Jan-Feb 2009 Passages Newsletter, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture

8/9/2019 Jan-Feb 2009 Passages Newsletter, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture

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Serving the Community of Sustainable Farmers, Consumers and Businesses Throughout Pennsylvania and BeyondNumber 76 January/February 2009

Newsletter of the

Pennsylvania

Association

for Sustainable

Agriculture

PassagesSustainable Food and Farming Systems

PASAs 18th AnnualFarming for the Future Conference

PASAs signature event the Farming for the Future conference

was a success in early February. Widely regarded as the best

sustainable agriculture gathering in the East, this diverse 5-day

spectacular brought together an audience of over 1,900 from

30 states and 6 countries. Those in attendance included rep-

resentatives from 34 different schools and approximately 700

individuals who were attending the conference for the first time.

PASAAnnounces

PartnershipwithFood

Allianceseepage12


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2009 Farming for the FutureConference Review

3 Sustainable Ag Awards

4 Brownback Scholarship Fund

5 Conference ReviewVolunteers & Friends

8 Conference Photos

6 Directors Corner

7 Board Perspective

12 Food Alliance Partnership

13 Fundraising Update

14 Developments in Organic No-Till

16 Business Member Profile

17 Membership Update

18 Regional Marketing

20 Terra Madre Experience

21 Heirloom Melons

22 Farmer Profile

24 Educational Outreach

26 Consumer Outreach

27 Classified Ads

30 Calendar

31 Membership Form

Photographs on the front cover

(clockwise from upper left)

Friday morning Keynote speaker Raj Patel,author ofStuffed and Starvedentertained and

challenged listeners as he deconstructed theconcept of food sovereignty.

Leann Murphy, co-organizer of the conference

Kids Program,teaches conference youth how tomake paper.

As part of the High School Students Green

Living, Green Learning pre-conference track,Elliott Clark places a plant in the living wall built

by the students in the Penn State University

greenhouse.

Ashley King was one of fourteen studentsfrom the Penn College of Technology Culinary

program who were working hard behind thescenes. Students from this class volunteer a great

amount of labor annually to process the raw

ingredients for our fabulous conference meals.

The Farmers Market Caf was a popular

alternative for healthy snack or light meal.

Vending PASA members provided sandwiches,cheeses & breads,fruits & veggies,salads, and

other healthy fare,including kombucha and

raw milk!

Passages STAFF & OFFICE

Editor: Michele Gauger

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

President: Kim Seeley,Bradford County

Vice President: Brian Moyer, Berks County

Secretary: Mary Barbercheck,Centre County

Treasurer: Louise Schorn Smith,Chester County

Jerry Brunetti, Northampton CountyMelanie Dietrich Cochran, Cumberland County

Jennifer Halpin,Cumberland County

John Hopkins,Columbia County

John Jamison,Westmoreland County

Don Kretschmann,Beaver County

Christopher Lent,Luzerne County

Jeff Mattocks,Dauphin County

Sandra Miller,Cumberland County

Susan Miller,Chester County

Rita Resick, Somerset County

At-Large Board Members

David Bingaman,Dauphin County

Jamie Moore,Allegheny County

PASA STAFF

PASA Headquarters

Phone: 814-349-9856Brian Snyder

Executive Director

[email protected]

Lauren Smith

Director of Development

[email protected]

Carrie Gillespie

Development Program Assistant

[email protected]

Allison Shauger

Educational Outreach Director

[email protected]

Rachel Schaal

Educational Outreach Associate

[email protected]

Michele GaugerDirector of Membership & Research Assistant

[email protected]

Brandi Marks

Office Coordinator/Bookkeeper

[email protected]

Teresa McFeely

Bookkeeping Assistant

[email protected]

Consumer Outreach

Phone: 412-246-0990

Chris Fullerton

Director of Consumer Outreach

[email protected]

Southeast Regional Office

Phone: 610-458-5700 x305

Marilyn Anthony

Southeast Regional Director

[email protected]

Kendra Anderson

Assistant Program Director

[email protected]

Western Regional Office

Phone: 412-697-0411

Greg Boulos

Western Regional Director

[email protected]

Mia Farber

Consumer Outreach Associate

[email protected]

PassagesJan/Feb 2009 ContributorsContributing writers & photographers: Kendra Anderson,

Marilyn Anthony, Greg Boulos, Matthew Buck, Chris

Fullerton, Paul Hepperly, Michelle Isham, Michael Kodner,

Don Kretschmann, Kristin Leitzel, Gayle Morrow, Jeff

Moyer, Caroline Owens, Rachel Schaal, Allison Shauger,

Louise Schorn Smith, Lauren Smith, Brian Snyder, Cathi

Gerhard Williams,Dave Wilson.

Conference photography:Pat Little.

PASA in the News Have you seen articles about PASA

in your local newspapers or other media? PASA is active

across the state, and wed love to know what coverage weare getting in your area.Please clip any articles you see on

PASA and mail them to our Millheim headquarters to the

attention of Michele Gauger.

Do you have a great article idea for Passages? Want

to share a farming practice with members? Wed love to

hear from you. Please contact the newsletter staff at

[email protected].

Deadline for March/April 2009 Issue:

March 20, 2009

Advertising Sales: Michele Gauger,

PASA office,[email protected]

Layout: C Factor

Pennsylvania Association

for Sustainable AgricultureP.O. Box 419

Millheim PA 16854Phone: (814) 349-9856

Fax: (814) 349-9840www.pasafarming.org

PASAs Mission isPromoting profitable farms which produce

healthy food for all people while respecting the

natural environment.PASA is an organization as diverse as the Pennsylvania land-

scape.We are seasoned farmers who k now that sustainability is

not only a concept, but a way of life. We are new farmers look-

ing for the fulfillment of land stewardship.We are students and

other consumers,anxious to understand our food systems and

the choices that must be made. We are families and children,

who hold the future of farming in our hands.This is an organi-

zation that is growing in its voice on behalf of farmers in Penn-

sylvania and beyond. Our mission is achieved, one voice, one

farm, one strengthened community at a time.

PASA is an Equal Opportunity Service Provider and Employer.

Some grant funding comes from the USDA and complaints of

discrimination should be sent to: USDA Office of Civil Rights,

Washington, DC 20250-9410.Passages is printed on recycled paper

Jan/Feb 2009


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Conference Review

SUSTAINABLE AG LEADERSHIP AWARD

The list of recipients for PASAs Sustainable Ag Leadership

Award is, in board president Kim Seeleys words, a list of leg-ends. The winner of this years award is as natural as it gets,Seeley said during the Friday night celebration at the 2009Farming for the Future conference, a person with a lifetimecommitment to sustainability, one who has always been afriend to organizations in need, and one who exhibits a traitthat perhaps only others who have that deep and unique lovefor the land and the animals can understand.

He is passionate about cows.He is Kim Miller.He has done so much for PASA, said Executive Director

Brian Snyder. He never spared us his sense of humor or hishonest opinions.

A PASA member since 1994, Miller, who farms in West-moreland County, served for several years as president of theboard of directors, stepping aside in 2007 when Seeley took theoffice. He is executive secretary of the North American DevonAssociation, a member of the Westmoreland Conservation Dis-

trict board, the Smart Growth Westmoreland board, and theGreen Forge.Well, I am humbled, said Miller as he accepted the award.

Theres no organization that Im more proud to be honored by.This is an organization where there arent any big egos. Itsabout all of us working together for the common good.

Its not the first time Miller has reminded PASA membersthat standing together rather than battling alone is a more sen-sible and sustainable way to go. In the Presidents Corner ofthe July/August 2006 issue ofPassages, Miller wrote about rela-tionship-building among the cantankerous lot that is the sus-tainable ag community; sparing neither his sense of humor norhis honest opinions, told us that the truth can be off-putting,

Annual Awards Celebrate Leaders in Sustainable AgricultureBy Gayle Morrow, PASA member

that mercy and forgiveness trumps truth and justice, andthat we need to continue to encourage each other no matter

where we are along the path of sustainability.From PASA all the way up to the proverbial powers-that-be,its about supporting and encouraging each other rather thanarguing about who is more right or more sustainable. It is, saidMiller, paraphrasing keynote speaker Raj Patels words, aboutowning our democracy rather than consuming it.

SUSTAINABLE AG BUSINESS LEAD ER AWARDPASA board member Don Kretschmann characterized the

recipient of the Sustainable Ag Business Leader Award as avery discerning group. He explained that he has personallybeen doing business with East End Food Cooperative for 30years; the relationship began as he sold food in front of their

store when they first opened and continued, somewhat explo-sively, when he sold them cider on consignment. Since then,this pioneer in the food field has undergone changes in man-agement and staff but has never lost its passion for selling fresh,local food and for promoting the importance of vibrant neigh-borhood connections.

East End Food Co-Op has 60 employees, 8,000 members,and $7 million in gross sales. It is Pittsburghs only consumer-owned natural foods store. Among the cooperatives seven guid-ing principles are concern for community and the provision ofeducation, training and information.

Cooperatives are an often-overlooked business model thatis even more relevant in todays struggling economy, com-

mented Kate Smith, with Keystone Development Center.In accepting the award, Rob Baran, the current general man-

ager, said he was pretty surprised.I thought we had the potential to be one of Americas great

co-ops, and were getting there, he said.Yes they are!

Former PASA board president, Kim Miller was honored with the Sustain-

able Ag Leadership Award. Kim was grateful to be recognized for his years

of service to the agricultural community. Pictured left to right are Brian

Snyder, Kim Miller and Kim Seeley, current PASA board president.

East End Food Cooperative was honored with the Sustainable Agriculture

Business Award. Rob Baran, General Manager of the co-op, accepted the

award on behalf of the staff and board of East End. Pictured from left to

right are Brian Snyder,Rob Baran and Don Kretschmann, board member.


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PASA offered a special breakfast reception for our Lifetime and PermanenBusiness Partner members at this years conference. Pictured here are Lifetime members Kim and Dianne Miller; PASAs Membership Director, MicheleGauger; and Lifetime members Hope and Roy Brubaker.This was Hopes firsvisit to the conference since they became members back in 1992.

PASAs Annual Meeting is held during the conference and is a chance formembers to learn more about nominees running for the board of directorsPASAs current financial statement, recounting issues discussed in theRegional Breakout Sessions and an open forum for member questions. Ocourse with such a tight schedule it is sometimes hard to fit everything in!

Scholarship ProgramsA Success

Two scholarship funds combined this year to enablea total of 66 farmers to attend the 18th annual Farming

for the Futureconference. PASAs Arias M. BrownbackMemorial Scholarship enjoyed more applicants thanever before and fortunately, the funds PASA had to dis-perse increased proportionately thanks to generousPASA members contributions throughout the year.

As Tarrah Young, a scholarship recipient fromOntario, Canada (see photo page 8), so eloquentlyexplained over the Friday night Awards Banquet Dinner,the Brownback Scholarship Fund is an instrumental fac-tor in helping new farmers acquire the training,resources, and networks they need to launch their firstfarming enterprises. Thank you to all of the many sup-

porters of the growing Brownback fund who are helpingsew the seeds of a healthy new generation of farmers.

Also this year, PASA was pleased to partner with theChester County Workforce Investment Board and theChester County Economic Development Council tooffer financial assistance from the Southeast PA IndustryPartnership with grant funds received from the Pennsyl-vania Department of Labor and Industry. Because ofthis opportunity, 27 Southeastern PA farmers attendedthe Farming for the Futureconference for the first time!

We are delighted to share the generosity of PASAmembers and supporters with new and beginning farm-ers who do not yet have the financial means to attend

the conference. Thanks to all those who have con-tributed to this growing memorial fund.

Conference Review

4

PASA Benefit Auction

Thanks to our members

and conference atten-

dees,the annual PASA

Benefit Auction was a

huge success! PASA

appreciates generous

donations from our

members,including

member Carl Hursch

who has donated items

every year, such as

these antique kitchen

tools. Stay tuned for the

March/April Passages

for a complete recap of

this fundraiser.


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Conference Invests in Carbon OffsetsThis year, we wanted to take an important step in greening the conferenceby look-

ing seriously at the carbon emissions created by simply convening our audience. Wewanted to mitigate the greenhouse gas emissions caused by transportation to and from

the conference center by our participants as well as by energy and electricity used dur-ing the conference. To these ends, this year we purchased carbon offsets equivalent tothe emissions associated with the conference. A carbon offset is a financial instrumentrepresenting a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

PASA worked with the Environmental Credit Corporation (ECC) on this project.ECC creates environmental assets through long-term greenhouse gas reduction proj-ects. Our conference emissions will be offset by investing in a landfill methane avoid-ance project, which creates carbon credits by diverting organic materials from landfillsand utilizing them in composting operations. The high-quality, independently veri-fied, additional credits derived from this protocol are registered and traded on the

Chicago Climate Exchange the worlds first volun-tary, legally binding, rule-

based greenhouse gasemission reduction andtrading system.

Friends of the ConferenceThe Farming for the Future conference is

an extremely important event for the

PASA membership. Those who donated

$100 to become a Friend of the Confer-

ence were contributing to ensure every-

one can participate by keeping

registration fees affordable. Thanks to all

of these generous folks for being a Friend!

Annette & Michael Akey AmsterdamProduce Enterprises, Inc. Bob Anderson

Mary Barbercheck Nancy & Bob Bern-

hardt Amanda Birk & Chris Lent Linda

& Tim Blakeley Melanie & Mark Deitrich

Cochran Catherine & Gary Cox Moie &

Jim Crawford Lisa & Duane Diefenbach

Mark Dornstreich Helen & Bill Elkins

James Fealy Meg Gleason Todd & John

Hopkins Carl Hursh Becky & Don

Kretschmann David Lembeck Gretchen

Ludders Beth & Ken Marshall Tracy &

Jeff Mattocks Maryann & Dennis

Mawhinney Dianne & Kim Miller San-

dra Miller Susan Miller Mary Ann &

William Oyler Rita Resick & Rick

Stafford Melissa Reynolds Thomas

Reynolds Carolyn Sachs Susan & Don

Sauter The Seeley Family Allison

Shauger Louise Schorn Smith Nancy

Shorsher Shary & Gary Skoloff Lauren

& Ian Smith Paula & Brian Snyder

Chester Stoltzfus Marilynne Stout

Debbie Swettenam & Linda Humphreys

Althea & William Wagman Barbara &

Michael Wahler Sandie & John Walker

Deborah & Jeffrey Warden

Conference VolunteersPASA staff and board would like to thankour dedicated volunteers who helpedmake our recent conference a success.

Chris Adamski Wendy Allem A.J.

Bashore Liz Bosak Linda Burns Mike

Byers Pat & Bill Callahan Moie Kimball

Crawford Kristen Devlin Molly Diefen-

bach John Eshleman Rob Fix Nate

Gillespie Greta Haney Susan Haney

Dale Henry Maggie Henry Claire Holzn-

er Anna Hopkins Todd Hopkins Steve

Hoy Julie Hurst Laura Jackson Shira

Kamm April Kocis Jennifer Laudry War-

ren Leitzel Elaine Lemmon Beth Mar-

shall Julie Mason Liesl Meyers AbbyMinor Cindy Murray Willa Paterson

Mary Peders Andy Porter Jack Ray

Christine Robinson Matt Savarino

Annyce Schafft Emily Scheffler Audrey

Schwartzberg Caroline Shauger Don

Shauger Dan Shimp Kate Sigler Tey

Stiteler Holly Tyson Genny Uhl Bob

Vernon William Vint Lori Witmer David

Wrestler Effie Zuck

Note:The volunteer conference planning

committee, which organized the pro-

gram, was acknowledged in the 2008

July/August issue ofPassages.

Brandi Robinson, PolicyAnalyst for the Environ-mental Credit Corp. ,explains the landfillmethane avoidance projectPASA chose to offset car-bon emissions associatedwith the conference.

Conference Review

5

A D V E R TI S E M E N T

Conference CDs & DVDs

are available!

Farming for the Future Keynotes andWorkshops are audio recorded courtesy of

Cocalico Audio

Cocalico offers nearly all conference workshops and pre-conferenceprograms on 80-minute audio CDs. A select number of workshops arealso offered on DVD. To purchase CDs or DVDs, contact Cocalico toplace additional orders.

Cocalico Audio

187 East Church Street Stevens,PA 17578 Phone: (717) 336-4179

Order form for Cds & DVDs is available at

www.pasafarming.org.


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By Brian Snyder, Executive Director

Watershed=

Foodshed

6

watershed-as-foodshed ideal.But I am far from feeling fatalistic

about this situation, and believe insteadthat the merging of food and water healthin our minds, and daily lives, offers asolution we might not have anticipated.

The key is to insist on implementing

an attitude with respect to food in ourown communities that is the diametricopposite of the out of sight, out ofmind tendency of conventional foodsystems. If we insist on eating only foodfrom sources that are very much insight, using methods that are trulymindful of the resources involved, wecan begin to reverse the disturbing trendsthat we have lived with for so long.

The scope of such an effort wouldhave to cover a broad range of situations.For instance, beginning with an insis-

tence on obtaining as much food as pos-sible from ones local watershed makes alot of sense, beginning for many people with nourishment coming from theirown backyards. Developing local associa-tions that connect the ideals of good watershed and foodshed managementshould be a priority. Communities servedby such groups could develop specificgoals for achieving benchmarks in termsof both water and food quality availablewithin their immediate vicinity.

Further afield we will need to assure

ourselves of the growing health of ourlarger water/food-sheds by implementingstandards and best management practicesthat can be adhered to by participatingfarmers and verified publicly. We coulddo this by combining PASAs regionalBuy Fresh Buy Local programs and ournew strategic partnership with the Food Alliance of Portland, Oregon, to bringsustainable certification to the Mid-Atlantic region.

It may be impossible to restore a situ-ation in our world where watersheds andfoodsheds are literally one in the same.But all of the true advancements made bythe human race to date have resultedfrom our ability to utilize metaphoricallanguage, very often inspired by nature,to bring meaning into our lives.

The idea of life-giving water flowingthrough our communities, used as a wayof understanding the importance of con-necting with our sources of bodily nour-ishment as well, is a metaphor whosetime has indeed arrived. I

efforts to build new food systems.That insight seemed straightforward

enough at the time, coming as it did afterthree intensive days of studying the sever-al aspects of Finding Your Foodshed.But I have not been able to get the ideaout of my mind since, and it continues to

stimulate my thinking.There certainly was a time when watersheds everywhere provided theirown needs for nourishment and recyclingof the specific nutrients required to sus-tain life. With only minor exceptions thiswould have continued even into the time when humans roamed the planet, aswaterways served also as the major livingcenters and transportation routes.Indeed, life as we know it was onceattached to free-flowing waters whereverthey could be found.

Here in ridge-and-valley central Penn-sylvania, even the first human-construct-ed roadways did not change the fact thatfor most people, their sources of food andsocialization existed between the ridges.There are still many people in this part ofthe country who live in one end of a val-ley and vacation in the other.

But of course, the situation with ourfood has changed dramatically over theyears. Mountains themselves are nolonger considered obstacles to the roadbuilders of the modern era, and anyone

wanting to map out a foodshed wouldhave to do so according to the rivers ofcarbon-burning traffic rather than thosethat carr our life-giving water. Truth is,even much of the water for human con-sumption comes by highway now.

With this change has come a multi-tude of problems, including especially theflagrant disregard of watershed health inmost aspects of life. Its troubling thatproduction of food for shipment acrossthe country often occurs with indiffer-

ence regarding the local water source,perhaps quite predictably.There are other problems that have

come about due to our new rivers ofconcrete, including food safety issues,the spread of both animal and humandiseases, invasive plants (notice all theSpotted Knapweed along the interstates!)and of course global warming. In fact,one could jump off here and talk abouthow our financial, healthcare and evengovernmental systems have been nega-tively affected by a diversion from the

Directo

rsCorner

Every year as we prepare for our nextFarming for the Futureconference, we work hard to develop a theme that willserve as an organizing idea. Then we pickour keynote speakers according to someaspect of the theme, and work extra hardto have them understand what we are try-ing to achieve.

Not uncommonly Ill have keynotespeakers say to me after giving theirspeeches that they really had no ideahow significant the PASA conferencereally was, sometimes wishing they hadput more time into preparation. This yearwe had the very pleasant experience of anopening keynote speaker, Raj Patel, whoabsolutely nailed the intent of the themein his remarks, and a closing speaker,Bern Sweeney, who was so moved by theconference itself that he actually reconfig-

ured his remarks on the spot.Bern, who is a highly respected spe-cialist on watershed protection, knew we wanted to explore the analogy betweenhow a watershed functions and how wemight conceive of and support a food-shed. He inserted into his slide presenta-tion an image containing the title of thiscolumn, Watershed = Foodshed,explaining that he suddenly realized this was the natural state of things in any wholly undisturbed ecosystem, and isperhaps a worthwhile goal for our future


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Recently on the way back from themailbox to retrieve the newspaper, Iwas struck by the headline: Bad Trend.

It seemed like the 30th bad news head-line in a row: A Fight for Survival.Some Shoppers Go Without. FinancialGenius on Verge of Disaster.It was the laststraw. Its time someone heard some goodnews!

The local food business is thriving despitethe real economy.

Demand for locally produced food isfar outstripping supply. In my 30 yearsfarming and marketing locally, this wasour best year ever. More telling is that

there has been no big bubble but juststeady growth over that entire time. Andthroughout this fall there was a steadydrumbeat like never before fromthose wishing to buy our local producenext season. I hear from other farmersaround the state and other regions thevery same thing.

What is making it thrive are somereally fundamental factors and certainlythese would lead one to think it isntsome flash-in-the-pan phenomenon but atruly sustainable movement.

7

Several factors can impede thisunfolding ag revolution and opportunity.One is the loss of local, small-scale foodprocessing facilities slaughterhousesand butchershops, particularly. And theother is the loss of young people to enterthe field (no pun intended) whove had

the experience of growing up on farms.The first might be addressed withrevamping inspection regulations and would be an excellent place to spendsome of those federal infrastructure dol-lars. Both impediments will be addressedas talent is drawn to the good agricultur-al and ag infrastructure opportunities.

Maybe that other economy couldtake some lessons from the simple eco-nomics of good old-fashioned horsesense.

Im always amazed how deep are the

real pockets of our diversified Pennsylva-nia farmers. Its not paper wealth that hasbeen created but the durable hard capitalof topsoil, woodlots, cattle, orchards,fences, barns and machinery.

Its pretty typical of these farmers notto live beyond their means, to be adverseto borrowing, to take responsibility, tosee beyond rhetoric and schemes toogood to be true, and rather than expect-ing a free lunch, they provide it.

Instead of spending their grandchil-drens inheritance, they build it. The

real economy seems to have totally for-gotten these basics. I

Editors Note: Don Kretschmann is anorganic farmer in Rochester, PA (BeaverCounty), visit www.kretschmannfarm.com.This article did appear in the January 5,

2009 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazetteand is reprinted with permission.

PASABoardPerspective

It all starts with a geometricallyincreasing consumer base which gets it that real food from local sources can,and does, promote health. That spendingthose food dollars for local foods pro-motes in one action many things most ofus want the freshest things the earth

can provide for our table at a reasonableprice; the comfort of knowing where ourfood has come from and how it was pro-duced, i.e. transparency and trust; andbeautiful agricultural landscapes in onesvicinity. Locally produced food does allthese things while tasting sogood.

Observing firsthand the connectionbetween our physical world and ourown sustenance, i.e. having farms nearby,gives citizens a sense of peace, securityand well-being. The practice of agricul-ture models characteristics in the human

spirit that are worth encouraging in thecitizenry hard work, honesty, connect-edness, thrift, adaptability, inventiveness,recognition of the divine, artistry in theaesthetics of place and responsibility.

Yes, we can try to teach these things toour children in our educational institu-tions, but immersion is always the bestteaching method. Farming exerts farmore influence on the quality of our livesthan even mere dollars would suggest.People are rediscovering this and the factthey value it is attested by this explosion

of local food sales. Agriculture is well-known for recy-

cling the dollars many times over as theypercolate through the local economy. According to a Penn State Universitystudy, farms exact less in terms of munic-ipal services per dollar of tax collectedthan any other type of land use. UsingRoss Perots words, local farms dont cre-ate a giant sucking sound of jobs leav-ing the country, but just the reverse.

Now, I said earlier that this local food

is provided at a reasonable price. This isnot the same as food provided inexpen-sively.

The willingness of the consumingpublic to pay a fair price for food reflectsa fundamental change. They see that thisnutritious food is actually a bargain whencompared with purchasing cheap food which is deleterious to health, or food which is shipped astronomical distancesincurring hidden costs of environmentaldegradation and energy dependency. (Isthere a parallel in the auto industry?)

By Don Kretschmann,PASA board member & farmer

A headline from yourlocal farmer

Were Booming!Good Food is

Good Business!

Stayconnected!

Visit PASA online at

www.pasafarming.org


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en Churchill (left) & Paul Collin examine and

dentify live bio-controls in the lab during the

ands-On IPM and Biocontrols pre-conference

ack.

en Churchill (left) & Paul Collin examine and

dentify live bio-controls in the lab during the

ands-On IPM and Biocontrols pre-conference

rack.

8

A group of 9 students from the Radnor Middle School Watershed program brought their hands-onwatershed

to the conference and captivated onlookers.Watershed is a yearlong, fully integrated program for forty 7th-gr

that encompasses all of the traditional disciplines t hrough the lens of the watershed they inhabit.

hought provoking quotes are submitted by the

membership throughout the year for posting

n the conference center walls. Inspiration

bounds at Farming for the Future!

A useful item featured in the Benefit Auction

this year was a backyard chicken coop donated

by Pine Creek Structures located in Harrisburg,

PA.PASA executive diretor Brian Snyder

saw this coop built for a kingat t he

PA Farm Show and knew we had

to get one for t he PASA auction!

he fantastic meals and receptions featuring regional foods are designed by Chef Ken Stout (second from left) and

ASA staff. Chef Mike Ditchfield (third from left) and 8 of his fourteen students from the Penn College of Technology

ulinary program took a moment from the busy kitchen to receive an ovation from the grateful eaters at the Friday

ight Awards Banquet Dinner.

Before the live au

Friday night, Br

Scholarship recipien

Young of Ontario

explains what

conference h

to her as she

partner lau

farm


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The Farmland Preservation A

held a show of their food and far

art during the conference, with a perce

of sales benefiting PASA.Their beautifuwas a delight to browsers and shoppers

Chef Ken Stout carved

the grass-fed Steam

he 7-piece MacGuillicuddies band rocked the house with their lively

ydeco stylings and beautiful harmonies. Accordion player Thor Oechsner

ad a second reasonto attend, as he has a 400-acre organic farm in NY

hat grows spelt,oats, wheat, corn,soybeans, and hay.

value-addedoutcome of the conference is like-minded people having

he chance to meet and network an opportunity that any sustainable

armer or involved eater would cherish.That occasion thrives as our audi-

nce grows to standing room only!

Scott Exo, Executive Director

Alliance along with membe

staff attended the confere

year to talk with member

their Sustainable Cert

program. PASA and Food have partnered to bring Sust

Certification to the Mid-

region, read more about t

endeavor on page 12 a

www.foodalllia

Fully engaged is

would describe Jerry

(left) of Agri-Dynam

a Gold Level

Jerry was also a cospeaker, generou

donor,and serves on t

board. Picture

Agri-Dynamics office

Regina M

Fully engaged is

would describe Jerry

(left) of Agri-Dyna

a Gold Level

Jerry was also a cospeaker, generou

donor,and serves on t

board. Picture

Agri-Dynamics office

Regina M


10/32

Workshop speaker Phylleri Ball

of Steam Valley Fiber Farm

instructs participants on plant

dyeing animal fibers

State Representative David Kess

(D-Berks) was invited to be part

Friday morning plenary session

sentative Kessler introduced leg

last year that would offer financ

assistance to farmers interested

transitioning to organic produc

ver 60 children ages, 18 months to 12 years old, participated

n the Future Farmers Program. PASA thanks Jill Shankel of

Munnell Run Farm and the Penn State Sustainable Agriculture

ub for their efforts to offer engaging programming.

eb Heleba (left) and Lisa McCrory brought Cooperative Extensions

ew eOrganic to the PASA conference and made lots of new and valu-

ble connections while exhibiting in the prestigious Deans Hall. They

were one of 14 Platinum Level Sponsors.

Farmer and cheesemaker Brian Futhey of Stone Meadow Farm shares samples of his a

cheeses at the Thursday evening cheese tasting.There were 11 cheesemakers samplinselling their wares.

acticing their beats in the drum

cle, kids in the conference Kids

ogram learned about music and

orking together to make rhyth-

c sounds.

The Bag Auction during

the conference has become

quite a draw for those

looking for a unique gift

to take home. PASA mem-

ber Richard Steigerwald

enjoys contributing to

PASA while taking a chance

to win.


11/3211

t the Job Fair Meet & Greet on Friday evening,

otential employees chat with farmers seeking

o fill job openings on their farm.

he PASA staff once again smiled broadly in response to a standing ovation at the closing ceremony. Pictured here left to right: (front row) Allison Shauger,Lisa Diefen

ristin Leitzel, Brian Snyder, Greg Boulos (back row) Patty Neiner, Chris Fullerton, Lauren Smith,Marilyn Anthony. Busy at the Auction cash-out and unavailable for theara Eisenfeld, Michele Gauger, Carrie Gillespie,Brandi Marks and Rachel Schaal.

losing Keynote speaker

ern Sweeney of the Stroudwater

esearch Center concludes the

onference reminding us how our

watersheds and foodsheds are

ntricately connected.

Back by popular demand, Kathy Voth of

Livestock for Landscapes,LLC presents

on clearing pastures with goats,cows

and more.


12/3212

ety of commercial food buyers. Thesepartners in change include grocerystores, restaurant chains and food servicecompanies and involve local, regionaland national businesses.

With cumulative sales of Food Alliance certified products exceeding

$450 million per year, certified clientsreport positive customer feedback,increased customer loyalty, new markets,as well as increased sales, access to con-tracts and price premiums.

Food Alliance has commissionedgroundbreaking research on consumerattitudes towards sustainable food prod-ucts (The Hartman Reports), organizednational conferences on eco-labeling, andpublished a popular guide for universitiesand other institutions on developing sus-tainable food purchasing policies.

Food Alliance maintains its headquar-ters in Portland, Oregon, and has region-al offices in Davis, California, St. Paul,Minnesota, and now with PASA, an out-post in the Mid-Atlantic region.

A growing number of companies aremarketing natural or green products but when you look closely, theres notmuch behind it, says Food Allianceexecutive director Scott Exo. Consumersknow that game and they are increasing-ly cynical. Third-party certification veri-

fies and substantiates marketing claims.There is an objective and meaningfulstandard for performance. With third-party certification, you know where theproduct comes from and you know howit was produced. That transparency cre-ates trust and loyalty.

PASAs role in bringing Food Alliancecertification to Pennsylvania and theMid-Atlantic region is to focus on mar-keting the program and helping, wherenecessary, to facilitate the initial processfor farmers and businesses in achievingcertification. Also, PASAs regionalmarketing offices, and the networks offarmers, consumers and food-relatedbusinesses they have developed, provideideal circumstances for expansion of theprogram and maximizing the impact onthe viability of farms, health of the foodsystem and economic development incommunities, all in a measurable way.For more information, please contact usat [email protected], or callour main office at (814) 349-9856. I

PASANews

Since 1992, PASA has been a leadingadvocate for reconnecting farmers andconsumers to improve human and envi-ronmental health, and we have recentlybegun a new project to create more trans-parency and accountability in our region-al food system.

PASA has formed a partnership withthe national nonprofit Food Alliance tocertify farmers, food packers, processorsand distributors in Pennsylvania and sur-

rounding states for sustainable agricultur-al and business practices.Food Alliance certification standards

address a wide range of consumer con-cerns for food products including: safeand fair working conditions, healthy andhumane treatment of animals, reductionof pesticide use and toxicity, soil and water conservation and protection ofwildlife habitat. The standards specifical-ly prohibit genetically modified crops orlivestock and the use of synthetic hor-mones or non-therapeutic antibiotics.

They require feeds for animals, notderived from other animals, with theexception of milk and milk by-products.

For consumers to make free andinformed choices about what kinds offoods support the health and well-beingof our communities and the environ-ment, they need a basis for evaluatingmarketing claims, says PASA executivedirector Brian Snyder. They may be ableto make more informed decisions aboutlocal foods when they have met thefarmer in the farmers market and had aconversation about how that farm wasmanaged. That opportunity usually does-nt exist in a retail or restaurant setting.We want to give our regional farmers atool to differentiate their products in thatretail or food service setting. And we want to give citizens a better means toseparate the marketing of food from thereality of production practices.

You can review existing certificationstandards at www.FoodAlliance.org. Thecertification process may take 4 to 8

weeks, depending on the season. Theinspection will be scheduled when weath-er and the production cycle allow directobservation of management practices.

One of the factors distinguishingFood Alliances program is that inspectorsare required to have education and expe-rience with the production systems theyinspect. The inspection is not simply achecklist. It is about understanding howproducers make management decisions,

and what systems and practices they useto ensure good outcomes.Hearst Ranch Beef in California was

certified by Food Alliance in 2006. Man-ager Brian Kenny said, Food Alliancecertification is a very pragmatic approachto continually improving your operation.You get to look in the mirror and honest-ly assess what youre doing. The questionsthe inspector was asking were questions we should have been asking ourselvesanyway. We did find points for improve-ment during the inspection, and it

turned out they were things that actuallyhelped us with efficiency. Inspection alsohelped us appreciate all the good thingswe were doing, which has given us moreto talk about with our customers.

Food Alliance launched its farm andranch certification program in 1998 inPortland, Oregon with a single applegrower selling in three grocery stores.Today, there are over 320 Food Alliancecertified farms and ranches in 23 U.S.states, Canada and Mexico. These pro-ducers manage over 5.6 million acres,raising beef, lamb, pork, dairy, mush-rooms, wheat, legumes, and a wide vari-ety of fruits and vegetables.

Certification for processors and dis-tributors was introduced in 2006, andnow includes 6 distribution facilities and14 fruit, vegetable, dairy and meatprocessors.

To increase demand for certified prod-ucts and to support the success of certi-fied farms and ranches, Food Alliancealso forges relationships with a wide vari-

Innovative NonProfit PartnershipBrings Sustainable AgricultureCertification to PennsylvaniaNew Markets for Farmers, More Socially and EnvironmentallyResponsible Products for Consumers


13/32

$196,304 Nov 30

13

Time to Bee Thankful!

-$225,000-----

200,000-----

175,000-----

150,000-----

125,000-----

100,000-----

75,000-----

50,000-----

25,000-----

0-

$230,000 Our Goal

$60,036March 26

$79,929April 30

$95,396June 30

$100,020 Aug 31

$216,950 Dec 31

By Louise Schorn Smith, Fundraising Committee Co-chairWe started our fundraising last spring with board member Sandra

Millers eloquent appeal letter to members, which encouraged us tostop and observe the everyday circumstance whereby more people are

examining their fundamental choices (such as food, shelter and com-munities) and are making significant changes to their personal lives andbusiness practices for the common good. She asked Is it just me, or arePASA members standing around looking at each other and asking ifmore citizens of planet Earth are starting to get it? She also astutely

noted that despite the diversity within the PASA membership, it is aplace where people can agree to disagree agreeably as well as nurtureunique and innovative ideas without the fear of criticism for breaking

away from the norm. As the year continued, we held a whirlwind of fundraising

events from summer through fall including the renowned harvestdinners in Harrisburg and Pittsburgh and at Longwood Gardens,the inaugural Bike Fresh outing, the Four Seasons Produce salesevent, the Devon Whole Foods sales event and the Beef Cook-Off hosted by the Glasbern Inn. We hope that you were ableto take part in at least one of these fabulous events by attend-ing, sponsoring, volunteering or providing ingredients.

We closed the year with our annual fall appeal at a time when the economy was challenging many of us and our

neighbors, and some of our nations most revered financialinstitutions were teetering on the brink. We were remind-ed in that fall letter by Brian Snyder, PASA ExecutiveDirector, how meaningless mere paper transactions can

be and that timeless treasures come from the sweat ofour brow and the soil of this beautiful earth.

Through these many and varied ways, weachieved 94% of our goal by raising $216,950 andwe are very thankful to all who participated in

this success. In such a financially trying year,we are grateful that so many of you demon-strated your belief in the value of PASA as avoice for sustainable agriculture by making afurther investment in our work with your

donations.

Fundraisin

gUpdate

I PASA Membership Renewal

Reminder

To all PASA members who have not yet

renewed their membership for 2009

we ask you to please do so soon! Youshould be receiving another personalized

renewal form and letter in the mail in the

coming days and you can also visitwww.pasafarming.org and renew online at

any time. Your membership helps fund

the programs that benefit all of us in theagricultural community both farmers

and consumers. Please take the time now

to renew your membership today!

I Changes at PASA

In January, PASA Western Regional Mar-keting Manager, Julie Inman announcedher intentions to leave her position. All of

us at PASA want to thank Julie for herdedication and wish she and her husbandwell in the future.

I PASA Board of Directors Elections

At the time of publishing, absentee ballot-ing was underway for the 2009 PASABoard of Directors election. Those mem-bers in good standing that attended thePASA conference in February receivedtheir ballot with registration materials.Members in good standing not in atten-dance were mailed their ballots, which

were to be postmarked by March 7 inorder to be counted in the election tally.An announcement of the election winnerswill be made in the March/April issue of

Passages.

I PASA to Launch New Website

Please stay tuned to PASAs website, www.pasafarming.org, in the coming weeks. We have been working on aredesign of the site to create a more user-friendly environment and specialresources for our members. New features will include user-ability to post ads andevent listings, a member discussion area,press information, local and nationalnews, weather and more!

PA S A N E W S & NO TE S


14/3214

from the U.S. Department of AgricultureResearch Service and Rodale have shownthat coverage of soil is particularly impor-

tant as a key to soil improvement anderosion control.We start our rotation planting winter

wheat in the fall. In the summer we har-vest the wheat in mid-July. In early Sep-tember we plant hairy vetch, a winterannual legume with excellent ability toproduce substantial amounts of nitrogen.

We follow the vetch with a corn crop,thus satisfying its high demand for nitro-gen. In the fall after the corn harvest, weplant winter rye. In the early summerafter rye, soybeans are established. After

the soybean crop is harvested, we followwith winter wheat in the fall, thus com-pleting our rotation cycle.

Managing Cover Crops

Hairy vetch will flower in early June. We have designed a roller crimper thatcan indent the stems every 7 inches,using a drum roller with a chevron pat-tern designed to apply strategic pressure. When hairy vetch is in full flower, thiscrimping action causes the cover crop todie and leaves a persistent residue cover

that blocks weeds. Hairy vetch is planted

By Paul Hepperly, Jeff Moyer& Dave Wilson

Since Rachel Carsons book Silent

Springwas published in 1962, there hasbeen a growing appreciation of the nega-tive impacts of agricultural chemicals.The side effects and the mechanisms thatcause them are well documented. More-over, recent work by Dr. Warren Porter ofthe University of Wisconsin and Dr.Tyrone Hayes in California points to theincreased potency of agrichemical mix-tures for their detrimental effects onwildlife, animal and human health.

On the other hand, talk to conven-tional no-till farmers about organic farm-

ing, and they conjure up a world of toomuch tillage, increased labor require-ments and erosion run amuck. After all, we do need these chemicals to feed theworld, they argue, and if we crack someeggs in doing so, well, that is just part ofthe price of omelet.

Whos right and whos wrong?The answer may be they are both right

and they are both wrong.We suggest that both organic and con-

ventional no-till farmers can benefit bychanging their practices, but most impor-tantly their mind-sets need to chage.

We All Can Do Better

Novel research and development workat the Rodale Institute are proving thatit aint necessarily so that no-till andorganic farming are mutually exclusiveand contradictory.

Enter stage right, a new technologycalled organic no-till is indeed beingshown to be alternative for farmers wish-ing to get off the chemical treadmill andreduce and eliminate tillage of the soil allat the same time.

Note the vigorous, healthy growth oforganic no-till corn. The preceding covercrop provides nitrogen and a thick vege-tative mat to improve soil moisture reten-tion, weed suppression, beneficial habitatand erosion prevention.

This technology offers potential tobridge the gap between conventional andorganic farmers and create an environ-ment-friendly food and farming system.

Jeff Moyer, the Rodale Institutes farm

Developments in Organic No-Till AgricultureThe Best of Both Worlds?

director, has been shepherding mechani-cal adaptations and collaborationsbetween scientists and farmers which are

making this new reality happen.Weeds: A Major Problem

Talk to Dr. Dave Mortensen andMatthew Ryan, weed ecology researchers with Penn State University and theRodale Institute, and they will tell youthat in both organic and conventionalagriculture weeds are considered the chiefobstacle to optimized production.

The approaches for managing weedsvary. In conventional no-till, for example,herbicides and genetic modification are

used as the chief tools in adapting to theweed constraint. Organic farmers, on theother hand, have traditionally relied onincreased tillage to confront the threat ofunwanted vegetation.

Jeff Moyer, considered the father ofnew Rodale organic no-till farm method-ology, has remarked that when we haveno herbicides to depend on, we haveopted for more tillage in organic systems.However, he also noticed that when theuse of cover crops is intensified, they caneffectively substitute for chemical inputs

by providing effective weed control andeven adding nutrients to the soil.

Biology Does It Better

Dave Wilson, research agronomistwith the Rodale Institute, is a nationallyrecognized expert in cover crops. In his work, he was able to determine that5,000 pounds of dry rye matter in a win-ter cover crop could provide excellentcontrol of weeds in soybeans, our cropthat shows least ability to grow and pros-per with competing weeds. In addition,

his work demonstrates that cover croplegumes can produce all the nitrogenneeds of an organic cash grain system, upto and even exceeding 200 pounds peracre just from the aboveground bio-mass, not including roots.

Rotations, Rotations,Rotations

The Rodale Rotation includeswheat, corn, soybean and cover crops. Acash grain crop is produced each year,and soil is covered each winter. DavidDouds, Rita Seidel and Dave Wilson


15/3215

at 15 to 30 pounds per acre and can pro-duce more than 200 pounds per acre ofnitrogen, enough to optimize corn pro-duction.

When we plant soybeans, we use win-ter rye as the cover crop. Again, the cropmust be in full flowering stage before the

crimping and rolling.One-Pass Pass Production

In our new system a front-end roller isused with a back-end tandem no-tillplanter. This allows a one-pass mulchingand planting operation, greatly reducingthe diesel fuel otherwise needed for fieldtillage and weeding practices. Becausenitrogen is provided from our cover crop,the cost and energy of fertilization canalso be reduced substantially

Besides working to reduce the dieselfor plowing and cultivating, the neworganic no-till also reduces the energyinputs usually required for nitrogen fer-tilization, the largest contributor togreenhouse gases.

Conclusion

Steve Groff is a diversified farmer inLancaster County. His license plates says

it all: Mister No Till. Working a highlysloped farm, Groff was unable to makehis crop production sustainable until he went no-till. He now proclaims, Nopiece of steel can benefit soil like a well-

Carbon sequestration from improved stocks

of soil organic matter offers a great opportu-

nity to complement the energy efficiency ini-

tiative. Although conventional no-till can

mitigate about 10 percent of the worlds

present carbon emissions, cover crops, com-

post and other methods integrated together

provide much greater potential than usingany technique alone as a silver bullet.

A Message to Our Readers

In the Nov/Dec issue ofPassages the article

entitled Adding Value-Added to Our Valuewas missing a proper photo credit for the

images used. We regret this omission and

thank member Troy Bogdan for the images.

All images from the 2008 Field Day at Par-

adise Gardens & Farm LLC can be viewed at

www.flickr.com/photos/9415480@N02/set

s/72157606975646512

planted and tended cover crop.Rodales Jeff Moyer puts it this way,

Our success with our summer cropsdepends more on what we do with ourwinter crop than anything directly relatedto planting the summer crop itself.

We see an end to choices between

bad or worse as we develop a new agri-culture that weans itself from bothmechanical disruption of the soil andthe unbridled use of synthetic fertilizersand pesticides. I

Editors Note: This article was reprintedwith permission. The Rodale Institute,611 Siegfriedale Road, Kutztown, Pennsyl-vania 19530, phone: 610-683-1400,www.rodaleinstitute.org.




16/3216

es. McGinnis Sisters was also a pioneer-ing retail supporter of the Buy Fresh BuyLocal initiative in PASAs Western

Pennsylvania region.

We are pleased to offer a wide selec-tion of conventional, certified organicand locally grown seasonal produce.From crisp green lettuce to homegrownTriple B Farm strawberries, you will only

find the highest quality produce everytime you visit our store, said Noreen.

The McGinnis Sisters believe thatcommitment to family, team members,community, and the business have causedthem to be successful in an industrydominated by a few giants. Each year

they receive hundreds of requests to opennew stores in and around the Pittsburghareas. Some requests even come fromfolks out of state.

In 2008 they opened their newestlocation in Adams Township, Butler

County; in addition to existing storelocations in Mars, Monroeville and theBrentwood area of Pittsburgh.

For information, visit www.mcginnis-sisters.com or call 412-884-2323.

The McGinnis Sisters themselves; (left to right)Sharon McGinnis Young, Noreen McGinnisCampbell and Bonnie McGinnis Vello.

BusinessMemb

erProfile

E lwood and Rosella McGinnis openeda small produce stand in BaldwinBorough on Christmas Eve in 1946. Asthe business grew, the store developedinto a well-known grocery store withhigh standards for quality, competitivepricing and excellent service.

In the 1970s expansion led to addi-tional locations, and in 1981 the threedaughters, Bonnie McGinnis Vello,Sharon McGinnis Young and NoreenMcGinnis Campbell, assumed ownership

of the company.Our father Elwood taught us to be

helpful and a partner in our communi-ties. We are passionate about food, fami-ly business and the greater Pittsburghcommunity, says Noreen Campbell.

The sisters believe that they weretaught well from an early age throughhands on experience, as well as strongexposure to the principles of fiscal sound-ness, ongoing education, and respect forteam members and customers.

For decades we have promoted localgrowers, farmers and artisans. We aremeticulous about the food we select sothat we can support the good health ofcustomers. We focus on being responsiblebusiness owners by supporting localfarms and businesses. These efforts allowus to contribute to the health of our envi-ronment by reducing waste and pollutionthat is created from shipping mainstreamproducts from overseas, says Noreen.

She continued, Our customers con-stantly tell us how much they love our

produce. We hear over and over againthat our produce taste better and stayfresh longer. Our secret is simpleMcGinnis Sisters produce is literallythousands of miles fresher.

The McGinnis Family has been sup-porting local family farms for decades.They have always known that nothingtastes better than homegrown tomatoes,farm fresh corn or Chambersburg peach-

What is unique about your business?McGinnis Sisters is a unique place to shop, as our stores are smaller and more

intimate than traditional grocery stores. Our team members provide a highamount of interaction, answering customers questions, and providing solutionsto their needs. We also offer a greater variety of unusual and special needs itemsto assist customers who need specific ingredients or those with allergen or healthconcerns.

Why did you join PASA?When PASA first came to Western PA we were asked to join and eagerly

jumped in to help. Our father had established relationships with farmers over 60years ago. He would travel to Washington, Fayette, and Westmoreland counties

to bring fresh produce back to the folks in the city who frequented his momand pop store. In those days, people didnt live in or travel to those counties likethey do now. It was always fun when his truck finally arrived at the stores withcorn that was just picked that morning.

My sisters and I continue that connection and have always felt that as part ofbeing good neighbors, supporting local and regional farming was the right thingto do. Our customers appreciate getting fresh picked produce every day duringthe summer and fall. Joining PASA was the best way to help ensure that morefarmers could grow and that we could help spread the word. We helped by usingthe PASA logos, telling our farmer friends about PASA, and letting folks knowwhat the potential for locally grown products was in our stores. We continue todevelop new relationships with farmers in the region.

McGinnis Sisters Special Food StoresCommitment to Family, Team Members & Community

I N TE RV I E W WI TH N OR E EN CA M PBE LL

continued next page


17/3217

How has your membership been a ben-efit to your business?

PASA provides strong merchandisingmaterials to alert consumers about the BuyFresh Buy Local program. I think con-sumers also appreciate not only the abun-dance of product that we are able to supply

from local growers but that weve been theonly locally owned grocery store to helpPASA get the message out.

What does the term sustainable meanto you, and how do you incorporate thatinto your business?

To us, sustainable means reducing ourenvironmental impact in our communities,region and world. We do this through ourpurchasing decisions and through our recy-cling efforts.

Instead of adding to land fills, we workhard from the very beginning to control ourinventories so that product doesnt spoil orneed to be thrown in a landfill. Internally,we use a highly monitored approach to ourbuying and inventory levels. If need be, were-work products that are not perfect for salesuch as a blemished pepper turning thatproduct into a sauce or stir-fry. If there hap-pens to be too much product for our ownkitchens, we will turn it over to the GreaterPittsburgh Community Food Bank for dis-tribution to their aid kitchens. As a lastresort, product is sent to a landfill.

One major way we are impacting our

communities is the sale of Eco-Friendlyseafood. This seafood has been harvestedfrom thriving eco-systems in a sustainablemanner. We partner with Foley Fish who isthe leader in Marine Fisheries managementand sustainable harvesting.

We also support local and regional farm-ing and producers as much as possible. Bycontinuing this philosophy started by ourfather, we help ensure the sustainability of

our local economy. Not only arewe helping to help keep local peo-ple in business and employed, weare reducing the impact on truck-ing and fuels by buying locally.

Recycling efforts in our com-pany include the re-purposing ofmetal tins that our seafood is shipped in.These tins make great storage containers orcontainers to start seedlings and our cus-tomers appreciate using them. We recycleapproximately 2500 tins per year in thismanner. Other programs include the recap-turing of vegetable oil from our fryers, theshredding of paper and the use of cardboardas packing material for our gift basket pro-gram or through our recycling program andencouraging customers to utilize cloth bagsfor shopping trips as well as the replacementof lighting to more energy efficient bulbs inour store.

More ways to reduce our impact arebeing studied and we are actively workingwith the Food Marketing Institute to bringnew ideas to our stores through their sus-

tainability initiative.

What do you see as some of the criticaissues facing agriculture and age-relatedissues today?

I believe that the most critical issues facing agriculture today is having enough prod-ucts for the ground swell of consumerdemand and the fact that PAs average farmeis in his/her late 50s. We need to get youngpeople interested in farming in our state sothat these family farms can stay viable and

new farms can be start-ed. The consumer ilooking to purchasecloser to home whenpossible, but they have alimit on how much theycan realistically spend

With commodities in high demand due tnot having enough farms, consumers wilultimately choose price and convenience inmost cases as expenses become more difficulto manage. If we do not work together tosolve this problem, the whole system couldrevert back to big agriculture filling thosegaps with produce from other states andcountries.

What do you see as the connectiobetween sustainable agriculture and theconsumer?

People want fresh, quality and reasonablypriced products. Western Pennsylvanians areardent supporters of each other and get itwhen it comes to locally grown foods. They will support sustainable agriculture if thabove three items are in place. Freshness

quality and reasonably priced.I

Membersh

ipUpdate

Buckingham Township

Civic Association

Buckingham, PA

Butterfly Hill Alpacas

Lincoln University,PA

Chatham University

Pittsburgh, PA

Greener Partners

Malvern, PA

Gretchen Ludders

Gloria Lance

Laura Brown Yagloksi

Clarks Summit,PA

Food Alliance

Portland,OR

PASA Staff and Board Would Like to Welcome

Our Newest Business Members as of January 1, 2009

J. Soif Inc.

Chester Springs,PA

Keystone

Development Center

Flinton, PA

MicroDairy Designs,

Old Springhouse Farm

Smithsburg, MD

NatureTech Solutions Inc.

Lancaster, PA

Northeast Sustainable

Agriculture Working Group

(NESAWG)

Belchertown,MA

Penn Dutch Cow Care

Narvon, PA

Penn State Extension,

Allegheny Co.

Pittsburgh,PA

Spruce Hill Caf & Ice Cream

Port Royal,PA

State College Friends School

State College,PA

Sustainable Strategies

Boalsburg,PA

USDA Agricultural

Marketing Service

Washington, DC

New Business Members

PASA Staff and Board Would Like

to Welcome Our New Lifetime

Members as of January 1, 2009

Daniel Shimp

Mountainside Homestead

Woodward, PA

Julie Hurst

Roy D. Brubaker

Blue Rooster Farm

East Waterford,PA

New Lifetime Members

Noreen Campbellcontinued from previous page

Watch for thenew website!

www.pasafarming.org


18/32


19/3219

RegionalMarketing

I Potluck Gathering

Date: Wednesday, March 25

Time: 6:009:30pm

Location: Jeremiahs

(above the Bullfrog Brewery)

224 West 4th St., Williamsport, PA 17701

RSVP: Leah Tewksbury, 570-437-2620

All North Central region PASA mem-bers, friends and family are invited to joinus for fine food to eat, as well as fine foodfor thought. The educational spotlightwill feature PASA members Jenn Halpin

& Matt Steiman discussing their farmexperiences. This is a great opportunityto introduce a friend or co-worker to thePASA gang. Please bring your own tableservice/cup and see you there!

NORTH CENTRAL REGIONtain Vineyards in Snyder County, andthere will be live music for the evening.Several lucky guests will win door prizesof Veal Sampler Packs.

The Free-Range Veal Tasting Party will be held at Emmas Food For LifeRestaurant on Wednesday, March 4 from

6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 perperson at the door, under 12 free. Therestaurant is located at 11 South MarketSt. in downtown Selinsgrove, just southof the intersection of Market and Pine.

Emmas is the areas first natural foodrestaurant emphasizing local foods.Owens Farm raises grass-fed meats andoffers a variety of educational programs.Contact Emmas Food for Life at570-374-0178, www.emmasfood for-life.com or Owens Farm 570-286-5309,www.owensfarm.com.

Contacts: Lyla Kaplan, Curator,

Coordinator, Potter, 610-873-1771,

[email protected]

Claire Murray, Farmer, Buy Fresh Buy Local

Chester County Chapter Coordinator, 610-

563-3116, [email protected]

Sean Weinberg,Chef,owner of Restaurant

Alba, 610-299-1510, www.downtoearthex-

hibit.org/slowburn.html

Tables will be set in community farmstyle seating. Plates, platters and servingdishes will be on display in situ duringthe preview cocktail hour will be from5:006:30pm. Dinner will start at 6:30.Ticket price is $85 (includes tax and gra-tuity), $20 of each dinner ticket price,and 50% of sales of serving platters willbenefit the Chester County Buy FreshBuy Local Chapter.

I Free-Range Veal Tasting Party

Love veal, but hate the way its raisedcommercially? Humanely-raised veal isindeed available locally. Learn how tofind it, how its raised, and how deliciousit is at this special event hosted byEmmas Food For Life Restaurant inSelinsgrove (Snyder County).

Sample a variety of Chef Emmas vealdishes. Enjoy a presentation by CarolineOwens of Owens Farm sharing her expe-

riences raising veal calves. Get inside tipson finding veal you can feel good about.Wine will be provided by Shade Moun-

SOUTH CENTRAL REGION

Western

NorthCentral/Eastern

SouthcentralSoutheastern

REGIONAL CONTACTS & DISCUSSION GROUP ADDRESSESDiscussion groups are open to PASA members only to join and discuss issues related to sustainable agriculture.

To join the group in your region,send an email to the appropriate address provided.

Western

[email protected]

Greg Boulos

412-697-0411 [email protected]

[email protected]

Marilyn Anthony

610-458-5700 x305 [email protected]

Southcentral

[email protected]

Jenn Halpin


NorthCentral/Eastern

[email protected]

Leah Tewksbury


Out of State discussion group addresses:

States North and East of Pennsylvania

[email protected]

States South and West of Pennsylvania

[email protected]

PASA Staff and Board Would Like to Thank the Following Volunteers

Liz & Bill Andersen

Sally Bair

Katie College

Tracey Coulter

Bill Dean

Debra Deis

Heather Donald

Betsy Hawley

Adam Hill

Carl Hursch

Julie HurstCynthia Iberg

Lyla Kaplan

Jennifer Landry

Ivan Martin

Tom Maurer

Susan Morgan

Claire Murray

Patti Olenick

Caroline & David

Owens

Yvonne Post

Joseph Schott

Denise SheehanEmilie Tierney

Randy Treichler

Genny Uhl

Diane Wiest

Southeast Region

Advisory Committee

Members

Greg Bowman

Annmarie Butera

Sonja Burrus

Sarah Cain

Sam Cantrell

Jan CauffmanGary Cox

Albert Granger

Mena Hautau

Chris Hill

Joseph Koye

Suzanne Milshaw

Tim Mountz

Claire Murray

Lynea Newcomer

Yvonne Post

Mark Shyrock

Andrea Stevens

Mary G.WhittamLeslie Yoder

David Zelov

Regional & Headquarters Volunteers


20/32

Terra Madre ExperienceGregs Slow Food Conference Journey in Italy

Ethnic seeds and flours on display at the Slow Food Conference, Terra Madre.

20

RegionalMarketing

how to become a farmer. We coveredtopics like apprenticing, business plan writing, and strategic marketing. Thesesessions were well attended and our com-mon theme was networking by goingto events like the PASA conference!

Throughout the workshops many

common themes emerged a commondistrust and anger at genetic engineers,and chemical manufacturers for not hon-orably phasing themselves out, a com-mon hope in the youth of the world toreconnect with their agricultural heritage,a common need for clean water for con-sumption and irrigation, a commonbond in resisting technological infiltra-tion and a common understanding thatmaintaining culturally appropriateapproaches will advance agriculture in asustainable way.

Two workshops Jen and I attendedwere on water and on biofuels. The water workshop began with online discussiongroups, which were intended to spur con-versations about solutions. Much of that workshop was a discussion by manynative peoples. The moderators did agreat job of tying the themes togetherand academics posed solutions.

The biofuels workshop illustrated aneven more vast cultural divide. Whileindustrialized countries were discussing

ways to continue operating the factories,the mass-production of oilseed and cellu-losic crops for transporting goods aroundthe globe the majority of the atten-

Like the opening ceremony to theOlympics, Terra Madre began with a flagprocession representing 154 countries in

attendance at the conference. With sym-bolic performances, a rainbow coloredchoir, and 5 percussion groups soundingthe drumbeat rallying the planet insupport Good Clean and Fair food.

What followed was 4 days of interna-tional interaction. Issues of water, soil,air, seeds, nutrition, and how to sustainthem all were discussed and shared. Inthe center of it all a marketplace was setup, blankets were spread and goods dis-played from all over the world.

Workshops

Jen and I had been invited to speak tothe 900+ North American delegatesabout our experiences in SuccessionalStewardship. Weve purchased an 85 acreorganic farm, abandoned the plasticmulch, saved more heirloom seeds, part-nered with more local businesses, boughtan oilseed press (for do it yourself fuel, ofcourse), increased direct sales, and startedmaking our farm community more sus-tainable. From convincing lenders, tospreading the word about the power of a

collaborative economy, we crunched ourideas into a rapid-fire five minute talk! After the talk, many young people

came up to us to learn more. We wereasked to host two impromptu sessions on

By Greg Boulos,Western Regional Director

Old habits die hard and as veteran

travelers, my wife Jen and I both decidednot to make travel plans beyond theaccommodations we were given. Fromnavigating the train and bus systems tofinding restaurants, the attitude of leav-ing things to chance, clearing our mindsand opening our hearts was commonamongst everyone we met at Terra Madrein Turin (Torino) Italy.

While meeting rural African peopleand urban Australians, we all had anopen and accepting attitude, willing andready to find answers to problems like

water access and genetically modifiedorganism (GMO) infiltration with manynew friends from remote parts of the world. Everyone was there to learn, toshare ideas, and of course, to experienceeach others food culture!

Terra Madres first installment was in2004 and repeated every two years untilthis most recent 3rd installment in 2008.Slow Food International, an organizationfounded to curb the rapid encroachmentof fast food and prepared foods on theethnic cultures of the world, hosted the

conference. In Italy alone, fast foods hadexchanged the traditional Sunday mealfor more litter and paperboard packag-ing. In the shadow of the Food and Drug Administrations recent allowance ofGenetically Engineered (ge) livestockinto the food system, we were happy tolearn that many parts of the world arebanning GE animals, seeds, crops and thefoods that contain them!

While founded in preserving foodshistory, lore, production, preparation,and consumption, the Slow Food move-ment has grown to include advocacy onurban food policy, developing channelsto engage young people on campuses andreconnect populations to their local agri-culture. They begin with principles root-ed in community preservation andfostering shared history in defense of ourfood supply. They produced three mani-festos on the future of food, the future ofseeds, and on climate change and foodsecurity, which brought Slow Food aninvitation to the upcoming G8 Summit!

continued on page 23


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We dont use black plastic or any othermulch because we put melons in fields weexpect wont have much weed pressure.Then we tractor cultivate until the plantsbegin to run. After the plants run we onlyhand cultivate, so hopefully it wont rainmuch to germinate new weeds. If thefield was prepared properly, and we get to

this point without weeds, subsequentweed growth will usually not affect melonproduction significantly. Drip irrigationlines are set out at transplanting whenfirst watering is accomplished. I wantplants to be watered regularly, so if itdoesnt rain I will irrigate heavily and fre-quently early on until the fruits begin toripen. At this point I water minimally.Fruits will taste better with less water, butthis may mean later fruits will be smaller.

We dont fertilize melons any differ-ently from our other crops. The previousyear we cover crop and run our chickensin Salatin-style movable coops over thefield. In the spring this field is moldboardplowed and disked at one week to 10-dayintervals until melons are transplantedwith Fertrell 4-2-4 in the furrows.

Harvest starts in late July or earlyAugust for main planting. Early plantingonly comes in a week or so earlier, butabout as early as they would if we putsmall plants out into black plastic androw cover, since the plants are going out

Michael Kodner,PASA Member Dancing Creek FarmFor several years local farmers have

grown heirloom tomatoes that arereceived with enthusiasm in the market-place. Another potential heirloom goldmine is in melons. For many years I havegrown as many different varieties of heir-

loom melons as I thought sane. All thedifferent tastes are wonderful to experi-ence, and we are always interested to seeif the catalog description is true whengrown on our farm. We grew about 15different heirloom melon varieties lastyear on our farm.

I wanted to share how I grow melonson our farm in Juniata County, so otherscan take advantage of this special crop.

At the end of March or early April wesingle seed in the greenhouse into 4-inchpots a small early planting we hope willdo well if conditions are favorable. Wethen transplant these to the field in earlyto mid May under row covers if theweather is reasonably warm. At the end of April or early May we single seed ourmain planting into 4-inch pots in thegreenhouse. We sometimes make a 3rdplanting two weeks later of a variety wesell through Tuscarora Organic GrowersCooperative (TOG). In late May or earlyJune we will transplant these to the fieldwithout row cover.

later, it is warmer outside and the plantsare farther along.

To get early melons 1) use seed that isolder. Each year the seeds will become alittle less viable. Germination willdecline, but the seeds will produce fruitearlier. 2) Grow varieties that produce

earlier. Early Silverline is a small yellowmelon with white, very sweet flesh. Thetexture is similar to Asian pears. It pro-duces over a long season. This variety isvery common in Korea and may be verypopular in Korean markets here. JennyLind is a 1122 lb. green-fleshed can-taloupe with a terrific, unique flavor wehave been growing for about 15 years. Itis a very consistent producer, with a goodyield and consistent flavor year after year.It sells well at a local farmers market.Hero of Lockinge is another early variety

to try. It is 1122 lbs., flat-round whiteflesh muskmelon, which tastes very good,and is very rare.

Cantaloupes usually dont ripen aswell when nights get cool in September. Watermelons ripen better than can-taloupes in cool weather. As a rule, can-taloupes dont store as long aswatermelons especially if harvested whenripe. We harvest when close to ripe so thecustomer will get the peak of flavor. For watermelons, we find by far the easiestway to tell if they are ripe is to find where

the stem of the fruit attaches to the plant,and look for the nearest tendril. If thattendril is dry and brown all the way tothe base the fruit is likely to be ripe dur-ing the main part of the season. Early onand late in the season you should wait a

Heirloom Melons add diversity to your production

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Farm

erProfile

By Michelle Isham, PASA member When Jo-Ellen and Mike Greene

began their career as farmers in 2003 they

had two goals to bring Red Poll cattleback to the Northeastern United Statesand to raise grass-fed beef. The retiredNaval officers have made significantprogress toward their first goal stockfrom their 100-plus acre Upland LawnFarm is now in New York, Pennsylvania,and Massachusetts. As for raising grass-fed beef, the Greenes have been less suc-cessful. The demand for their Red Pollstock has simply been too great. Ourpurpose was two fold: one to bring theRed Polls back and the other was to sell

grass-fed beef. Right now people reallywant the calves, said Jo-Ellen We cantkeep them for ourselves, added Mike.

The Greenes took an unlikely route tofarming. After growing up in the suburbsof Philadelphia and New Jersey and eachspending more than 20 years in the Navy,the pair retired to land owned by Mikesparents in Susquehanna County. Aroundthis time Jo-Ellen read a magazine articleabout heritage livestock breeds thatpeaked her interest. I was interested inall livestock cows, pig, sheep. And Istill am. But we wanted to do grass-fedbeef, said Jo-Ellen.

After much research, the coupledecided on Red Poll cattle, a dual-pur-pose breed that can be raised for bothbeef and dairy production. The breedsquiet dispositions and naturally polledcharacteristic made them a perfect choicefor rotational grazing where ease of han-dling is desired. Many Red Polls stillcarry the ability to be used in a dairyoperation, either crossed with other dairy

breeds or on their own. The milk is highin protein and butterfat, making it espe-cially good for cheese.

Mike joked that polled cattle which have no horns were especiallyappealing to the novice cattlemen.Youve got two people who know verylittle about farming whove been inthe Navy for 20 and 22 years the lastthing you want to do is worry about get-ting gored by a Long Horn, he said.

Joking aside, the Greenes take theirrole in preserving the breed very serious-ly. Many traditional or heritage breedsare an essential part of the American agri-cultural inheritance. Once lost, genetic

diversity can never be recovered. Butthese breeds are not museum pieces. Inorder for them to survive, they must beable to retain or regain their rightful placein our countrys agriculture. That is what,in our own small way, we hope to accom-plish, said Jo-Ellen.

Cattle made sense for the Greeneswho had no previous farming experiencebut had settled in a dairy-farming region.Their neighbors became a valuable source

of livestock knowledge and advice. As Jo-Ellen pointed out, It was hard if you arenot from a farming background and you

have no experience in farming, its diffi-cult to break into farming. Most peo-pleare just assuming that you knowcows and what to do with them. A lot ofits not documented. Its not writtendown. Its in farmers brains, she said.

Despite the steep learning curve, withthe help of neighbors and organizationslike the National Resources ConservationService (NRCS) and PASA, the Greeneshave succeeded in building a secondcareer as farmers. Obviously, we madeand still make our share of mistakes but

with the generous help of our farmerfriends and the invaluable advice of ournational resources experts, weve come along way, said Jo-Ellen.

To learn more about Upland LawnFarm, contact Jo-Ellen and Mike Greeneby phone: 570-727-2321, by mail: POBox 165 Thompson, PA 18465 or visitthe American Red Poll Association web-site at www.redpollusa.com. I

Jo-Ellen and Mike GreenUpland Lawn Farm

What do you see as some of the critical issues concerning agriculture today? As strange as this may sound from two individuals who spent two plus

decades of their lives working for the government, excessive government inter-ference coupled with too much special interest influence on our politicians andgovernment entities has been and will continue to be the overriding critical issuefor sustainable agriculture. Just look at the mind-numbing regulations for organ-ic production, food kitchens, small abattoirs and the list goes on. Even though we are not dairy farmers, we are surrounded by dying middle-sized farms; adirect result of a broken milk pricing system that can be made to work (HB1722) if it could only get out of a committee in Congress!

I N TE RV I E W WI TH JO- E LLEN & M I KE GR E E NE

continued next page


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Farm

erProfile

It takes a strong-minded individual or family to take onsustainable or any farming in the twenty-first century! A wise man once said, Government that governs least,governs best.

No matter which political party is in office, fixing what ails our food system and its farmers must comefrom the farmers themselves and organizations likePASA, etc. The local food movement is a wonderful stepin the right direction, but farmers and sustainable agri-culture must get clout. If we cant get our case in frontof all of the American people (inner city included), if wecant get the attention of our politicians and our govern-ment, we will eventually lose. All of us need to work togetherto figure out how to prevent that from happening.

The only other issue that we feel has been at a critical levelis the shortage of large animal vets. We lost a valuable heifer andcalf because we could not get a vet to our farm in time. Withsuch a small farm as ours, this was a huge blow. We are thank-ful that the state and the country have realized the impact ofthis shortage and are now addressing it.

What is unique aboutyour farm?

Our farm is raising abreed of cattle that has notbeen seen in the state sincethe early twentieth centuryand we are encouragingother local farmers to dothe same.

How has your opera-tion evolved? We took an old dairy

farm that would have melt-ed into the landscape in

Jo-Ellen & Mike Greenecontinued from previous page

dants were looking for basic solutions ofcooking food, heating their homes and mov-ing their handmade goods from the villagesinto local markets.

Salone Del Gusto

The sister event called the Salone DelGusto was taking place within 500 yards ofthe entrance to Terra Madre. The Salone is ataste testing extravaganza a huge market-place for rare and heritage foods. We wereunable to experience everything this eventhad to offer it was simply too big. Allfoods were represented from olive liquor to

Norwegian beers, sausages and charcuterie,meats (both raw and cooked), cheese, cheeseand more cheese! There were spring waterstations, candies and pastries, bread, butter

and plenty of jams, jellies and preserves. Thisyear, the Salone hosted a natural fiber area with wool, cotton, flax, angora(s), and allother things cloth related.

A special part of the Salone was called thePresidia. This was where the rarest and mostculturally important items were displayed.From seeds to woolen slippers to a Mediter-ranean tree sugar, this area was likely themost unique and interesting experience ofthe conference. Each booth had signage, which discussed the products, the growingmethods, the culture and farm experience,

making the place a museum of current and

endangered practices.

We returned from the conference ener

gized and encouraged to stay connected and

moving forward. With an exciting array opartners and potential projects, the PASA

Western Regional office is gearing up for a

dynamic and unique 2009. As we move for

ward in improving the local foodshed, were

putting out the call to passionate individual

and supporters to join the regional advisory

committees, to write letters to us and let us

know your thoughts to offer to suppor

and to partner on various projects. The

drums of a fresh and local food system are

sounding out the call! I

Terra Madre Experiencecontinued from page 20

another 10 years and resurrected the buildings and fields, withthe aid of National Resources Conservation Service to perma-nently fence in several pastures for rotational grazing, install asolar watering system for our upper pastures and repaired ananimal walkway. As you can see, we do use the government forcertain things (that we couldnt afford to do otherwise) butalways i

Jan-Feb 2009 Passages Newsletter, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture

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Transcript of Jan-Feb 2009 Passages Newsletter, Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture