Courtesy photo / The Lieb family were the recipients of the Farm Family of the Year award from the Cambria County Farm Bureau.

NICKTOWN — The Lieb family of Barr Ridge Farms was recently honored as Farm Family of the Year by the Cambria County Farm Bureau.

Founded by Adam Lieb in 1861, today the farm is operated by his great-great-great-grandsons Aaron and Bob Lieb.

The farm bureau does not give out the award every year, said President Marty Yahner.

“It is awarded every several years, depending on the board of directors’ wishes. The family recipient is always a multi-generational family farm in Cambria County that is well respected and has been active in the farm bureau organization,” Yahner said.

Aaron and Bob’s parents, the late Ralph Lieb and his wife Mary Beth Lieb, were both active in the farm bureau.

Ralph, who passed away in April 2024 after a farming accident, served several years on the county farm bureau board of directors in the 1990s and Mary Beth served as the county farm bureau’s women’s committee chairperson and county farm bureau newsletter editor, Yahner said.

Barr Ridge Farms also was host to several events at their farm over the years, like the legislative farm tour in the summer and visits by Congressman G.T. Thompson, Yahner said.

Family members were pleased to receive the award.

“It was quite an honor, we’ve been fortunate to have a seventh generation helping us every day now. We are pleased to have our family grow up on the farm, it is quite an honor to receive this award, we are blessed to have been chosen,” Mary Beth Lieb said.

“It is an honor they would consider us, there are lots of farms to choose from, I was surprised to learn of the honor,” Aaron Lieb said.

Barr Ridge Farms started out as a small dairy farm.

“Adam Lieb started with no more than 50 acres, he only had about a dozen cows. Everyone made their products for their family, there were no processing plants. The excess milk would be sold in town to neighbors. He grew crops to feed the cows. They probably had some chickens and pigs to sustain themselves,” Mary Beth Lieb said.

The ownership has passed through six generations of Liebs — Adam, Joseph, Peter, Herman, Ralph and now Bob and Aaron. The eight grandchildren who help out on the farm are seventh generation.

Today, Barr Ridge farms 400 acres and rents out another 400 acres.

“For Cambria County it is an average-sized farm. There are only five to six dairy farms left in Cambria County; years ago they were on every corner,” Mary Beth Lieb said.

Barr Ridge Farms has about 400 cows today and milks 150 — the others are replacement heifers.

“We produce about 1,200 gallons a day. We ship every other day to Schneider’s Dairy in Pittsburgh; we’ve been doing that for about 30 years. Previously we shipped milk to Sani Dairy for about 50 years,” Mary Beth Lieb said.

The Liebs also grow corn, soybeans and a variety of grass to feed the animals.

The Liebs have worked with the Cambria County Conservation District, specializing in sustainable farming practices.

“They did a program in 2011 in their barnyard to address water quality concerns. They are one of our largest dairy farms in the county and they have been a staple in the community over the years,” said District Manager John Dryzal. “They practice using no-till farming, they have conservation plans in place and a manure management plan to manage the nutrients on the farm, they follow planning and recommendations of agronomists.”

Fluctuating prices present the biggest challenge facing farms like Barr Ridge Farms.

“Everything we sell, someone tells us what it’s worth; everything we buy, someone tells us how much it costs. We have no control over prices,” said Mary Beth Lieb, who calls their farm a survivor.

“We had children who were interested in staying here, not all families have that luxury, we are blessed to have children and grandchildren that are interested in continuing to farm. It is a hard life, you have to be dedicated seven days a week,” Mary Beth Lieb said.

The Liebs are hopeful the farm will continue into the future.

“I think we have a couple of grandkids who are interested in staying here, they are learning a lot of skills and helping here,” Mary Beth Lieb said.

“We hope to keep it going for future generations like our parents and grandparents have done in the past,” Aaron Lieb said.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.