Ag Promotion State Team
![]() Chris Hoffman owns and operates Lazy Hog Farms, a 1,400 sow farrow to wean, 4,800-head nursery barn and 4,400-head finishing barn located in Juniata County, Pennsylvania. He also owns and operates Lazy Chick Farms, raising 250,000 chickens annually.Hoffman was selected to serve on Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s State Board of Directors in 2006, and was selected to serve on the board’s Executive Committee in 2008. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation, a charitable organization supported by Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.He was chosen to serve as Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s Vice President in 2014. In 2013, Hoffman was selected to lead a new committee within Pennsylvania Farm Bureau—the Agriculture Promotion Committee—which encourages local programs that engage consumers with agriculture, and also raises money for the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation.He was appointed to chair the American Farm Bureau Federation Promotion & Education Committee in 2014. In 2015, he was elected by the state’s agricultural societies to the Board of Trustees at Penn State, the Commonwealth’s land grant university.Hoffman has a long history of leadership at the county level, having served as vice president and president of Juniata County Farm Bureau.He chairs Pennsylvania’s Nutrient Management Advisory Board, and is a member of the Pennsylvania Pork Producers Council, PennAg Industries Association and Fayette Township Fire Co.Hoffman graduated from Middleburg High School. He and his wife, Selina, have four children and two grandchildren.Along with spending time with family, in his few hours of leisure time, Hoffman likes to golf, fish, hunt and play indoor soccer and flag football. |
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District 2 | Bucks
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District 3 | Chester/DelawareMelissa Harrop Melissa has loved agriculture from a young age. She grew up surrounded by her family’s love of horticulture and her own love of anything horse-related. As an adult, that love now includes livestock, and crop farming. Melissa, along with her husband Paul and their three kids, are proud to be involved in Agriculture. Alongside her husbands family, they help to grow corn, soybeans, and hay, as well as dairy steers and heifers. Melissa is an active leader in the county 4-H dairy and market goat project clubs, and Melissa is also a proud veteran of the U.S. Army, where she served for 4 years. She truly believes that being involved within your community, will help educate your neighbors about Ag! |
District 4 | ColumbiaCharlie Porter Charlie Porter, of Columbia County, operates a 300-acre crop farm near Elysburg and a beef cow-calf operation with a feed lot. He is also a beekeeper. Porter is active in Columbia County Farm Bureau, serving as policy development chairman since 2012, ag promotion chairman since 2014, and on the legislative committee since 2013. He currently serves as county vice president. He has served on PFB’s State Ag Promotion Committee since 2014. Porter has a bachelor’s degree in Animal Industry from Penn State University. His wife, Patricia, is a retired nurse practitioner. He has two adult children, Stephanie and Matt, and six grandchildren. Porter served 20 years on the Southern Columbia Area School Board. He is an elder and choir member at Elysburg Presbyterian Church and a former 4-H livestock club leader. He was named Columbia County Cooperator of the Year by Penn State Extension in 2006, received the J. Ira Coble Award for Outstanding Pennsylvania 4-H Beef Club Leader in 2010, and was recognized with the R.J. Campbell Award for Columbia County Cooperator of the Year by Columbia County Conservation District in 2010. Porter remains a lifetime member of the Fayette County Agricultural Improvement Association, having grown up as a seventh-generation farmer in Fayette County. |
District 5 | Tioga/Potter
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District 6 | ClintonSue Dotterer Sue teaches 5th grade at the local elementary school. When not teaching, she serves on her county farm bureau board and as chairperson for the Clinton County Dairy Promotion. Sue has served her county farm bureau in many capacities, including time on the Women’s Committee, as county newsletter editor and the Promotion and Education Committee. Sue attends Cedar Heights Brethren in Christ Church. She and her husband, John, have three children, all married, and one grandchild. Two of their children work on the family farm. |
District 7Vacant |
District 8Vacant |
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District 11
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District 12Tina Beilchick |
District 13 | ElkAmanda Balon Amanda’s off-farm work is usually on a part-time basis, including teaching CPR/First Aid in the community. Amanda is currently on her county Farm Bureau board of directors and is working to develop a Young Farmer & Rancher program in her local area. She also serves as secretary for the Brockport United Methodist Charge and attends Brandy Camp United Methodist Church. Amanda and her husband, Anthony, have two children, Garrett and Logan. |
District 14 | CrawfordCathy Vorisek Cathy is from Linesville, and along with her husband, own and operate Vorisek’s Backyard Bee Farm. They are currently running 200 colonies in their apiary. They travel locally for pollination contracts and produce and sell honey and wax products. Cathy is also one of the teachers for the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation’s Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab program. Cathy was also recognized as the 2021 Partnership in Ag Literacy Award winner. Cathy is active in her church, serving as a Eucharistic minister and lector. In addition to her county farm bureau, she also is active in the PA State Beekeepers and the Northwestern PA Beekeepers. Cathy and her husband, Charlie, have five children and ten grandchildren. |
District 15 | MercerChip Kohser Chip Kohser is a member of the Beaver-Lawrence County Farm Bureau. He has previously served as its president and vice-president. He and his wife Jody live in Greenville. Chip is a national sales manager for Joy Pet Food. He was a founder of Fellowship Foods, a muli-farm CSA operation. |
District 16 | WestmorelandKayla Wallace She also works off the farm at Panichelle Financial Group as a Nationwide Farm Certified Farm and Agribusiness agent. She has served her local Farm Bureau as secretary, director, webmaster and YF&R members. Kayla’s hobbies include photography and art. She also loves working with youth in a mentoring capacity and educating others about the ag industry. |