Life doesn’t get in the way of family farm
CONNOQUENESSING TWP — More than 150 people gathered inside the livestock barn to witness the Beacom family be presented with the 71st Annual Eagle Bowl Farm Family Award at the Butler Farm Show on Friday evening, Aug. 9.
The Butler Farm Show Awards Committee, spearheaded by chairwoman Elizabeth Werner, gives the award to a family that best represents the value of local farming in their daily lives.
Despite Kevin having a full-time job, he and his wife Amy have remained steadfast in their commitment to raising livestock and making it a part of their everyday life.
Their daughter, Rachel, 19, and son Craig, 15, have grown up on the farm and are heavily involved in the day-to-day operations.
“It’s an honor to get this,” said Amy Beacom. “We’ve been coming to this for 11 years. This is her (Rachel) last year, so it’s special to be able to get it for her last year of 4-H Club.”
Rachel said camaraderie is a significant reason the family has continued to be mainstays at the farm show.
“You make a lot of good friends and memories just getting to show the animals,” said Rachel Beacom.
On their 180-acre farm in the Tarentum area, the family has 95 cows and about 50 sheep.
For this year’s show, the family brought 15 cows and five sheep, including the charity lamb they raised and donated.
“That’s what I’d rather do than get up and go to work in the morning,” said Kevin Beacom with a smile when asked how important farming has become for his family.
Kevin and Amy both volunteer as leaders of the 4-H Club, serve on the livestock sale committee and help in plenty of other aspects at the show.
Werner said the family has been a dedicated and willing part of the farm show for more than a decade, and that’s why they were ultimately chosen.
“They have had great success and have shown growth year over year,” Werner said. “They’re very involved in the farm show. They perpetually help others and are just a very well-rounded farm family.”
The bowl has been awarded to nearly 50 families, with the inaugural one being given to the Walter Henricks Family in 1952.
Butler Eagle assignment editor Tracy Leturgey delivered a speech and awarded the sterling silver bowl to the family.
After the bowl is engraved, Amy said the family plans to place it atop the mantle above the fireplace.
The 76th Annual Butler County Farm Show will wrap up on Saturday with a road semi and tri-axle truck pull in front of the grandstands and a free show featuring the Z-Town Street Band at the Armstrong Auditorium.
