Richard “Dick” and Kay McElhaney and family of Hookstown, Pa., have been selected as ESAP regional winners for Region I, which includes 17 mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states. They were nominated by the NRCS in Pennsylvania.

McElhaney Stock Farm is a family-owned and operated business, raising 100 head of registered Shorthorn cattle. The farm is genuinely suited to a grazing operation, with its meandering streams, gentle sloping hillsides and highly erodible soil. Through the McElhaneys’ care and love of the land, they have protected the farm’s fragile nature, having converted from crops to total forage production. Rotational grazing, broadcast/frost seeding, conservation tillage practices and riparian buffers are all part of the valuable conservation systems on the farm.

The McElhaneys manage a breeding program and produce beef for packaging, sale and distribution to private individuals. The operation is part of a four-farm cooperative known as Mid Atlantic Genetic Productions and has also become a popular place for weddings and receptions.

Since 1975, the McElhaneys have volunteered to work extensively with many partners to improve and protect the land and water for which they are responsible. As a result, they have been able to produce higher-quality and more efficient forage and watering systems, while observing an abundant increase in wildlife habitat. The farm is a leader in the industry, combining progressive cattle production with strong environmental practices.

“My family wants to be the best stewards of the land that we can be and still make some money in the process,” Dick says. “We believe these two things go hand-in-hand.”