Grazing Education and Mentorship for Pennsylvania
Grazing Education and Mentorship for Pennsylvania
Are you seeking a mentor for your grazing operation?
PA GLC is partnering with Pasa Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) in administering a grazing mentor program for new and beginning graziers in Pennsylvania. This program is designed to provide the beginning grazier with an experienced grazing partner who can help provide insight, support, and access to grazing information and farm-related resources of which the beginning farmer might not be aware.
New and beginning graziers of all species are welcome to apply to this program.
The PA GLC mentorship team will review all incoming applications and match applicants with appropriate mentor candidates, as they are able. If an applicant already knows a mentor with whom they would like to work, they are free to submit a mentor candidate name within their application.
Below is a list of and biographies for current grazing mentors. Grazing mentors are paid a flat, annual fee for their work under the terms of the PA GLC Mentorship Agreement.
Additional information and application materials are available on the Pasa Sustainable Agriculture Grazing Mentor page.
Interested farmers and graziers may apply online here: Grazing Mentorship Application
Nathan Smelser and his family graze a flock of several hundred brood ewes plus their lambs in northern PA. Their flock of Katahdin x Dorper hair sheep is managed outdoors year round, and the Smelsers regularly herd the flock afoot between multiple acreages that are about two miles apart. Market lambs are sold into ethnic markets, and some percentage are sold as breeding stock.
With a deep respect for creation and the Creator, Nathan cherishes the opportunity to profitably build soil while also enriching his children’s hearts while working together as a family. As a first generation farmer himself, Nathan appreciates the breadth of knowledge and experience to be acquired in order to manage a viable farm. He credits the patience and generosity of many other individuals for his own start.
Prior to sheep, Nathan was blessed to have gained experience with cow-calf and stocker cattle operations in Texas and Wyoming. He gained an appreciation for varied practices that may arise even from common principles, and aims to help others consider their own opportunities and their own potential approaches to grazing ruminants.
After graduating from Penn State with an Ag Science Degree in 2004, Josh Ramsburg returned to his families grazing dairy operation in Gettysburg, PA (Adams County). After his father’s retirement in 2018, Josh, along with his wife and two daughter, transitioned from dairy to beef.
They graze 120 cow/calf pairs on 290 acres of pasture. He backgrounds feeder cattle in confinement and also on grass and raises his own replacement heifers. Josh’s method of grazing management is high density, ecologically minded adaptive grazing and he noted “I try to build resiliency, reduce inputs, be profitable, all while improving soil health and conserving resources. I believe in my context, grazing in an adaptive, intensive and sustainable way is the best way to meet all of these goals.”
Mark Smith was raised on a dairy farm in north central Pennsylvania and after a 30+ year career in commercial real estate and community development, he started raising Scottish highland cattle as a hobby and later partnered with Dana O’Connor to expand into a full-time livestock and meat sales operation. His farm, Pittsburgher Highland Farm is located in New Stanton, PA, about 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh (Westmoreland County). They raise brood cattle, primarily Highlands and Highland/Devon crossbreeds, Katadyn sheep, pigs, rabbits and chickens on 122 acres. An additional 40 acres nearby provides room for beef pasture and finishing.
We practice management intensive grazing, moving cattle and sheep daily, maximizing stocking density to foster better soil and pasture conditions. Silvopasture practices are a recent addition. Mark’s method of grazing management is a combination of management intensive, rotational, and mob grazing.
AJ O’Neil owns and operates O’Neil’s Quality Devons with his family in Cranberry, Pennsylvania (Clarion PA). AJ started farming in 2012 raising beef with only grain and no forages to supply meat to his parent’s business, O’Neil’s Quality Foods, after three different farmers retired within a short period of time. He saw quite a few issues with raising beef this way and fenced all their fields to raise a second herd on pasture. By 2014-2015 he’d transitioned to exclusively grass-fed and finished beef. In 2015, he was awarded the Clarion County Conservation Stewardship award, serves on the Board of Directors for the Red Devon Association, and is the President of the Allegheny Grass Fed Co-op.
Aj’s method of grazing management is adaptive stewardship management. “My grazing techniques change as my goals change. Some of my goals are pasture management for increased diversity of species, average daily gains, profitability which is heavily influenced by reduced inputs, quality of life for me and my family, time management, and raising the best quality of grass-fed beef I can. These goals seem holistically like they all go together easily, but the truth is each one has several layers of management and decision making. Each of us must prioritize these subjects and be patient because once you think you have a piece figured out, it changes. We do not live in a world that is static. It is ever changing and that is what makes it complexly beautiful.”
John Hopkins worked on ranches in Colorado and Wyoming and earned a degree in Forest Management Science from Colorado State University before returning to Columbia County, PA, where he was raised, and purchasing a farm. John and his wife raised beef, lamb, wood-lot pork, and pastured poultry before selling their farm operation but still maintain a small cow/calf herd, raise feeder cattle, and grass fed/finished beef. John uses management intensive rotational grazing and supports utilizing and developing agroforestry and silvopasture systems.
Ted Barbour raises Angus-Hereford grassfed beef in Lycoming County, PA, on the same farm on which he grew up. Ted and his family graze their cow/calf and finishing herds separately on 110 acres of pasture using mob grazing techniques. Rather than feeding grain, hauling manure, or baling hay, they make use of the full growing season by calving in the spring and butchering in the fall, when they direct market their beef.
Bruce Balick raises beef cows, meat sheep, broilers, turkeys, and bees on approximately 134 acres in Cochranville, PA (Chester County). He started farming in 2013 after a long career owning multiple restaurants and with real estate. Bruce focuses on regenerative farming, using very low inputs and improving soil health by using livestock. His method of grazing management is to use rotational grazing intensely throughout the year.
Donna Foulk owns a Common Ground Farm and boards horses in Stroudsburg, PA (Monroe County). She and her husband previously foaled Thoroughbred Mares for clients. She has a Master’s Degree in Water Quality and before retiring, worked for both Rutgers and Penn State Cooperative Extension specializing in pasture and hay quality management, equine nutrition, and health care.
Donna’s method of grazing management is to limit stocking rates and/or grazing time to what level the forages can handle. “Keep the forage healthy by preventing overgrazing. It is much easier to keep the forages thick and healthy than to repair pastures that have not been managed.” Donna recommends practicing rotational grazing and when pasture acreage is limited, use heavy use areas. She also suggests that graziers walk their pastures often to identify weeds and management concerns before they get out of control.
