Fraser Livestock: Building a Legacy from the Ground Up

New Bethlehem, PA, December 10, 2025.- For Tyler Fraser, farming is more than an occupation; it’s a calling. “Every day brings a new challenge,” he says. “Weather, crops, animals—no two days are ever the same. I’ve always loved solving those challenges.” Fraser is also passionate about connecting his farm to the community. The Pennsylvania Beef Council’s PA Beef to PA Schools Program has allowed him to do just that by supplying schools in his community with close to 150 pounds of fresh beef each month.

Fraser’s path to becoming a first-generation beef producer wasn’t a straight one. He grew up working on local dairy farms, drawn to the rhythm and responsibility of caring for animals. After high school, he worked in construction and joined the operator’s union, but that pull toward agriculture never faded. When the opportunity arose to buy a small farm in 2019, Tyler and his wife Katie, who also grew up active in 4-H and around dairy cattle, decided to take the leap.

“We started with just a few cows in 2020,” Fraser recalls. “We kept growing from there and learning as we went, building slowly and making sure we could sustain it.” What began as a small start-up herd has grown into Fraser Livestock, a diversified operation with about 50 head of grass-fed, grain-finished beef cattle and 60 to 100 feeder hogs each year. The Frasers sell both beef and pork locally, including to restaurants, private schools, and customers across Clarion County.

Like many first-generation farmers, Fraser is balancing a full-time job while steadily expanding his agricultural operation. “I’m still working through the operator’s union,” he explains, “but the goal is to get to a point where the farm can stand on its own. I didn’t want to jump in too fast without the supplies or experience to sustain it year-round. We’ve worked hard to build up to a comfortable point where we can start doing more farmers’ markets and explore new outlets.”

Fraser Livestock focuses on providing high-quality, locally raised meat—and on reconnecting people with where that food comes from. “Farming isn’t just a job; it’s a lifestyle,” Fraser says. “It’s something that’s slowly disappearing, and we need to stay connected to it in real ways.” 

The family’s livestock is raised on pasture and grain-finished for a well-balanced flavor and texture. Fraser’s focus has always been on raising quality animals. “I’m not interested in being a mechanic or running an industrial operation,” he laughs. “I like the animals more than the equipment. My goal is to give them good care and produce good beef.”

connecting local farms to local schools

That philosophy led Fraser to the PA Beef to PA Schools program, an initiative of the PA Beef Council, that connects local cattle producers with schools across the Commonwealth to provide students with fresh, Pennsylvania-sourced beef.

“I initially got connected to the program through a friend, who told me about the program,” Fraser says. “I needed an outlet for my ground beef and wanted to keep it local. Supplying schools felt like the perfect fit.”

Now in his first full year with the program, Fraser Livestock supplies roughly 150 pounds of beef each month to three schools: Clarion-Limestone, Ridgway, and DuBois Central Catholic. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “The schools have told me how much they like the meat,” he says. “That means a lot. It’s good to see local beef feeding local kids. It’s proof that keeping things in our community works.”

For Fraser, the program represents more than just sales; it’s about connection. “It’s good for kids to know where their food comes from,” he explains. “When you can show them that their lunch was raised right here in their community, it changes their perspective. It builds respect for the work behind the food.”

As vice president of the Clarion County Farm Bureau, Tyler is passionate about promoting agriculture and sharing its realities—its joys and hardships. “People don’t always see what goes into farming on a small scale,” he says. “There’s blood, sweat, tears, and joy in every season. That’s something I’d love to help people, especially kids, understand more.”

He’s already brainstorming ways to extend that outreach. “I’d love to get a few of us who participate in the PA Beef to PA Schools program together—maybe through the Farm Bureau or another local agency—and do interactive presentations in schools,” he says. “Farm tours, classroom visits, anything that helps kids connect with where their food comes from. If we can help them see the faces behind their food, that’s a win for agriculture.”

Farming for the next generation

At home, Tyler and his wife Katie are raising two sons, ages 10 and 7, who are already part of daily life on the farm. “They both help out,” Fraser says proudly. “Whether they want to take it over someday is up to them, but it’s important they grow up around it.”

He believes that farm life teaches valuable lessons—about responsibility, resilience, and respect. “It’s good for kids to understand life and death, to respect animals, and to see the work that goes into putting food on the table,” he says. “That’s something that stays with you your whole life.”

Looking ahead, Fraser hopes to continue expanding the business while maintaining the personal touch that defines Fraser Livestock. He’s exploring opportunities to sell directly to consumers through farmers’ markets and even hopes to offer direct from the farm milk in the future.

“I liked milking cows—there’s nothing more calming than to start your day listening to the pulsators in the parlor,” he says. “We couldn’t make a go of the dairy starting from scratch, but I’ve kept the hands-on connection through what we’re doing with beef and pork and we’re looking forward to continuing to grow.”

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The Pennsylvania Beef Council is a producer-controlled and funded organization, which administers the Beef Checkoff Program in Pennsylvania. The Beef Checkoff Program assesses $1 per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. Checkoff revenues may be used for promotion, education and research programs to improve the marketing climate for beef.