The Westmoreland Conservation District also selected the Turtle Creek Watershed Association as the J. Roy Houston Conservation Partnership Award winner.
Billy and Chelsey Smail
Four years ago, the Smails purchased a 76-acre farm that had not been actively farmed in decades. Since then, they have been working hard to restore the pastures and soils using conservation practices and thoughtful stewardship.
The farm’s primary future operation will be selling freezer beef directly to the consumer, and the Smails are just beginning to reach the point where they will have animals available for sale.
They currently have 20 cow-calf pairs and their bull. The herd is strictly grass-fed and grass-finished using a process called rotational grazing, where the soil and pastures are given time to recover between rotations.
Other areas of the farm are covered with corn crops, which will help restore the soil for future pasture lands. The farm also sells eggs from its free-range chickens.
The Smails installed fencing along a stream on the property to prevent the cattle from having direct access to it.
Currently, Billy hauls water to the cattle twice a day. Future plans for the farm include installing a pressurized water system and watering troughs that will provide water throughout all pastures, constructing an animal walkway to help with cattle rotation, and adding paddock fencing to increase available grazing acreage.
Funding for these improvements will be through the Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program.
Though Billy and Chelsey work full time, their love of farming keeps them busy long after the workday ends.
Together they have planted an orchard with peaches, sweet cherries, pears, and apples that they hope will one day provide another source of homegrown food and possibly support a farm stand to sell the products they raise and produce.
Turtle Creek Watershed Association
Established in 1970, the Turtle Creek Watershed Association is one of the oldest watershed associations in Pennsylvania.
The Turtle Creek watershed is a 147-square mile area encompassing all or part of 33 municipalities in Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.
With one staff member and a dedicated group of volunteers, TCWA is an active presence in the community hosting litter clean-ups, stream walks, and family events.
TCWA is a long-standing partner of the Westmoreland Conservation District. They have worked together for decades on projects that improve water quality, protect streambanks, and restore aquatic habitats.
Recent examples of their partnership include working together to stabilize the streambanks at Duff Park and along Haymaker Run.
TCWA’s largest and most ambitious partnership will address one of Pennsylvania’s largest sources of abandoned mine drainage pollution, the Irwin discharge, which contributes approximately 9 million gallons per day of polluted mine water into the Turtle Creek watershed.
TCWA, Westmoreland Conservation District, Westmoreland County and local engineering companies, have begun a multi-year project that will ultimately build an active mine water treatment facility on land that was purchased by TCWA.
The completed project will restore habitat and increase recreational opportunities along Brush Creek for years to come.
For more than five decades, TCWA has demonstrated what can happen when a small but dedicated group of people commits to protecting the natural resources in their community.
The Westmoreland Conservation District promotes, educates, and implements conservation principles through examples and programs. Our Board of Directors and staff are committed to building a culture of responsible stewardship and sustainability in pursuit of a better environment.
(Photo 1: Westmoreland Conservation District Board Members Kim Edward Miller and Todd Frescura present the Conservation Farmer of the Year award to Billy and Chelsey Smail.)
(Photo 2: Turtle Creek Watershed Association representatives Jim Brucker and Charles Duritsa accept the J. Roy Houston Conservation Partnership award from District board members Ron Rohall and Emil Bove.)
[Posted: September 14, 2026] PA Environment Digest
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