EBENSBURG — Multiple income sources are almost a must for farmers in this region, said Chris Sherry, the owner of Winterset Farms in Cambria Township.

During an informational session held Wednesday by the Cambria County Conservation District, Sherry said. “It’s almost impossible in this area to raise a family by trying to do any kind of agriculture” as a full-time job.

Sherry, who has young children, said many farmers in the region rely on multiple sources of income just to make ends meet. Farmers pay a disproportionate share of property taxes and “equipment prices are crazy,” he said.

“That’s the only way farming works anymore,” he said of having multiple incomes. “You better have that if you’re just trying to raise a family.”

Informational sessions like the one held at Hoss’s Steak and Sea House of Ebensburg are important to attend, he said, because farmers need to stay informed about the grant programs and technical services that are available to help them be successful.

The conservation district can help farmers develop manure management, nutrient management, agriculture erosion and sediment and conservation plans that are tailored to their operations, conservation program specialist Sarah McMullen said.

The organization can also assist farmers in obtaining funding sources through the agricultural conservation assistance program and county action plan grants, she said.

The agricultural conservation assistance program is a state-funded reimbursement grant that provides financial and technical assistance for the implementation of best management practices on agricultural operations, McMullen said.

The county action plan provides the same assistance to farmers but is limited to those in the Chesapeake Bay watershed only, according to Shannon Pierce, the conservation district’s agriculture conservation specialist.

Unlike the agricultural conservation assistance program, there isn’t an application process for farmers to receive assistance through the county action plan, Pierce added.

Farmers interested in receiving grant funding meet with conservation district officials to outline their goals and form a plan.

The conservation district will then apply for grant money on a farmer’s behalf, Pierce said, adding projects can be done in phases because funding is limited and is rewarded based on priorities.

McMullen said the conservation district is currently accepting applications for the agricultural conservation assistance program. Officials have 90 days to act on those applications and nine times out of 10, farmers get approved, she said.

“We want you to get approved, so we will also keep your application on file if it doesn’t get ranked high enough in the first round until we’re able to get you funded,” she said.

McMullen, who also operates Gresh Hill Farm near Ebensburg, said those grants help farmers with projects — like adding gutters to improve barns or building heavy use areas to improve safety and efficiency on their farms.

“Grant funds like this will be able to help them work more efficiently with what they have,” McMullen said.

“It’s hard to figure out where we need to go, where we need to turn because this market’s really, really hard,” she said, noting corn isn’t selling very well and commodity prices in general are fairly low, except for beef.

Beef prices are high because there’s a lot of demand for ground beef in the country’s marketplace, McMullen said, adding the cost of buying feeder calves is “super high” and it has been since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A lot of it is just demand and finding a good butchering processor, a meat market or a slaughterhouse,” she said.

A lot of producers in Cambria County create their own feed to save money, McMullen said, noting that’s what she does at Gresh Hill, where she takes care of about 140 beef cattle and grows crops such as hay, soybeans, corn and pumpkins.

“Everything that I feed the cattle on my farm is produced on my farm,” she said. “Most producers around here are producing their own feed, so there’s no extra to sell, unfortunately.”

Despite its challenges, agriculture is the No. 1 industry in Pennsylvania, McMullen said, noting farming is more than a livelihood — it’s a culture.

For several people in Cambria County, farming is their heritage, said McMullen, a third-generation farmer who knows many farms in the area have been passed down through four or five generations.

“It’s in our blood,” she said.

While McMullen knows farmers who have taken out loans to purchase new equipment for their farms, many others opt to make repairs and fix old equipment because new equipment is too expensive.

At Gresh Hill, the newest piece of equipment is a tractor from 1995, she said.

“We don’t have a lot of inputs, so therefore our outputs are kind of what we make it,” McMullen said. “Here in Cambria County, I know a lot of people have equipment that might not be the newest, but you make do and we just try to do the best that we can.”

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.