October-November 2012 ERIE Magazine

Oct/Nov 2012

In This Issue Soil, Oil and Toil Cooperative Extension Boasts Region’s Agriculture

Growing Larger By Thinking Smaller The Brothers Wood Potato Chip Company From Farm-to-Bag

From Rural Beginnings – to Big Agricultural Success Future Farmers of America and 4-H Program Aim to Prepare Our Youth

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Supporting Erie’s Agriculture Industry Contributed by Bob Mazza, Owner Mazza Vineyards “Buy fresh, buy local.” It’s a rallying cry you’ve likely seen at a roadside fruit stand or in the center of a bustling farmers’ market. But supporting local agriculture has more benefits than finding the perfect heirloom tomato to complement the zesty flavors in your homemade marinara sauce.

Each time you support local agriculture, you’re doing more than supporting your own healthy lifestyle – you are tilling the soil that fertilizes the Erie region’s economic health.

The benefits of local agriculture don’t stop there. When we cultivate local farms as an important part of our regional identity, people outside of Erie take notice. The advantages of prioritizing local agriculture are multiplied through agritourism, and that bounty is shared by local hotels, restaurants and other businesses that profit from the visitors who travel here to experience our harvest.

Supporting our region’s small and family-owned farms helps the entire Erie economy grow deeper, stronger roots. In turn, we distinguish ourselves as a community that upholds the importance of our rural history. We will never outgrow our dependence on the earth and its resources. Staying connected to the land – and supporting the hard-working professionals that contribute to the abundant harvest that helps define our region – feeds both our economy and our spirits.

Board of Directors Peter Balmert John J. Barber Donald L. Birx, Ph.D. John Bloomstine Carl M. Carlotti, Esq. Terrence Cavanaugh Rosanne Cheeseman Gary L. Clark Joel Deuterman Mary L. Eckert Scott Eighmy Barbara Haggerty Thomas C. Hoffman, II Timothy Hunter Thomas M. Kennedy Charles G. Knight John P. Leemhuis, Jr.

Jim E. Martin, Chair Marlene D. Mosco Jack A. Munch James W. Riley James Rutkowski Jr. Matthew Schultz Nick Scott Jr. Gretchen Seth John E. Skory Ronald A. Steele Keith Taylor, Ph.D. David M. Tullio Russell S. Warner, Esq. Michael Weber Thomas J. Wedzik Scott A. Whalen, Ph.D. Jason Wieczorek

John T. Malone

“We will never outgrow our dependence on the earth and its resources.”

President/CEO Barbara C. Chaffee

Vice President, Chamber Claudia K. Thornburg

Vice President, Economic Development Jacob A. Rouch

Sink your teeth into the fresh features in this issue of ERIE Magazine, which spotlights the people and institutions that nourish Erie’s agricultural identity. This issue zeroes in on the education and economics of sustaining our region’s agriculture, and how farm-to-table efforts contribute to our well-being and healthy lifestyle.

Learn about The Penn State Cooperative Extension, a branch of The Pennsylvania State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences that uses university research to feed a practical, problem-solving approach to growing economically sustainable farms and gardens. Extension Educator in Agronomy, Joel Hunter shares his agricultural expertise about technology and crops of the future, discussing what it takes to produce current commodities and regional brands.

Read how local branches of the Future Farmers of America help students grow into industry leaders in one of the oldest professions in America. Fed by the latest advances in agricultural education, young people confidently carry on the privilege and responsibility of leading their family-owned farms into subsequent years of success. Nationally, more than 540,000 young people aged 12-21 participate in the National FFA Organization to build character and achieve awareness of the global and technological importance of agriculture in today’s society as they adhere to the organization’s motto: Learning to do, doing to learn, earning to live, living to serve.

Also in this issue, Jon Wood, owner of The Wood Brothers Potato Chip Company, tells his “farm-to-bag” story of his growing potato chip company based in Corry, Pa. What began as a modest project in the basement of a golf course clubhouse has grown into a robust venture with distribution in Pennsylvania and New York – now that’s no small potatoes.

Local agriculture and farm-to-table endeavors add spice to Erie’s economic appeal, making our area more appetizing to families, visitors and businesses alike. In the heart of this harvest season, let’s celebrate the local companies and growers who cultivate more than just crops here.

Year after year, they help Erie yield a bountiful crop of advantages that enrich the area’s economic and cultural vitality.

But don’t take my word for it. Relish in the flavors of the region for yourself.

Staff Joelyn J. Bush, Director of Marketing & Communications Melanie A. Johnson, Director Growth Partnership Division Doug M. Massey, Manager Erie Business Action Team Cathy Noble, Events Coordinator Benjamin C. Pratt, Director of Research Linda Robbins, Financial Officer Susan M. Ronto, Membership Coordinator

Editor Joelyn J. Bush

Contributing Writers John Chacona Gretchen Gallagher Durney Susan M. Weiner

Contributing Photographers Art Becker Cynthia Jenkins

Design BENSUR Creative Marketing Group For Advertising Information: Claudia Thornburg, Vice President, Chamber Division (814) 454-7191 x141 cthornburg@eriepa.com

14 From Rural Beginnings to Big Agricultural Success

by Gretchen Gallagher Durney

ERIE Magazine

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Soil, Oil and Toil

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Cooperative Extension Boasts Region’s Agriculture

Growing Larger By Thinking Smaller

The Brothers Wood Potato Chip Company From Farm-to-Bag

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From Rural Beginnings – to Big Agricultural Success

Future Farmers of America and 4-H Program Aim to Prepare Our Youth

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Soil, Oil and Toil Cooperative Extension Boasts Region’s Agriculture

The Erie region boasts a myriad of industries: manufacturing, tourism, higher education, financial services and all the industries related to the port, lake and bay. Take a ride through North East in September and the aroma of grapes will remind you of another important industry in our region: agriculture.

Where do farmers find experts to consult with? The Penn State Cooperative Extension helps farmers be more productive and profitable, which contributes to the economy of our region.

“Erie County is a leading agricultural producer in Pennsylvania,” says David Dowler, Cooperative Extension District Director for Crawford, Erie and Mercer Counties. “It ranks number one in grape production; number two in fruits, tree nuts and berries; number four in vegetable production; and number fourteen in nursery crop production in the state. In grape production alone, there are 230 growers producing 60,000 tons of grapes.

The agriculture industry in Erie County supports nearly 1,000 jobs and contributes $181 million annually in total economic impact. The total fruit and vegetable crops produced here each year are worth an estimated $279 million.”

These valuable resources can’t be risked to soil management issues or to the voracious appetites of the grape berry moth, the brown marmorated stink bug and other pests. Penn State has been applying science to agriculture since it was established in 1855 for this very purpose. And as a land-grant university*, it is charged with sharing this knowledge with farmers and the public. The Cooperative Extension is the university’s arm for delivering practical agricultural science, including farming technologies, pest control and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), to farmers.

3Learn more about the Extension’s plans to grow switchgrass, miscanthus and willow wood that will be converted to biofuel.

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| by Susan M. Weiner

“Erie County is a leading agricultural producer in Pennsylvania.” $10 million grass Every once in a while a special opportunity comes along for the Extension in northwestern Pennsylvania. The region will participate in the $10 million biofuels grant project recently announced by the U. S. Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack.

“There are two bright spots in our national economy: agriculture and energy production. And the Erie region is poised to capture the benefits of both of these economic drivers,” Dowler says. “A source of energy that involves both agriculture and the liquid fuels industry is being explored and developed by the Penn State College of Agricultural Science and the Penn State Extension.”

A network of universities, businesses, farmers and government entities called NEWBio (short for The Northeast Woody/Warm Season Biomass Consortium) will conduct the project, with the Erie area as one of its centers of activity. “NEWBio is dedicated to building a robust, scalable and sustainable value chain for biomass energy in the Northeast,” Dowler says. The grant project involves growing two warm season grasses –

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Penn State Cooperative Extension (continued).

switchgrass and miscanthus – and willow wood to convert to biofuels. “In the Erie region we are hoping to grow 10,000 acres of switchgrass and miscanthus on abandoned and marginal lands, so the program will not be competing with viable farm land currently in agricultural production,” Dowler adds.

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Serious pests Pest control is serious business for farmers. The Extension offers help through Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a method of dealing with insect, disease and weed problems by using the least toxic method as a first resort. “This method can use lower amounts of pesticides as well as increase profits,” says Joel Hunter, Extension Educator in Agronomy for northwestern Pennsylvania. During the growing season producers can use a tool on the Erie County Extension’s website for predicting the proper timing of pesticides for different types of insects. With the Extension’s guidance, they can also use traps to monitor pest activity in different locations. The potato leafhopper doesn’t stand a chance.

Instruction and advice in agricultural technologies are also a key part of the Extension’s work. The days of strewing seeds and hoping for the best are long gone. Among the farming technologies that the Extension assists farmers with in northwestern Pennsylvania, “no-till systems rank right at the top,” according to Hunter, who is an American Society of Agronomy Certified Crop Advisor and a member of the Penn State Extension Crop Management Team. Instead of One of the many services provided by the Extension include training in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to produce corn churning up the soil and burying the leftover stalks, stems, stalks like these, found in plenty around Northwest Pennsylvania. leaves and seed pods in several passes of plowing after corn or Photo Courtesy of Art Becker Photography soybeans or anything else is harvested, no-till farming leaves the crop residue alone. This reduces erosion, conserves water, uses less fuel in generally smaller tractors and takes less time and work than conventional tilling systems. As Hunter puts it, “No-till saves soil, oil, toil and more. It can capture and recycle nutrients, which is good for both the environment and the farmer’s bottom line production costs. Both the producers and society benefit from a more economically and environmentally sustainable system.”

The Extension takes education and research to farmers through classes, questions via phone and e-mail, one-on-one farm consultations and on-farm demonstrations, in which a farmer helps carry out the demonstration or trial in his field. The farmer might need to try something new with fertilizers, herbicides or insect monitoring or might have an interest in developing a new variety of corn or potatoes. “On-farm demonstration projects are an integral component of Extension education,” Dowler says.

Other services offered by Extension educators include classes on worker protection standards required by the Environmental Protection Agency, recertification training for pesticide licenses, and training in Good Agricultural Practices, or GAP. “Extension educators offer GAP training and audits to crop producers in Erie County,” says Dowler. “Many wholesale

customers, like grocery and discount chain stores, require these audits, which verify that the farmers have produced and handled their fruit and vegetable crops in line with USDA food safety standards.”

The Extension also seeks to help particular growers. “The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program was established in 1992 to better address the specific needs of grape farmers in Erie County and three counties in New York,” Dowler says. “It’s a formal educational and research program that connects Penn State, Cornell University and the grape industry, both the farmers and processors.” This program has conducted on-farm demonstration projects including a wine grape variety trial.

From fields of grass to gardens of stones In addition to serving the agricultural industry and continuing to develop alternate sources of energy, the Extension also extends a helping hand to businesses, schools and individuals in the community through its Master Gardener Program.

Volunteers trained by the Extension furnish research-based horticultural information through workshops, community events and a Horticulture Hotline. A few of the projects that the 44 active Master Gardeners worked on this year include a waterless garden to attract butterflies at the Barber National Institute, a cherry tomato garden at the Sarah Reed Retirement Center, and the Waste Management pollinator garden in Summit. They also contribute to Penn State’s agricultural research. “At Goodell Gardens in Edinboro we are part of a statewide pollinator study,” Dowler says. “This summer 33 participating counties cultivated identical plants and will start collecting research next year on the various bees, butterflies, beetles and other pollinators that are essential to our food supply and the welfare of our entire ecosystem.”

Funding for these extensive services comes from federal, state and county government. Extension educators also pursue research grant opportunities in partnership with Penn State faculty. Local businesses and individuals make donations, usually for specific programs, like community gardens.

“In simplest terms the Extension is about helping people through non-formal education and unbiased information,” Hunter says.

“It’s extremely gratifying to be able to offer educational opportunities and research-based solutions – backed by Penn State and other land-grant institutions – to help address real-life agricultural needs and challenges.” ■

* In 1862 the federal government gave land to each state to sell and use the funds as an endowment for designated universities, which would offer degrees in useful fields of study and share the results of research with the public.

A crop of seasonal pumpkins lay roadside off Elk Creek Road and Route 19 in Southern Erie County.

Photo Courtesy of Art Becker Photography

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Growing Larger By Thinking Smaller The Brothers Wood Potato Chip Company From Farm-to-Bag

The recent designation of Erie County as a rural area surprised many and stung those of us for whom heavy manufacturing was not just an economic article of faith, but also a part of our identity.

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by John Chacona

But not exactly. Years later, Wood bought the company’s equipment and stored it at the golf course. In time, he thought of opening a chip plant near the course and promoting it as a sort of agritourism destination.

But the fact is that agriculture is big business here, too. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s most recent Census of Agriculture lists more than 1,600 farms in Erie County selling more than $71 million of crops and livestock. Erie County ranks ninth in the state in the production of vegetables, melons, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, and second in fruits, tree nuts, and berries.

This very recently urban county is in the top half of Pennsylvania counties in terms of the total value of its agricultural products sold.

But just as technology companies are changing an industrial landscape once characterized by heavy manufacturing, small agribusiness companies are adding value, finding new markets and producing niche goods that are remaking our notion of what happens between farm and fork.

Take The Brothers Wood Potato Chip Company, a new manufacturing business that thinks small.

Like a lot of us, Jonathan Wood, from Stedman, NY, a short seven-iron shot from Clymer, likes potato chips. He even made his own chips in the basement of the clubhouse at WoodCrest Golf Course in Mayville, NY, which he owns. “I had looked at this company 20 some years ago in Jamestown when it was for sale. It made potato chips, but it had closed its doors. I didn’t have the money or the place for it. End of story.”

3Left: As Jon Wood describes, “Consumers will find Wood Potato Chips to be a little darker, a little thicker and a little crispier than the average kettle cooked chip.”

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But the right place, the right financing and the right team that might assist him never came together. Undaunted, Wood visited Troyer Farms massive plant in southern Erie County to discuss co-packing his signature dark-fried, thicker chips there.

“When I went there they were picking out the dark chips and throwing them out I asked him why,” Jon Wood remembers.

“They said that they’re burned, and I said no, they’re crispy, and that’s what I want. I said I don’t want to see the light shining through the chips. My motto is thick, dark and crispy, and he said we can do it.”

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Growing Larger By Thinking Smaller (continued).

“He” was Troyer’s plant manager Mike Messinger who agreed to manufacture the product to Wood’s specifications. Then came the surprise. The Troyer operation was sold and the plant eventually closed.

Wood was left with a bit of inventory, and a dream.

Wood took that meeting, but with the memory of his inability to get the business off the ground in New York, he was skeptical. “To open the business the cost would’ve cost $750,000 with the building and sewer and water hookups, I figured. Then Melanie asked if I wanted to relocate to Pennsylvania and I said yeah but I’d need everything.”

On the line at The Brothers Wood Potato Chip Company, located in Corry, Pennsylvania.

Because of his familiarity with Corry, Johnson arranged for Wood to meet with Erie County Redevelopment Authority director Rick Novotny. “This was on a Wednesday. We signed the lease on Friday and moved in on Saturday.”

“That’s the other thing about Pennsylvania that New York didn’t really have,” Wood says. “They really know their potatoes in Pennsylvania.”

“We leave the skin on and these dark chips look like wood,” he says.

“Some people think the Brothers Wood Chip company makes wood chips. People called me for wood chips and I say, ‘You didn’t read the web site did you?’”

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Today, the Brothers Wood Potato Chip company is making the signature dark-fried thick potato chips in the 6,000-square-foot facility. Mike Messinger is the plant manager, and four former Troyer employees now work for Wood, producing two semi truckloads of chips a week. During northwest Pennsylvania’s harvest season, Wood buys those potatoes from the Troyer family, who had integrated the “farm-to-fork” principle when they fried chips grown from the fields adjacent to the southern Erie County plant.

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“We got a call from Melanie Johnson at the Chamber,” Wood remembers. “Pennsylvania has an aggressive program for displaced workers and she asked me to meet with people who had worked at Troyer’s.”

So does Wood, who also knows what he likes and has pursued his vision that there is room in the marketplace for a dark-fried, thick cut potato chip, a chip that looks a little different.

Brothers Wood low production capacity makes a virtue of necessity. When you make potato chips, Wood says, “you have to have a place to store them and we can’t afford that, so when we go to market, we say this a local product, it’s fresh and it’s all done by hand.” Think of Brother Wood’s product as the craft beer of the salty snack category and you get the idea.

Wegman’s listened and you can find Wood’s chips in selected stores. Giant Eagle is interested and Curtze Food Service is distributing the chips in bars and restaurants.

“People are just finding out about us,” Wood says. “We sample a lot and no one’s ever said no to potato chips.” ■

As seen here, entering a bath of corn oil, Wood Potato Chips have a signature dark-fried appearance.

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New to the ERCGP? Never advertised in this exceptional publication? Scan this code for a special offer.

Or contact: Claudia Thornburg, Vice President, Chamber Division (814) 454-7191 x141 cthornburg@eriepa.com

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From Rural Beginnings – to Big Agricultural Success Future Farmers of America and 4-H Program Aim to Prepare Our Youth

It is producing student leaders. It is planting the seeds for responsibility, hard work, ethics, and local industry. It is paying homage to our rural beginnings and bridging into global success. It is agriculture – say area leaders of youth – and it is taking the reigns with young people and leading them into sustainable careers and futures.

Founded in 1928, Future Farmers of America, FFA, combines students, teachers and business to strengthen agricultural education. Infusing such principles of agriculture into more than 100 high school students in the Northwestern School District is FFA leader Anthony Honeycutt.

“I would love to have every kid in class,” said Honeycutt, who lauds a strong school board for his unique curriculum and understanding agricultural diversity. “We are the only school district that is actively running an ag. ed. program.” As Western Region Vice President of the Pennsylvania Association of Agricultural Educators, and owner-operator of his own greenhouse business, the topics he is communicating to youth are at the heart of his every day.

Ranging from agricultural science, which he said “is a catch all for first year ag. students,” to animal science, horticulture, landscaping, agricultural mechanics, environment and natural resources, and leadership – Honeycutt said his classes instill agricultural literacy and focus on student leaders. Because, he quickly added, “They’re the ones who are going to decide the fate of agriculture.”

“When people would hear agriculture, it used to be they’d think cows, sows and plows,” said Honeycutt. “But, you have hundreds of jobs that stem off of it – from biotechnology, to marketing and distribution – they all stem from that original agricultural production.”

3Photo Courtesy of Art Becker Photography.

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| by Gretchen Gallagher Durney

With trends in precision agriculture and equipment, he said, farming in the area has changed to be “more capital driven and less solely driven by hard work.” “Labor is expensive,” he added, “so the ones that can use and understand technology are going to make it.” Honeycutt teaches such trends in technology, trekking with phones in the field now and using the Internet and computers for each student’s mandatory 180 hours of recorded work. “There are so many tools with technology now…for example, with fertilizers, you immediately know what won’t leech out, and with smart phones, you can identify weeds or insects instantly.”

Showcasing his familiar grounds and student booths of the Albion Fair, Honeycutt’s forearms had visible chills on a hot summer day while describing the annual National FFA Convention in Indiana. He and students who fundraised will join more than 50,000 FFA members there in October. “It is truly an incredible sight to see.”

“We are the only school district that is actively running an agriculture education program.”

Without even asking for it, Honeycutt said, he and his students receive “tons of support” from individuals, clubs and businesses in the area. The community understands the importance of preparing youth for the agriculture-related industry, he said.

“More than half of the students do choose jobs that are linked to agriculture – from the grain industry, to mowing and landscaping, veterinary fields, sales, distribution, and marketing.” Thus the importance of agriculture literacy and picking out kids for leadership as FFA does, he said, “Some may work on their local farm later, but they may also work with education, lobbying, or any related industries.”

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From Rural Beginnings (continued).

Keeping alive one of America’s oldest professions and its related industry is something Honeycutt said the community and school leaders have worked hard to preserve and fuel forward. “They have worked hard for a positive image of the agricultural program – and now we maintain it.”

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A program currently celebrating 100 years in Pennsylvania and 112 nationally is one that really feeds the FFA – they go hand in hand.

That organization - 4-H – is a program of the Penn State Cooperative Extension, and is celebrating its rural beginnings and global success, said Educators through the Erie Extension office, Sean Graves and Janice Ronan.

The program that began with a focus on farming is still touted for its success with agricultural education, said Graves, “but 4-H isn’t just that.” Hired to expand a vision and focus on urban development with youth, he said there has grown to be an exchange of cultures through 4-H. Through collaboration with youth programs such as those offered at the John F. Kennedy Center, Martin Luther King and Booker T. Washington Center, he cited several farm visits and picking grapes at local vineyards to foster an awareness of the economic livelihood that surrounds the city.

The project areas within 4-H, which boasts a network of more than six million youth, ages eight to 18, “have tried to keep up with the changing interests of youth to keep them engaged,” said Graves.

While still deeply-seated in its agricultural roots, 4-H also focuses on life skills “that transfer no matter where you go,” said Ronan. “Public speaking, organization, economic responsibility…and the projects are vehicles for this ‘learn by doing’ philosophy.”

“I think there is a misconception that agriculture is an easy thing to do,” said Graves, “you don’t just stick something in the ground and make money on it when it grows – many learned skills come into play, for example, mechanical and technological skills.”

As far as members that raise animals for 4-H projects, educators agree that learning the farm-to-table experience, encompassing everything from veterinary visits and medicines, to tagging and weighing in, “the kids learn through many months of dedication and a lot of hard work.”

When it comes time to sell animals, “some are sold with heartbreak – especially for the eight year olds,” said Graves with a smile, but nevertheless members have learned about ethics, business, and the relationships established with local buyers and businesses. He said the annual auction at the Waterford Fair for livestock and the annual fundraising auction are heavily supported by local businesses and farmers.

Meghan Mongera, member of this True Grit 4-H Club, raised and sold the Grand Champion Market Steer at the Erie County 4-H Livestock Sale. The 1,349-pound Angus steer was purchased by Kelly Erectors. Photo Courtesy of Cynthia Jenkins, Waterford Community Fair.

Transcendent of trends and time, what humbly began with one 4-H club in Ohio 100 years ago is still going strong. And with more than 250 youth in traditional clubs and 3,000 total in school enrichment programs in Erie alone, such as embryology or horticulture – educating and preparing youth for agriculture-related industry, the educators agree – is more important than ever for our communities, and is full steam ahead. ■

C Sherman Allen Auction & Assoc purchased this Erie County Reserve Grand Champion Market Lamb. The 124-pound lamb was raised and sold by Lindsey Mays (right), member of the Beefers plus 4-H Club.

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The Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership recently helped cut ribbons with a number of new or expanding investors. We are excited for your success and appreciate the opportunity to help you mark these momentous occasions!

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Save the Date!

2012 Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership Annual Meeting

Thursday, November 8, 2012 4:00pm Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center Cocktail reception immediately following business meeting.

This event is free and open to all Erie Regional Chamber & Growth Partnership investors.

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