Growing up on her family beef farm, Lindsey Jacobs knew she was destined to work in the ag industry. Church View Farm, a six-generation family farm in Millersville, MD, stretches over 300 acres and is the home to 150 polled Hereford cattle (60 cows, 25 heifers, 60 calves and five bulls). The Jacobses have always worked with this breed, as they are docile, calm and easy for them to manage.
Jacobs’s favorite time on the farm is calving season. She said they begin their breeding season on Tax Day using AI, followed by housing the bulls and cows together to allow natural breeding if the AI didn’t take.
The Jacobs family sells their cattle at livestock auctions for breeding purposes, and occasionally brings them to the slaughterhouse to enter the food system.
Jacobs mentioned that there’s not many slaughterhouses in Maryland, so it’s hard to get slaughter dates in the state. Instead, the family uses a slaughterhouse near the Pennsylvania border. The overall location of the farm is the trickiest part of their production – not only because there aren’t many slaughterhouses around, but because they are also “the only green space left in the county,” so there’s not a lot of farm resources nearby. This makes it difficult to get a veterinarian on the property quickly or get parts for equipment.
Ms. Agvocate Lindsey Jacobs
After receiving her undergraduate degree at UMD, Jacobs’s teacher introduced her to a pageant nearby. During her second year in the pageant, she decided to try out a new online pageant, the Ms. Agvocate pageant, that focuses on teaching, inspiring and advocating for the ag industry. After winning the pageant in her age group, Jacobs has found herself getting opportunities she never dreamed of! She’s been showing cattle since she was in high school, but she’s never gotten so much attention at the fairs as she does now.
Jacobs is passionate about educating the public about agriculture and where their food comes from. She mentioned that COVID “lit a fire” under her when she saw the public worrying about how empty the shelves were becoming. Church View Farm has gotten more involved in educating and mentoring 4-H and FFA kids. “We are trying to educate the younger generation that wants to be involved and wants to learn,” she said – to help make more people aware of the importance of agriculture.
Jacobs is currently working on her master’s in food safety and biosecurity and ag leadership. She hopes to pursue a career in ag education, whether teaching at the college level, at a public school or working with corporate extension. With her two degrees, she’s hoping to “have the food safety, the processing, the background of how your food gets to you, how it’s made” – but also learn how to lead and “speak and talk effectively.”
To learn more about Church View Farm, and the Jacobs family, visit facebook.com/ChurchViewFarm.
by Kelsi Devolve
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