The Westmoreland Conservation District announced the recipients of its annual awards for outstanding conservation efforts: the Conservation Farmer of the Year is the John Starr Family, Starr Valley Farm; and the J. Roy Houston Conservation Partner is The Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce.

The awards will be presented at a ceremony at the District’s Donohoe Road headquarters on October 6.

-- Conservation Farmer of the Year - The John Starr Family, Starr Valley Farm

When John and Margi Starr bought their first farm – 125 acres of land in Allegheny Township – the soil had been depleted of nutrients before going fallow for decades.  The fields had become young forests of crab apple trees and brush. 

The property was in such bad condition that John’s uncle, a successful local turkey farmer, said the only thing that could be raised there was a disturbance.

More than 1,500 truckloads of horse manure and two decades of good conservation management later, Starr Valley Farm produces some of the most sought-after grass-fed beef in the Greater Pittsburgh area.

It has taken the Starrs years of work and investment to get to this point, along with a deep interest in conservation and the support of the whole family, including their five grown children, Tom, Danny, Jean, Sammy, and Jessica, who maintain more than nine miles of fence line, make hay and spread manure. 

John’s father, Dick, who himself grew up on a dairy farm and owns 103 acres nearby, also helps out.

At Starr Valley Farm, the family has installed a number of conservation practices over the years to help keep the animals healthy and the farm sustainable.

The most important, according to John, is their regular investment in the soil, which grows organic grass that is healthy and strong and able to outcompete the rival weeds.

The Starrs have divided their acres of organic grass pasture with a combination of high tensile and temporary ribbon fence into 30 paddocks for rotational grazing. 

They move two separate herds of feeders and breeders through these paddocks often, using science-based guidance from NRCS and John’s own intuitive knowledge of the animals and the type and height of grasses the farm produces. 

“Rotational grazing is as much art as it is science,” John said, “but generally it takes three full months to go through the first rotation, and each paddock gets 13 weeks to recover.”

The Starrs currently stockpile grass so that the herds can continue to feed on it in the winter.  They are training the cattle to learn to paw down through the snow and eat the grass that is still in the paddock in the winter, with the goal of having enough there for the cattle to graze until Valentine’s Day.

Not only is this more nutritious for the animals, but it is good for the farm’s sustainability because it reduces the time and labor needed to make the 250,000 pounds of hay historically needed to feed the herds through the winter.

The Starrs tapped built wells throughout the property, making spring developments that supply eight water troughs with continuous, quality drinking water for the animals.  One of these spring developments is so reliable that it provides one gallon of water a minute even in the driest season.

The Starrs also installed two stream crossings and thousands of feet of streambank fencing, both designed to keep the animals out of the streams so that water stays clean.

Around the barn they created a heavy use area and added several animal walkways into the pasture so that the concentrated weight of the animals in these places will not create excessive soil erosion.

Conservation also was an important consideration to the Starrs when they designed and built their home on the property. 

The house includes many of the same energy-saving and conservation features as the District’s barn, including structural insulated panels (waste wood with a non-CFC-producing foam in between), geothermal heating, heated floors, and inside wooden finishes made from culled timber (“crooked cherry”) harvested from their own property.

The Starrs have a Conservation Plan, a Prescribed Grazing Plan, and a Manure Management Plan for their farm.  John served on the board of Penn’s Corner Resource Conservation and Development Council for more than a decade.

--  J. Roy Houston Conservation Partner - The Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce

The Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce and the Westmoreland Conservation District can trace their partnership back at least 45 years, to 1976, the year when J. Roy Houston served as the chair of both the Chamber and Conservation District.

Where some might see incongruity in these dual roles, Roy saw unique opportunity; a chance for business and conservation to get to know each other better, uncover common goals and work together to achieve them. 

Roy’s instincts were good and to this day that relationship – which more often than not is adversarial in other counties – continues to be a positive one here in Westmoreland, resulting in many important projects that benefit our community.

One of the most recent joint projects was the development of “Reimagining Our Westmoreland,” the county’s current comprehensive plan. The Chamber and the District both were active and equal partners in the development of this plan, and their two perspectives helped to create a well-balanced blueprint for a more livable and prosperous community.

For the past four years, members of the District’s technical staff have participated in the Chamber’s Leadership Westmoreland program, a nine-month learning experience where they were introduced to leaders in key elements of our community, including businesses, health care providers, social service agencies, government organizations, educational institutions, and so on. 

In addition to building better community awareness, the program helped participants develop leadership skills and the ability to find real-world solutions to community problems.

More recently, the Chamber’s Leadership Westmoreland Youth Academy (a similar leadership program designed for high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors) also partnered with the District. 

Last year, Leadership Westmoreland Youth Academy participants were able to participate in an outdoor conservation learning experience that the District provided along Turtle Creek. 

And our barn headquarters served as the host location for the entire one-week course this year.

Throughout the years, the Chamber’s annual prayer breakfast has been one of the signature Westmoreland County events that brings together leaders from all aspects of the community and all faiths. 

The District’s Board of Directors and leadership staff have attended faithfully for years, and have benefitted both personally and professionally from its encouraging message of partnership and unity.

With roughly 1,000 members and an across-the-county reach, the Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce has been instrumental in helping the District to promote its conservation ethic with nontraditional audiences, to form new and lasting partnerships, and to promote the use of more conservation best-management practices.

For more information on conservation services and support available, visit the Westmoreland Conservation District website.

(Photos: left- John and Margi Starr; Westmoreland County Chamber of Commerce leadership (l-r) Dan DeBone, executive director; Chad Amond, president & CEO; Jason Rigone, member, Chamber Board of Directors, and executive director, Westmoreland County IDC.)

[Posted: September 28, 2021]

10/4/2021