WARRIORS MARK — Pennsylvania Farm Bureau members gathered Thursday at Thistle Creek Farms to celebrate May being Beef Month.

The event was hosted by farm owners George and Christy Lake.

Lake, 79, is a 30-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran. He has transformed his family’s 600-acre farm, operated since 1919, into a nationally recognized regenerative, pasture-based livestock operation, producing a premium grass-fed beef brand.

Beef Month emerged in the 1980s as part of state-led beef promotion efforts and grew alongside the federal Beef Checkoff program established in 1985, eventually gaining formal congressional recognition just last year through a 2025 U.S. Senate resolution.

The Beef Checkoff program has been very important, said sixth-generation beef and grain farmer Marty Yahner, president of the Cambria County Farm Bureau and immediate past chairman of the Pennsylvania Beef Council.

The checkoff 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. The checkoff assessment became mandatory when the program was approved by 79% of producers in a 1988 national referendum vote.

The checkoff program was designed to stimulate restaurants and grocery stores to sell more beef and encourage consumers to buy more beef. That is accomplished through initiatives such as consumer advertising, marketing partnerships, public relations, education, research and new-product development.

The Beef Checkoff program increases profit opportunities for producers by keeping beef top-of-mind with consumers, restaurants, butchers and other food retailers. It also reaches out to educators, dietitians and medical personnel and influencers. In short, it is always working to ensure a wholesome, quality beef-eating experience consistently, according to the Cattlemen’s Beef Board.

Pennsylvania is the top cattle producing state in the northeast United States. The beef industry in Pennsylvania includes cow calf operations, veal operations, feedlots, dairy beef and meat processing, said PFB Vice President Tommy Nagle of Cambria County.

There are 13,176 beef cattle farms in Pennsylvania, raising more than 1.6 million cattle and calves with a value of almost $700 million, Nagle said.

Nagle expressed concern about the loss of farms.

“Farm liquidation has been increasing, which means a loss of family farms, people are not coming back to take over. When someone sells out, that farm is done at that point. Food security is national security. With high cost and tight margins without subsidies these farms will not continue. We are trying to have a safe, sustainable food source,” Nagle said.

Lake talked about his operation where he raises Black Angus cattle and sheep.

He calls what he does frontier farming — where environmental stewardship, soil health, food accessibility and community are top priorities. Frontier farming utilizes a sustainable, regenerative approach and no-till methods whenever possible, focusing on soil health as the foundation for plant health.

“We use no fertilizers on the farm. We take care of the livestock in the soil (earthworms, etc.), and they will take care of the livestock on the soil. Our feeder cattle graze 365 days a year. We move the feeder cattle three times a day; we have no parasites because of our rotations,” Lake said.

Lake said it is important for farmers to sell themselves.

“I would like to see farmers get off the commodity rollercoaster. Small farms are the backbone of America; I want all of them to survive. People have to put together a system that works for them,” Lake said.

Lake recently was awarded the Pennsylvania Veteran Ag Entrepreneurship Award at the 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show.

“George and Christy are outstanding citizens and farmers in this part of Huntingdon County. It is an honor being here to recognize George,” said Samuel Hayes Jr., farmer state representative and state secretary of agriculture.

Beyond managing a diversified farm, Lake mentors fellow producers.

“It is a special honor to be here. George has been a mentor to me, 25 years ago when I got into rotational grazing. George was always willing to offer advice; you were learning even though you did not realize you were learning. He has been a keystone to the success of our operation,” said Rodney Davis, Huntingdon County Farm Bureau president. “I learned to appreciate the fact (that) you can’t be afraid to act on what you see at your farm. We all have advantages; we like to focus on disadvantages, but we all have advantages where we are and the people we have around us. George and Christy are incredibly open to educational experience. We can all do a better job if we are willing to host people who don’t normally get out on the farm.”

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