Farm and Dairy 11-23-23 by Farm and Dairy Newspaper

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Thursday, November 23, 2023

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Ebert receives Pa. Farm Bureau’s highest honor By Rachel Wagoner - Farm and Dairy Editor HERSHEY, Pa. — A Westmoreland County dairy farmer received the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s highest honor at the group’s annual meeting last week. Rick Ebert, former Pennsylvania Farm Bureau president, received the Barnraiser Award in recognition of his many years of service “advocating for Pennsylvania agriculture at the county, state and national level.” The award is not given out annually but only when a worthy nominee is put forth. “This award is reserved for individuals who truly exemplify excellence in leadership and service to agriculture and Rick is a perfect example of that,” said Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Chris Hoffman, during an awards banquet, held Nov. 14. Ebert served as Pennsylvania Farm Bureau president from 2014-2022. He co-owns Will-Mar-Re Farms in Blairsville, where they milk Holsteins, grow crops and recently got into raising sheep. He also served as vice president of the state farm bureau for 10 years and represented District 16 on the state board of directors from 1996 to 2004. He was president of the Westmoreland County Farm Bureau and vice chair of the Young Farmers and Rancher Committee.

Scott Westberg feeding his alpacas at Pure Passions Farms on Nov. 15, 2023. (Liz Partsch photo)

Alpaca farm hosts turkey giveaway for families in need By Liz Partsch

Farm and Dairy Staff Reporter

KENT, Ohio — Scott Westberg has been captivated with alpacas since he was a teenager; fascinated by their soft, pillow-like fiber, their history coming from Peru and the immense benefits of alpaca fertilizer, one of the best natural fertilizers in the world he says. Now, 27 years later, he owns his own alpaca farm with the hopes of spreading the word about what he sees as their many benefits. As a relatively new business owner, Westberg wants to give back more to the community than just entertainment and education. This Thanksgiving, Westberg’s Pure Passions Farm teamed up with fitness facility Tyrannosaurus Flex to provide local families in need with a turkey and Thanksgiving sides, with the help of community donations. “In this last year of getting our business off the ground, I’m trying to find other opportunities with our time to help the community in other ways,” Westberg said.

Pure Passions Farm. Westberg’s first job in high school was on a llama and alpaca farm in Wisconsin. It was here that he fell in love with alpacas, with the hopes of one day owning his own farm. For 20 years, Westberg traveled the country working for Family Video until one day he was able to put down roots in Stow and buy a few alpacas to be taken care of at a local farm. “During those 20 years, I moved around a lot. So I didn’t always have alpacas, but I always found a farm to work on or help out with or help shear,” Westberg said. He continued working for Family Video and would routinely visit his alpacas, until July 2022 when a local alpaca farmer put his land up for sale. Realizing this was his shot to live the dream he imagined as a teenager, Westberg and his wife both quit their jobs and bought the farm with the eight alpacas it came with. Now, Westberg lives on the property with his wife, two kids, 42 alpacas and 19 goats, and runs his business Pure Passions Farm where everyone has the opportunity to pet, feed and

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Farm bill gets extension

learn more about the animals. Since opening, they have hosted various themed events where guests can hang out with the goats and alpacas, rent out the property for birthday parties, fires and cookouts, have educational field trips to the farm and participate in paint n’ sip sessions with alpacas. Over the summer, he also partnered with Tryannousus Flex to do goat yoga. Alongside enjoying the animals, Pure Passions Farm has a farm store on the property where guests can buy alpaca fiber products made from the alpacas on the farm. To make the products, Westberg sends the alpaca fiber to a mill where it is processed and made into different consumer goods like socks, hats, scarves, gloves, blankets and alpaca plush toys. “Socks are the most popular (item we have); people love cozy warm feet. And since alpaca fiber is so much warmer and softer than most other fibers in the world, people love that,” Westberg said. (Continued on Page A10)

By Farm and Dairy Staff The stopgap funding bill to keep the U.S. government open included a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill. The farm bill, passed every five years, funds farm subsidies, crop insurance, conservation programs and nutrition programs. Without the extension, some farm programs would have expired at the end of the year. The spending bill passed by the House on Nov. 14 and the Senate on Nov. 15 funds most government functions through Jan. 19. President Joe Biden signed the bill on Nov. 16. National farm groups praised Congress for the extension, including American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union. At the same time, some groups made clear that the work still needs to be done to craft a new farm bill that addresses today’s issues. Though the 2018 farm bill expired on Sept. 30, neither the House nor Senate agriculture committees have released their versions of the 2023 farm bill. “The current farm bill was written before the pandemic, before inflation spiked and before global unrest sent shock waves through the food system,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall, in a statement. “We need programs that reflect today’s realities.” Both the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Pork Producers Council urged Congress to finalize a new farm bill in early 2024.

Alan Guebert..................................A4 All About Grazing..........................A9 Antique Collector...........................B9 Around the Table.........................A27 Auction Calendar...........................B1 A Wrangler’s Reckless Writings....C4 Classified.......................................C6

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