BEDFORD, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Beef Council recently recognized Scattered Acres Inc., a Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, dairy as the 2018 Dairy Beef Quality Assurance award winner. Each year, the award is given to one outstanding dairy for their efforts under the Dairy Beef Quality Assurance program.
Scattered Acres, Inc. has roots dating back to the early 1800s when Amos Hartman started farming with mules and no industrialized equipment. He began with 35 cows on the farm, near Reading, Pa. As his family began to grow, so did the farm operation. Today, Scattered Acres Inc. is owned by three brothers, Paul, Ed and Dave all descendants of Amos Hartman. They farm nearly 1,300 acres of crop ground with a milking herd of 1,100 dairy cows spread across two milking locations.
The fifth and sixth generations of the Hartman family operate the dairy today with the seventh generation spending time in the barn, mostly in strollers. In total, nine Hartman family members run the operation with 30 total employees on the farm.
Scattered Acres raises their own replacement females, totaling 1,100 young stock plus the dairy steers and heifers they sell as finished cattle. The name, Scattered Acres Inc. was coined when the farm began their quest to expand the operation. With nearly 35 miles between farms, they are indeed scattered across the landscape of Lancaster County.
Scattered Acres Inc. is a dairy that shines as a great example of how the best practices outlined under the BQA program can make a positive impact on meat quality, milk production and consumer confidence.
Harrison Hartman, herd manager at the Reinholds, Pa., facility has made a strong commitment to DBQA and FARM in recent years. All employees are encouraged to follow BQA protocols and guidelines, especially when giving injections and moving cattle. They believe that quality starts on the farm, with good management practices.
Key managers on the farm are all BQA certified and have brought value to other employees by utilizing on-farm training resources like the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association animal care videos. In addition, the farm has utilized resources like the 2017 Stockmanship workshops hosted by the PBC.
Scattered Acres Inc. hosted last years Professional Dairy Managers of Pennsylvania Summer Summit. This event focused on dairy farmers becoming BQA certified through a series of workshops and trainings. Stations included down-cow training, responsible injection site workshops and economies of DBQA program.
By serving as hosts for this event, the team at Scattered Acres Inc. was able to show first-hand the impact that following BQA protocols has on their operation. They are also strong advocates for quality assurance training and for the beef checkoff.
While the team at Scattered Acres Inc. is passionate about cow comfort and humane handling, they are also concerned about representing a positive image for dairy farmers in Pennsylvania to the public. When given the opportunity, they open the farm up to various events and audiences. Groups have included school tours and events for local fire and EMS. By doing so, they often find themselves answering questions for local media.
The entire Scattered Acres Inc. team takes great pride in the quality products that leave their farm, from milk to meat. The PBC is proud to be awarding their team as the 2018 Dairy Beef Quality Assurance Award recipient for their continued commitment to excellence.
— Pennsylvania Beef Council