Elizabethtown, PA — You might say that Scotty Miller’s job as a farmer is somewhat unique. As manager of the farm at the Masonic Village retirement community in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, Miller has charge of 500 acres and the farm’s crop and cattle operation. The Masonic Village is home to nearly 1,600 residents and sits on the same number of acres. Employing sustainable farming practices, being a good steward of the land, and giving back to the local community are all part of the mission of the farm at the Masonic Villages.
“We have about 280 acres of row crops; the remainder of the ground is fenced pastures and hay ground. We also have a cow, calf and feedlot finisher operation where we run 180 mama cows that we calve out spring and fall,” says Miller. The farm utilizes their own group of ten herd bulls and the feed barn moves close to 600 head of cattle through each year. Beef produced on the Village farm is utilized by the food service department on menus across campus and is sold in the farm market which is open to both residents and the public.
In 2011, The Masonic Village at Elizabethtown won the National Environmental Stewardship Award at the Cattle Industry Convention and National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. It was the first time a farm in the northeast, or in Pennsylvania, had won the award.
Since then, stewardship and sustainability have remained foundational for the community and for Miller. “Stewardship is a big priority for us. We do our best to use practices that are natural. We have miles of fenced alleyways we move cattle through as we rotationally graze. We also cut back on pesticide and chemical usage and prioritize building soil health. Focusing on the long game helps cattle production. Our goal is to take blue skies and green grass and make red meat,” says Miller.
Part of the farm’s commitment to community engagement includes participating in the PA Beef Council’s PA Beef to PA Schools program, which connects school districts across the state with cattle producers to put locally sourced beef on students’ lunch trays. “Our farm market does a good job of creating a value-added product. Providing beef to the schools is a big part of who we are and our mission,” says Miller.
He believes that the benefits of participating in the program include more than providing local schools with local beef. “Getting good solid protein into schools and on the trays of kids that might not normally have access is really important,” says Miller. “But the program also opens doors for us as farmers to make connections with the schools and educate students. Last year I was able to go in and read a book to elementary students that explained agriculture and farming. That’s the bigger part of this program for me,” says Miller.
Currently, Miller and the Masonic Villages farm supply two local districts—Donegal and Manheim Township— with 500 to 900 pounds of beef per month. One pound of beef will feed approximately 5.5 students. Across the state, the PA Beef to PA Schools program is supplying 217,000 students with access to high quality, locally grown beef. “A lot of kids think that beef just comes from a grocery store,” says Miller. “Through this program and the education aspect we’re able to put a local face to the word farm. If the kids remember farmer Scotty and make that positive connection to agriculture and to where their food is coming from, it’s a good thing for the industry.”
As a member of the board for the PA Beef Council, Miller says, “This is a big part of what the PA Beef Council does—promoting beef of all kinds—and it’s just one example of what the Council does every year on behalf of beef farmers and producers. The PA Beef to PA Schools program adds value to beef producers across the state through its focus on education and access and raising awareness about the nutritional value of beef. By giving kids access to beef in schools we’re not only providing high quality, delicious protein, we’re spreading good will toward agriculture, which helps farmers everywhere.”
When he’s not busy on the farm, Miller enjoys spending time with his wife Bethany and their three children, Colin, Calle, and Carter.
The Pennsylvania Beef Council is a producer-controlled and funded organization, which administers the Beef Checkoff Program in Pennsylvania. The Beef Checkoff Program assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.
