F-A-R-M: “Find A Real Meaning”

Sheila Miller, of Womelsdorf, Pa., served as Lancaster Farming editor from 1981-83 and as a legislator in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1992-2006.

Her lifelong background in agriculture and her career experiences provide many ideas for the F-A-R-M column. The Penn State graduate was raised on a commercial beef farm in Dauphin County. After earning her bachelor's degree in agriculture, she became the first woman soil conservationist with USDA's Soil Conservation Service in 1974.

In 1983, she became the executive director of the state Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee. In 1992, Miller became the first Republican woman from Berks County elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, serving the constituents of the 129th District for 14 years before retiring in 2006.

As a legislator, Miller worked to advance legislation to assist the agriculture industry and rural Pennsylvania. Among her legislative accomplishments were six prime sponsor bills signed into law by three governors and numerous pieces of legislation included in other bills that became law or passed as Senate version or were adopted by the executive branch as programs.

Miller raises registered Hereford cattle on her Berks County farms, marketing them as breeding stock, feeders, and freezer beef. She and her husband own and operate their 250 acre farms without hired help, and rent an additional 135 acres of cropland. Her daughter Emilie is a recent graduate of Kansas State University and is employed by the Pennsylvania Beef Council where she coordinates marketing and promotion to restaurants and major food markets throughout the Northeast.