not to mention a wealth of knowledge. Tom was recently made Chairman of the PA Grazing Lands Coalition and will without a doubt will be an asset to the organization.

Tom was born and grew up on a small livestock farm in Southwest Pennsylvania (Greene County). They had sheep and dairy cows. In 1954, he and his brother joined the local 4-H club. At that point they began their move to becoming purebred sheep producers.

After Tom’s graduation from Penn State University, he began a job as an Assistant County Agent, working with livestock producers and the 4-H club in Somerset County. Within two years, he’d met his wife Leanne. They were married and after her father’s passing, the moved to her home farm and began the Shober Farm sheep operation along with Leanne’s brother Larry.

It was around the 1970’s that Tom began to really drill down on the profitability and management of the sheep operation and began to look more closely at pasture management and the increased use of grazing techniques.

In September of 1980, Tom accepted the position of Coordinator of “Project Grass”– a soil conservation service project to make the idle and underutilized permanent cover– which is mostly hay, grass and untamed cover in to a valuable commodity. This very soon became a pasture management program to support and guide the southwestern Pennsylvania producers in to a grazing program that would work for their farm. Shober Farm became the demonstration/practice site for Tom to develop and observe what can be done with grazing for, in Tom’s case, sheep.

Tom continues to develop, observe as well as teach others all that he has learned over the years with regards to pasture management and grazing. We’re glad to have you Tom!!