GREENWICH TOWNSHIP, Pa.- The State Agriculture Secretary, Russell Redding, visited a Berks County Farm to announce the theme of the 2027 PA Farm Show.
“I can’t imagine not being on a farm,” says Roger Bowman. “I want to be here to the end.”
Roger and Nancy Bowman run Winterside Farm in Greenwich Township.
Both retired school teachers, they raise sheep and hens full-time for eggs, meat, and wool.
The two started the farm in 1973 with just a few hens. The next year they added two sheep, and now it’s grown into a multigenerational family endeavor.
“Today we’re up to anywhere between 60 to 100 sheep on our property and 125 laying hens,” says Roger.
“Starting at a young age, they helped my family build our love for agriculture upon pillars of education, service and connection,” says Evangeline McGargle, granddaughter of the Bowmans, during the press conference with Sec. Redding.
That combination of traits is why Redding came to the farm to announce the theme of the 2027 Pennsylvania Farm Show, ‘Leading a Legacy’.
“A legacy isn’t simply something that you hand down,” says Redding.
“It’s something that we have a responsibility to shape, and leadership isn’t simply about being the person in the front; it’s about seeing something that doesn’t exist yet and having the courage to build it,” he explained.
The Ag Secretary says that’s something the Bowmans did by leading their family on a journey into Pennsylvania agriculture, something he hopes will be woven into the fabric of the Farm Show.
“My pop pop has retired from his career as a science teacher, but he’s never stopped being an educator,” says McGargle.
“Farming to us is not a business; it’s a way of life,” says Roger. “It’s what we do. It’s our passion. That’s what it means to me, and I’m so glad it’s carrying on to the other generations.”