District 1

Mercer

James Barbour, Vice Chair
607.435.0830
email

Jim Barbour is building a Lowline Aberdeen Angus cow/calf seedstock herd on rotational grazing and also grows hay on his farm in Hallstead, Susquehanna County.

He has served as vice chair of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau’s Ag Promotion Committee since 2015 and as vice president of Susquehanna County Farm Bureau since 2011. He also serves as ag promotion and policy development chair for the county organization and was membership chair in the past.

Jim is a graduate of Montrose High School and has a three-year Bible institute diploma.

He serves as a teaching pastor and small-group leader at the Hallstead Campus of Bridgewater Church. He is also a member of the American Aberdeen Association and Northeast Lowline Angus Association.

He and his wife Kim have one son, Jim, and a daughter-in-law, Heather, as well as four grandchildren: James, Killey, Lynndee, and Mollie.

District 3

Chester/Delaware

Melissa Harrop
484.252.1342
email

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 US 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

Columbia

Charlie Porter
570.259.4640
email

Charlie is an active member of his county farm bureau, serving as 1st vice-president, policy chairman, ag promotion chairman and as a member of the legislative committee.  Charlie runs a cash grain operation, raising corn, soybeans and hay.  He also operates a beef cow/calf business with a feedlot.

Charlie is a retired 4-H leader, having served 30 years.  He also served as a school board director for  years.  He is active in his church, currently serving as an elder and a choir member.

Charlie and his wife, Patricia, raised a son and a daughter and have six grandchildren.

District 8

Lebanon

Christine Oellig
717.769.8759
email

Christine is active in her county farm bureau, serving on the membership committee and as newsletter editor.  She grew up on a livestock and crop farm and enjoyed showing sheep, cattle and pigs as a youth in 4-H and FFA.  She currently lives and works on a dairy and crop farm in Lebanon County with her boyfriend, Rick.

In addition to her time with farm bureau, Christine serves on the FFA Ag Advisory Board and the Northern Lebanon Young Farmers.  She also currently works as a farm and agribusiness insurance agent with Nationwide.

Christine has a passion for agriculture education and helping others.

District 10

Mifflin

Rebecca Harrop
717.513.2158
email

Rancher Chair, Newsletter Editor and FACEBOOK page administrator.  She also serves on the county legislative and Women’s Leadership committees. 

Rebecca, along with her family, has a farm operation which includes a 160-cow Robotic milking barn.  They raise all of their own replacement heifers as well as steers for beef.  They farm around 1,000 acres with corn, soybeans, alfalfa and other small grains.

Rebecca is active in her church, serving as a deacon.  She is also involved in her community, sitting on the Mifflin County Youth Fair Board and the Open Show Committee for the fair.  In the past, she was involved in 4-H and FFA.

In her spare time, Rebecca enjoys gardening and photography.

District 10

Mercer

Chris Hoffman, Chair
717.497.7895
email

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.

District 13

Elk

Amanda Balon
814.335.0804
email

Amanda is the 5th generation on her family’s farm.  Along with her parents and husband, they work to grow the farm based on the needs of the local economy.  Currently, they raise sheep, chickens and some crops.

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

Crawford

Cathy Vorisek
814.350.9291
email

Cathy serves as a member of her county board, and is county membership chair.  She also runs the Crawford County Fair Detective Program.

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 also produce and sell honey.  Cathy is also one of the teachers for the Mobile Ag Ed Science Lab program.

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.  She also currently sits on the Farm Service Agency board in her county.

Cathy and her husband, Charlie, have five children and ten grandchildren.

District 15

Mercer

Todd Shearer
814.720.4530
email

Todd is active in his county farm bureau, were he has served as county president.  He has served with many other organizations, including Mercer County Ag Development Council, Mercer County Penn State Extension Board and Ag Retailers Association.

Todd is founder and CEO of T. R. Shearer Ag Commodities, Inc., TRS Transit, LLC. and T. R. Shearer Land & Cattle Co.  The farm is currently a cash grain and cow/calf operation.  Research is an important part of the farm, where they implement new ideas and survey the results for constant improvement in the ag commodity business.

Todd is a past board member of Mt Hope United Methodist Church.  Todd is thankful for being able to work with his wife, Jackie, their two sons and their daughter, along with extended family members.  He also enjoys his time with his six grandchildren.