Dale Rains has made winning awards at the Pennsylvania Farm Show a family tradition, and this year's 87th show was no exception.

"We had the grand champion Angus female, the reserve grand champion Angus female and were chosen as the premier exhibitor, which is decided by the accumulation of points of the (winning) cattle you show," said the East Lackawannock Township man. "We also took four firsts, three seconds and a fourth.

Having gone to the show for 25 years, Rains and his wife Brenda credit a strong family tradition and good care as the reason they win awards at the farm show.

"We've had Angus cattle in the family for 90-some years right now, close to a hundred. My great-grandfather bought the first Angus cattle in the family," Rains said, adding that he and his wife still live on part of the old family farm which is in both East Lackawannock and Springfield townships.

"I credit all the wins to proper care of the animals and good genetics," he said. "The majority are artificially inseminated from bulls all over the country and we have also done some embryo-transfer work. But we record a lot of information to try to promote those that are excelling at different rates."

The Rainses, along with parents Austin and Dorothy Rains, own the family business, Rains Angus at 402 N. Perry Highway, and have about 45 mature cows, with a total of about 90 to 100 head, including calves and yearlings.

Along with the family farm, they own about 95 acres and farm close to 300, Rains said, adding that they also rent about 100 acres from the Mercer County Conservation District at Munnell Run Farm in Coolspring Township.

"We've rented that for 18 or 19 years," he said. "They are the animals that are talked about when they have classes there." The conservation district offers classes to children and teachers and has the working farm open for students.

"They've been the tenant farmer almost since the time we started our monitoring program, which includes pasture management and stream-bank fencing," said James Mondok, conservation district manager. "I think they are an asset. They've been willing to work with us. It's been a pretty good symbiosis so far, pretty good give and take.

Mondok described times when the Rainses are working in the back pastures of Munnell Run Farm and stop what they're doing to take part in a teaching session. "In particular, once we had a wagon full of kids out there while Dale was harvesting grain and he actually stopped and explained to the kids what he was doing. And at least two of our teacher workshops, he and his wife Brenda have been instructors during one segment when they taught how to manage livestock on a beef cattle farm."

Mondok also said that since the farm is a working example of utilizing conservation practices, the Rainses take part in that.

"We set it up, but he actually puts it to use, all the structural practices," Mondok said, adding that Rains also provides input into the district's plans, which includes contour strip cropping, and a solar-powered pump to water the pasture.

"We also do rotational grazing for the cattle, which means that the cattle are moved periodically from one piece of land to another to allow it to regrow back," Rains said. "It's usually 30 or 40 days before they are allowed back in the same pasture during the growing season. Right now (in the winter) it doesn't matter."

The family plans to continue doing what it does best in farming and winning farm show awards, which include the supreme champion of all breeds in 1992, 1998 and 2001.

"I just hope that it does continue, because when you show them, it's just one person's opinion that day," Rains said. "When you do win, it's a very good marketing tool. It's a promotional tool advertising your cattle. One of the heifers we already sold (at the farm show) and we've sold three more since then."