How We Farm
At Tierra Verde Farms, we prioritize regenerative agriculture to improve the land, care for our animals, and honor our people and customers. We believe healthy agriculture fosters strong relationships in every direction.
Our animals thrive with low stress and strong immune systems, which benefits their offspring and those who eat them. Our cattle and sheep are 100% grass-fed and grass-finished, living on pasture where they improve the land with every bite. To maintain healthy soils, we regularly move all animals, spreading manure to increase fertility.
For our pigs and poultry, we provide non-GMO feed that is free from chemical treatments, especially glyphosate. We aim to be a fruitful and beautiful farm that produces healthy land, healthy animals, and healthy people for generations. We’re proud to serve you in a way that our grandchildren will appreciate.
Our Team
Shirley McElhattan
MDRetail Operations/Health and Wellness
Shirley McElhattan is co-founder and health & wellness lead of Fireberry, an organization dedicated to helping local farming deliver its fullest potential in nourishing, healing, and connecting. Fireberry owns and operates Tierra Verde Farms, where Shirley leads all commercial operations. She spent 25 years practicing medicine at UPMC before leaving in 2024, driven by a belief in prevention over treatment. She and Justin were connected with Steve and Mel Montgomery of Lamppost Farms and formed Fireberry shortly after. They have three children and live in Pittsburgh.
Alex Hedrick
Retail Operations
Alex Hedrick has worked in the Tierra Verde Store since 2024, bringing prior retail experience in retail from Giant Eagle and Sparkle. She loves working with customers and she also really enjoys the behind-the-scenes work in the Tierra Verde Farms kitchen, preparing food, restocking trailers, and packing orders. She is a wife and mother of four, and she enjoys baking, crocheting, and gardening.
Michael McMaster
Farm Manager
Michael McMaster is farm manager for Terra Verde Farms. He and his wife Kaitlin have three children and live on the farm. Michael grew up on a fourth generation family farm, although his introduction to regenerative agriculture was while his wife Kaitlin was an intern at Lamppost Farm in Columbiana in 2020. He and Kaitlin have three children. Michael loves the wide range of animals he gets to work with at Tierra Verde. He also loves to meet the families at the farmers markets that we get to provide food for each week. In a spare time he and his family love playing board games.
Steve Montgomery
Mentor Farmer
Steve Montgomery is the co-founder of Fireberry and Mentor Farmer at Tierra Verde Farm. His path to farming began after losing his father to colon cancer at 50 — a wake-up call that led him and his wife Melanie to leave 14 years of campus ministry and found Lamppost Farm, a non-profit using agriculture to reach and teach others. Before farming, Steve built wilderness and adventure education programs at Westminster College, leading experiences across three continents. A husband, father of four, and lifelong learner, Steve sees himself as a student first and teacher second — and farming is where he works that out.
Zoe McElrath
Livestock Manager
Zoe McElrath is livestock manager at Tierra Verde Farms. She has been working with livestock for over 6 years and has a degree from Ohio State ATI in animal science with a specialization in beef and small ruminant production and management. She particularly loves working with the TVF flock of sheep and making friends at the farmers markets and drop sites. In her free time she loves camping, fishing, reading, and cooking.
Sandra Cameron
Retail Operations
Sandra Cameron works in the TR Verde store on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She has a passion for cooking and also works as a chef. She owned a café for a number of years as well. Sandra loves seeing the animals in the pasture and takes pride knowing that she and the team deliver the best products to our customers.
Justin McElhattan
Farm Hand
Justin McElhattan is co-founder of Fireberry and founder of Nicely Road, an investment company focused on accelerating the availability of well-grown food through regenerative agriculture. He spent 30 years leading Industrial Scientific Corporation before its acquisition by Fortive (NYSE: FTV) in 2017. Justin is an active board member across several businesses and non-profits and is passionate about living one’s mission through their work. He and his wife Shirley have three children and live in Pittsburgh.