Network Board & Staff

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The PA Veteran Farming Network was formed in 2013 with the launch of the Troops to Tractors program to facilitate on-the-job apprenticeships for veterans. Since then, we've grown to be the state's leading non-profit organization supporting military, veterans, and their spouses in building strong and healthy farms and agribusinesses. Our mission is to connect veterans with each other and vetted service providers, convene educational and networking events, and promote veteran ag to help consumers buy veterans grown, raised, and made in PA. We also educate decision-makers and advocate for issues of interest to our Network. Led by a volunteer Board and one staff member, we welcome honorably discharged veterans and those currently serving to our ranks.

 

"They fought; now they farm."

 

Our Board of Directors meets quarterly or more often and is responsible for the strategy of delivering programming.​

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Board Chair Michael Reifsnyder was born and raised in Lancaster Pa. He attended Garden Spot High School and graduated in 1989. August 1989 he enlisted into the US Navy and attended

Boot Camp in NTC Great Lakes. Michael served for 22 years and retired in 2011 as a Chief

Petty Officer. During his 22 years he was assigned numerous positions within the Aviation

Ordnance rating. Some of his assignments included VA-36 as his first assignment in the Navy and as a Rating assignment detailer and his final assignment as a USN explosive safety inspector.

Currently he resides in Carlisle Pa with his wife Sharon and 2 daughters Emily and Gabi.

Michael currently operates a mechanical contracting company and a mobile food facility, but

his main focus and passion is for the family farm growing hops. Their farm is called GEMS Farm.

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​Board Vice-Chair Kat Mirarchi ​retired from the Navy in 2016 after 22 years active duty service. She and her husband, a 20 year Navy veteran as well,  have built a small homestead that three years ago evolved to a farm with profit, Mirarchi Meadow LLC. They raise Katahadin sheep and honey bees on their 5 acres in Herndon, PA.

 

Board Past-Chair Robert Mowery is a US Navy/Navy Reserves Veteran and Founder of Forever Heart Farm, LLC. & Forever Heart Apiary, LLC.  in Moon Township, PA.  Robert served in the Intelligence Community and as part of the initial cyber unit in NCIS 0166.  Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Robert worked on several surrounding farms and a small family homestead.  Robert attended Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) where he majored in Computer Science and later launching a software technology and consulting company.  The combination of skills in technology and along with the desire to farm again has led to Forever Heart Farm adopting automation, technology, and modern agricultural practices to develop a sustainable operation on 25+ acres.   Robert has served on the board of the PA Veteran Farming Project from 2019-present.  Forever Heart Apiary was the site of our inaugural Bee Bootcamp course.

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Dustin Butler served in the United States Army after obtaining his Mansfield University of Pennsylvania. In addition to working currently in the oil and gas profession, Dustin owns and operates Butler Hill Beef Farm in Knoxville, PA, with his wife Lindsey and children, where they raise grass-fed, grain-finished angus and Limousin beef cattle, bees, and pigs. Dustin was a recipient of a PAVFN Force Multiplier Grant in 2022. He is a lifetime member of Veterans of Foreign Wars, and speaks German.

 

Matt Dubovecky enlisted in the PA Army National Guard in December 2001 and completed tours to Iraq and Afghanistan before retiring in 2001 with 20 years of service. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University, Matt currently works as a Healthcare Engineer for the Department of Veterans Affairs. He owns and operates Dubovecky Farms in Nicktown, PA, along with my wife Sharon and five children, where we raise row crops, pigs, chicken, and are in the process of starting a beef enterprise.

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Todd Michael Frye, was raised on and lives with his family in Latrobe Pennsylvania on their homestead farm, in Latrobe, PA. His military career began in 1995, and after  26 years of honorable service in the Air Force,  the United States Army, and the Pennsylvania Army National Guard he retired as an AGR soldier in July 2021.  Todd is a co-owner/partner in Pleasant Lane Farms and Creamery,  a farmstead creamery milking 65 cows with a VMS robot and state of the art dairy facility. They  crop farm 300+ acres for feed for the cattle. 

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Bill Hopkins enlisted in the US Army September 1989 and served 

4 years with the10th Mountain Division  including two  combat deployments. He served during the Gulf War and Somalia as a direct support heavy wheel mechanic. Subsequently, Bill joined PA National Guard and deployed to Iraq. After deployment, he held the position of senior movement NCO for the Brigad, and spent 5 years on the HRF ( Homeland Response Force) as the fleet manager and movement NCO at the 55th BDE, specializing in rail load and plane loading. Bill retired in January 2020 with 15 years active duty and 15 years guard time

Bill purchased a 30 acre farm in Falls, PA, in 2020, forming Hopkin Farm LLC with son Andrew, as an equal partner. Wife Leanne, daughter Samantha, daughter in law Jennifer, and two grandchildren Ayrianna and Axel work the farm daily. Bill is a fourth generation farmer and grows over 100 acres of produce to be picked packed and shipped daily to our customers as well as a retail location on the farm and other locations.

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Chris Ishler, US Army Veteran, Sinking Creek Meats, Spring Mills, raises beef cattle at his Centre County farm. In addition to serving on the PAVFN Board, Chris is a Director with the Centre County Conservation District. The Ishler farm is a leader in conservation ag in the region, and was named 2024 Conservation Farm of the Year. Chris has presented at PAVFN workshops and mentors newer veteran farmers.

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Charles (CJ) Lafferty was born in Bucks County, PA in 1979 and attended Shippensburg University majoring in Chemistry prior to I enlisting in the U.S. Army and has deloyed to Kuwait and Bosnia.
After my initial 4-year enlistment he transitioned to the Pennsylvania Army National Guard, with whom he deployed toIraq, and NATO missions in Latvia, Poland, and France. In 2019 my wife and I started our farm, Skyline Pastures with a few hundred broiler chickens, and have grown the farm to include beef, pork, and turkey in addition to chickens. CJ is the recipient of a NE SARE grant for a project to create an adaptable template for poultry on silvopasture.​​

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Corey Read, USMC and US Army veteran, is proprietor of Shupp Hill Farms with his wife, Esther. They raise registered Irish Dexter Cattle  pasture-raised beef on their former family dairy farm. Corey excels at accessing conservation funding and 'stacking' federal and state programs to maximize the family's investment. Corey is a graduate of Penn State and holds a bachelor's degree from George Washington University.

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Associate Directors: 

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Sharon Reifsnyder, Navy spouse, GEMS Farm, Carlisle

Michael Brooker, USMC (Ret), Bee Bootcamp Coordinator/Veteran Service Officer, Greensburg

Rhonda Smith, USAF Veteran, Blue Knob Farm and The Skirted Soldier, Portage

 

​Staff: 

Mimi Thomas-Brooker, ME, MM, Executive Director, Marine Corps spouse and founder of the PA Veteran Farming Network.