WELCOME! It’s that time of year again, and we hope you enjoy this fantastic 24th edition of PASA’s Farming for the Future Conference! This year’s theme, “Nature as Mentor,” follows on last year’s “Letting Nature Lead,” and is intended to help us look even more deeply into the way in which sustainability happens more effectively when we learn from the ecosystems on our farms. The prevalent industrial food complex supports a notso-healthy scenario for our whole society and is supported by those for whom nature is a problem, rather than the great teacher it truly can be. If we pay attention, sometimes the solutions to life’s most perplexing problems are right in front of us, inherent in the problems themselves…this is no less true on farms than it is in other aspects of life. Together, we can learn these lessons and share the solutions beyond our own community. Together, we can build a new type of food system, designed as much to enhance the natural world as to learn from it. Everything you encounter at this conference will help to prepare your farms, your families and your customers for the challenging road ahead. So let us gather to renew our spirits, in celebration of the excellence of our farms and service to each other that gives hope to a new generation of farmers for the future!
Brian Snyder Executive Director
CONTENTS 1
Featured Speakers
12 Discussion Sessions
2
Site Map
13 Friday Workshop Descriptions
3
Schedule Overview
20 Saturday Workshop Descriptions
4 Special Features
27 Speakers Contact List
6
Conference Meals
30 Sponsors & Exhibitors Contact List
8
Future Farmers Schedule
32 Exhibitor Booth Map
9
Pre-Conference Track Overview
34 Advertisements
10 Friday Workshops at a Glance
67 Evaluation Form
11 Saturday Workshops at a Glance
PA SA B OA R D O F D I R EC TO R S Jennifer Halpin Chair Cumberland County Jamie Moore Vice Chair Allegheny County Scott Case Treasurer Centre County Ted LeBow Fundraising Chair Montgomery County Roy Brubaker Executive Committee Member Juniata County
Andy Andrews Maryland Michael Brownback Perry County Melanie Dietrich Cochran Cumberland County Barbara Gerlach Bradford County Susan Miller Chester County David Mortensen Centre County Lloyd Traven Bucks County
Heidi Secord Board Development Officer Monroe County Lisa Diefenbach Secretary & PASA Staff Centre County
PA SA S TA F F Brian Snyder Executive Director
Nicole Shaffer Accounting Manager
Lisa Diefenbach Administrative Director
Natania Schaumburg Eastern Region Member Services Manager
Lauren Smith Director of Development
Jaunette Matis Development Coordinator
Kristin Hoy Conference Manager & Centre Co BFBL Chapter Coordinator
Jessy Swisher Western Region Program Coordinator
Michele Spencer Director of Membership
Jean Najjar Conference Auction Coordinator & Community Outreach Associate
Leah Smith Western Region Director
C O N F E R E N C E DE S I G N E R S
Helen Kollar-McArthur Conference Development & Educational Programs Associate
C Factor & Wolfpack Design CONFERENCE PHOTOGR APHER Pat Little
THE PASA MISSION: Promoting Profitable Farms That Produce Healthy Food For All People While Respecting The Natural Environment
Becky Clawson Conference Registration Assistant Bethany Carter Conference Youth Programming
C O N F E R E N C E R E C OR DI N G S Rhino Technologies
FEATURED SPEAKERS OPENING SESSION & KEYNOTE SPEECH Friday 10:15am Join the leaders from within PASA and the sustainable agriculture movement as we kick off the main conference. Special thanks to Lady Moon Farms for their support of Friday’s opening keynote!
Frances Moore Lappé Opening Keynoter Frances Moore Lappé is the author or co-author of 18 books including the three-million copy Diet for a Small Planet. She is the cofounder of three organizations, including Oakland based think tank Food First and, more recently, the Small Planet Institute. In 2008, she received the James Beard Foundation Humanitarian of the Year Award for her lifelong impact on the way people all over the world think about food, nutrition and agriculture. Frances Moore Lappé will give attendees a look into the research for her book World Hunger: 10 Myths. Moore Lappé delivers her message of the importance of embracing agroecology, ending global poverty and meeting the climate challenge as pieces that come together to develop one “ecomind,” an ideology she delivered through her book EcoMind.
David Mortensen Penn State University Sustainable Ag Leadership Award David Mortensen, Professor of Weed and Applied Plant Ecology at Penn State University, exercises his background in applied plant ecology and ecologicallybased pest management to improve the sustainability of land resource management. His work explores the interplay between the ecology of agricultural fields, field edges and forest fragments. He has a long-standing interest in making weedy plant management more sustainable through understanding how management tactics interact. He also works on methods of enhancing weedy plant invasion resistance in northeastern forests. Additionally, David teaches several classes and his interest in local food systems drew him to the University’s Community Garden, where he is a gardener and faculty advisor, and PASA, where he serves on the Board of Directors.
PASABILITIES PLENARY & AWARDS Saturday 10:15am Join us for the PASAbilities Leadership Award Series as the recipients of the Sustainable Ag Leadership Award and the Sustainable Ag Business Leader Award will take the stage to share their stories and inspire us. Special thanks to Kimberton Whole Foods, a former award winner, for their support of the PASAbilities
Leadership Award Series and Saturday’s plenary session!
Ray Archuleta PASAbilities Main Speaker Ray Archuleta is a Conservation Agronomist at the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service and Certified Professional Soil Scientist whose passion for soil health has earned him the nickname “The Soils Guy.” Archuleta is known for his infectious excitement while sharing his vast knowledge of soil health and agroecology principles, amassed over more than 25 years in the field. He will share his expertise on water health, quality and irrigation and use his background as a conservationist to address our responsibilities for protecting and nurturing these essential resources.
Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living The Orner Family Sustainable Ag Business Leadership Award Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living is a non-profit dedicated to increasing the public awareness of conservation, ecological thinking and healthful sustainable living. The 30-acre farm features lush gardens of organic vegetables, herbs and edible flowers as well as a wind/solar energy system, yurt, earthen oven, straw bale house and nature trails. They sell their own herbal teas, soaps, salves and mushrooms in their on-farm store. They provide education-based experiences to schools, churches, organizations and friend/family groups regularly, offering a wide variety of classes and intensive seminars for students of all ages and levels. They nurture the next generation of sustainable farmers through their apprenticeship program.
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SITE MAP
Penn Stater Conference Center
KEY
Guest Room Check-In
Fireplace
R Registration Desk B Breakfast (Friday & Saturday)
Executive Conference Rooms
C Farmers Market Café (Friday & Saturday) S Seed Swap (Thursday–Saturday) W Webster’s Coffee (Thursday–Saturday) G General Information
GROUND LEVEL
Bike-Powered Grain Mill & Birds of Prey Display
Stairs to Conference Center
Stairs to Guest Rooms & Hotel Lobby
MAIN LEVEL
SECOND LEVEL
PASA Mercantile
G Senate Suite EXHIBITORS
MarketPlace & Exhibitors
Deans Hall B
B
2
Conference Recordings
W
Auction
B
R
S
EXHIBITORS
Coutyard Lounge
Courtyard
First Floor Break Area
C
B
B Exhibitors
Second Floor Break Area
W
S CHEDULE OVERVIEW We’re Here to Help! Have a question? Look for PASA Staff wearing a purple name badge or PASA Board Members wearing a green name badge. Not seeing anyone? Stop by the registration desk.
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 6
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 7
Registration will open at 7:00am
Registration will be open 7:00am–7:30pm
Registration will be open 7:00am–5:00pm
8:00–9:00am Light Breakfast, 2nd Floor Break Area
7:00–8:30am Continental Breakfast, 1st & 2nd Floor Break Areas, Deans Hall
7:00–8:30am Continental Breakfast, 1st & 2nd Floor Break Areas, Deans Hall
9:00am–5:00pm Track 1 Programming
Bag & Silent Auctions, TradeShow, PASA Mercantile & Seed Swap Open
Bag & Silent Auctions, TradeShow, PASA Mercantile & Seed Swap Open
Lunch in Gardens as scheduled by the track (ticketed event)
Knitting Circle, Hotel Main Lobby by Fireplace
Knitting Circle, Hotel Main Lobby by Fireplace
Dinner on your own
Seed Swap Social, Courtyard Lounge (1st Floor)
Seed Swap Social, Courtyard Lounge (1st Floor)
7:00–8:00am TriYoga Sessions, Rooms 211 & 218
7:00–8:00am TriYoga Sessions, Rooms 211 & 218
8:30–9:50am Workshops
8:30–9:50am Workshops
10:00am Farmers Market Café Opens, 1st Floor Break Area
10:00am Farmers Market Café Opens, 1st Floor Break Area
10:15am Keynote Plenary, Presidents Hall
10:15am PASAbilities Plenary, Presidents Hall
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 4
Registration will open at 7:00am Breakfast on your own in Gardens (ticketed event) 9:00am–5:00pm Track 1 Programming Lunch in Gardens as scheduled by the track (ticketed event) Dinner on your own THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5
Keynote Address by Frances Moore Lappé 12:15pm Box Lunch, Deans Hall (ticketed event)
PASAbilities Award Series Remembering Jerry Brunetti Plenary Address by Ray Archuleta
Frances Moore Lappé Book Signing, Presidents Hall 2
12:00pm Box Lunch, Deans Hall (ticketed event)
12:45pm Speaker Book Signing, PASA Mercantile
Speaker Book Signing, PASA Mercantile
1:15pm Farmers Market Café Closes 1:15–2:35pm Workshops
1:15pm Farmers Market Café Closes, 1st Floor Break Area
5:00–6:30pm Social Hour
2:45–3:45pm Membership Breakouts
1:30pm Bag & Silent Auctions Close
Bag & Silent Auctions, TradeShow, PASA Mercantile & Seed Swap Open
4:10–5:30pm Workshops
1:30–2:50pm Workshops
5:30pm Social Hour
Cheese Tasting, 1st Floor Break Area
3:00pm Speaker Book Signing, PASA Mercantile
Young & Beginning Farmer Mixer, Courtyard Lounge (1st Floor)
3:10–4:30pm Workshops
5:45pm Speaker Book Signing, PASA Mercantile
3:30pm Bag & Silent Auction Winners Posted
6:30pm Dinner, Presidents Hall (ticketed event)
4:30pm TradeShow & Seed Swap Close
Registration will be open 7:00am-7:30pm 7:00–9:00am Continental Breakfast, 1st & 2nd Floor Break Areas 9:00am–5:00pm Track Programming Lunch as scheduled by each track, Presidents Hall (ticketed event)
Young & Beginning Farmer Mixer, Courtyard Lounge (1st Floor) 5:30pm Speaker Book Signing, PASA Mercantile 6:30pm Winter Picnic, Presidents Hall (ticketed event) 7:30pm Bag & Silent Auctions, TradeShow, PASA Mercantile & Seed Swap Close 8:00pm Live Music, Presidents Hall (open to all)
12:15–1:15pm Discussion Sessions
5:00pm PASA Mercantile Closes
Bag & Silent Auctions, TradeShow, PASA Mercantile & Seed Swap Close 7:30pm Live Auction, Presidents Hall 8:00pm Movie Screenings
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Special Features PASA Mercantile Across from Registration Desk Thursday through Saturday Stop by the PASA Mercantile near conference registration to shop terrific PASA swag! We have a wonderful selection of clothing, totes, caps, blankets, aprons and more with a variety of images, including the 2015 conference theme on a special USA-made organic shirt. We’ve expanded our “Book Nook” to offer over 120 titles this year. Find time to browse the many popular and timely topics — we hope to have something for everyone. All proceeds benefit PASA education, so vote with your book dollars at PASA!
General Information Second Floor Landing Thursday through Saturday Don’t miss this collection of informative materials — share job openings, agricultural publications, for sale items and much more!
CHEESE TASTING S OCIAL First Floor Break Area • Thursday 5:30pm Sample some Sbrinz and grab some Gouda for later! Visit with the cheesemakers as they show of their wares — and bring a cooler to take some home!
SEED SWAP Courtyard Lounge (1st Floor) Thursday through Saturday Social Hours: Friday & Saturday 7:00am Help strengthen the roots of our local food system by preserving plant varieties grown on your land and sharing them with others! Enjoy a social element of the seed swap over breakfast on Friday and Saturday mornings. Seeds are not required to participate.
Young & Beginning Farmer Mixer Courtyard Lounge (1st Floor) Thursday & Friday 5:30pm It can get lonely out in the field, especially when you’re just starting out. That’s why PASA is hosting a get-together for young and beginning farmers. Tell stories, confirm gut feelings, share insights and build relationships…just come join the fun! The National Young Farmers’ Coalition will also be there to share what they’re doing to support young farmers. 4
PASA Membership Breakouts Friday 2:45pm, see page 12 for details Join your PASA neighbors during our regional breakouts to hear what’s going on with PASA, get region-specific updates, share your ideas and see who else hails from your neck of the woods.
Live Music ! CHUCK DARWIN & THE KNUCKLE DRAGGERS Presidents Hall • 8:00pm When music started to evolve into glitzy, over-produced pop, Chuck Darwin & The Knuckle Draggers jumped out of the gene pool with acoustic, boot-stomping music. The Knuckle Draggers bring influences from many styles, but it all comes back to roots music: country, folk, blues, bluegrass, old-timey, string-band, jug-band music. Clap your hands, stomp your feet, sing along — just make sure you’re having a good time! Music is open to all, dinner ticket not required after 8:00pm.
Special Features Infant Care Room Room 222 • Thursday through Saturday
Looking for a quiet place to care for your young child? This room is away from the crowd, has soft furniture and a bin of toys for the more mobile tots. Children may not be left unattended.
Bag & Silent Benefit Auctions Deans Hall • Thursday through Saturday Join us in Deans Hall to check PASA’s Annual Benefit Auction! Bid on amazing items in our Silent Auction or buy raffle tickets to win in our Bag Auction. And be sure to come cheer on the bidders in our Live Auction after the Friday night banquet. Proceeds from our Benefit Auction support PASA’s Annual Fund and Brownback Memorial Scholarship Fund.
PA SA Theatre Friday 8:00pm
Fed Up! Room 207 Narrated by Katie Couric, FED UP blows the lid off everything we thought we knew about food and exercise, revealing a 30-year campaign by the food industry, aided by the U.S. government, to mislead and confuse the American public. Exposing the hidden truths contributing to one of the largest health epidemics in history, the film follows a group of families battling to lead healthier lives and reveals why the conventional wisdom of exercise and eat right is not ringing true for millions of people struggling with diabetes, childhood obesity and other serious conditions. Including captivating interviews with the country’s leading experts, this vital information could change the way we eat, forever.
Triple Divide Room 208 Triple Divide is Public Herald’s first investigations into inevitable, negative impacts of shale gas industrial development, including contaminated groundwater aquifers, polluted land and stories of victimization. Narrated with help from actor and solutions advocate Mark Ruffalo, major findings include stark negligence and endangerment of public and environmental health due to shale gas extraction. Through personal stories, expert interviews, and investigation of state case files, Triple Divide tells a cautionary tale about a public agency, specifically the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), meant to protect the public and environment that is instead protecting industry. Pennsylvanians, fed up with corruption and destruction, won’t ‘go down’ without a fight and are learning how to protect themselves.
Live Auction! Presidents Hall • Friday 7:30pm Join the excitement of our live auction. Bring your competitive spirit to make sure you go home with your favorite items!
Knitting Circle Hotel Lobby Fireplace Friday & Saturday 7:00am Can’t imagine a weekend without a bobble stitch? Grab your needles and your favorite project for some creative social time.
FARMER PHOTO BOOTH Old Bell Hop, 1st Floor Friday 7am to 4:10pm The publishers of GRID Magazine, a free Philadelphia publication, will be taking pictures of farmers for use in Farmbook, their farm-focused edition. Bring your best smile, and the answer to the questions, “What is the biggest challenge facing your farm, and what is your biggest opportunity?” Farmers will receive the file of their photos.
Beginning & Advanced TriYoga® Session Rooms 211 & 218 • Friday & Saturday 7:00am You don’t have to downward dog alone in your room — salute the sun with other conference goers! Stretch out and relax before a day full of exciting events.
Discussion Sessions Saturday 12:15pm See page 12 for details Bring your lunch, and join in on topicbased discussions with fellow attendees. These 1-hour slots are designed for you to share your experiences and thoughts, while hearing from others who are usually “in the crowd” and not at the podium. 5
CONFERENCE MEALS ngredients for the meals served during our conference are gathered from farmers and processors, much of it donated. With a goal of assembling organically & sustainably produced foods, we had the good fortune of working with over 45 businesses. For the 18th year, special thanks goes out to Chef Ken Stout of the Penn Stater Conference Center and the faculty and students of the Pennsylvania College of Technology’s School of Hospitality, who make our nutritious & sustainable meals possible.
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Social Hour Appetizers
Friday Night Banquet Dinner Exotic Mushroom & Brie Soup Green Salad with Bread & Butter Meat Selection — Grilled Jamison Leg of Lamb served with Polenta & Roasted Butternut Squash with Braised Chard Vegetarian Selection — Thai Inspired Rice Noodles with Asian Vegetables Vegan Selection — White Bean Stuffed Cabbage over Polenta Children’s Selection — Fruit Salad, Baked Chicken with Gravy served with Smashed Potatoes & Mixed Vegetables Dessert — Pennsylvania Ice Cream with Apple Pear Medley
Summer Sausage, Cheeses & Chutney Pennsylvania Hummus with Crudités Blue Cheese Dip Fresh Organic Crudités Smoked Salmon Spread (Friday only) Sesame Sticks & Pretzels Thursday Winter Picnic Dinner Pork Sausage with Peppers & Onions
Continental Breakfast & Break Items
Grass-Fed Beef Goulash Herb-Roasted Chicken
Assorted Yogurts
Mile-High Quiche
Organic Peanut Butter
Curried Winter Vegetables with Rice
Cheese Stringles
Roasted Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes
Hard Boiled Eggs
Salad Bar with Marinated Mushrooms
Milk and Half & Half Thursday Luncheon
Desserts: Maple Crème Brûlée, Peach Cobbler, Old Fashioned Double Chocolate Cake, Pennsylvania Ice Cream
Louisiana Muffaletta Sandwich Roast Turkey Sandwich with Roasted Red Pepper Aioli on Ciabatta Bread Roasted Vegetables on Focaccia Beef Chili with Cheddar Cheese & Sour Cream Cider Onion Soup with Crouton
Friday Box Lunch Meat — Fresh Chicken Salad Wrap & Fresh Green Salad Vegetarian & Vegan — Roasted Vegetables Wrap & Fresh Green Salad
Cole Slaw
Kid’s Selection — Sweet & Sour Pulled Chicken Sandwich, Fruit Salad
Cookies & Brownies
Fresh-Baked Cookie & Natural Soda
2015 Providing Farms & Businesses Ayrshire Farm
Koch’s Turkey Farm
Natural Dairy
Front Royal, VA Organic Chicken
Tamaqua, Schuykill County Fresh Turkey
Newark, DE Organic Half & Half, Sour Cream, Heavy Cream, Whole Milk & Brown Sugar Whipped Cream
Back Forty Farm
Lady Moon Farms
Doylesburg, Franklin County Organic Parsnips
Punta Gorda, Florida Organic Bell Peppers, Eggplant, Red Leaf, Green Leaf & Romaine Lettuces, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes & Grape Tomatoes
Breezy Hill Farm Doylesburg, Franklin County Organic Heirloom Carrots
Dickinson College Farm Boiling Springs, Cumberland County Organic Spinach & Potatoes
Eden View Foods
Lancaster, Lancaster County Fresh-Made Hummus
Leidy’s Natural Pork
State College, Centre County Coconut Coffee Creamer & Vegan Ice Cream
Old School Snacks Cairnbrook, Somerset County Wild Rice & Sesame Snacks
Ephrata, Lancaster County Organic Produce…and lots of it!
Troy, Bradford County Natural Beef
Nunda, New York Natural Peanut Butter
Frankferd Farms Foods
Leraysville Cheese Factory
Saxonburg, Butler County Soda, garnering donations & delivery
Leraysville, Bradford County Assorted Pennsylvania Cheeses
Organic Valley Family of Farms
Jamison Farms
Lancaster, Lancaster County Organic Pastry Flour
Newfoundland, Wayne County Maple Syrup
Keswick Creamery
Mother Earth Organic Mushrooms
Newburg, Cumberland County Fresh Farmstead Feta
West Grove, Chester County Organic Button Mushrooms
Centre Hall, Centre County Assorted Chutneys & Fruit Shrubs
Three Springs Fruit Farm Porter Farm Elba, New York Organic Red and Yellow Onions
LaFarge, Wisconsin Half & Half, Provolone, Cheddar, Baby Swiss & Blue Cheeses, Cream Cheese, Stringles, Summer Sausage, Chocolate Milk, Soy Creamer
Over the Moon Farm Rebersburg, Centre County Savory Breakfast Sausage Biglerville, Adams County Organic Apples & Apple Juice
Triangle Organics Farm Aaronsburg, Centre County Grass-fed Ground Beef
Roaring Spring, Blair County Fresh Spring Water
Trickling Springs Creamery
Seven Stars Farm Phoenixville, Chester County Biodynamic Yogurt
Snyder’s of Hanover
Chambersburg, Franklin County Organic Yogurt Smoothies & Premium Ice Cream
Tuscarora Mountain Farm Spring Run, Franklin County Organic Red Beets
Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative (TOG)
Hanover, York County Gluten Free Pretzels
Hustontown, Huntingdon Co. Bounty from many of their organic cooperative farms!
Stone Meadow Farm
Village Acres Farm
Woodward, Centre County Pennsylvania Farmstead Cheeses
Mifflinburg, Juniata County Organic Eggs
Stonyfield Farm
Webster’s Bookstore & Café
Londonderry, New Hampshire Organic Yogurt
State College, Centre County Fresh Brewed Coffee
Sunny Ridge Farm
Wild For Salmon
Spring Run, Franklin County Organic Watermelon Radishes & Carrots
Bloomsburg, Columbia County Traditional Gravlox, Nova Style Smoked Salmon, Hickory Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese Salmon Spread
Sunrise Logistics Oyler’s Organic Farm
Aspers, Adams County Peaches & Apples
Roaring Spring Premium Water
Lititz, Lancaster County Hardboiled Eggs
Once Again Nut Butter Collective
Troy, Bradford County Chocolate Milk!
Tait Farm Foods
Kennett Square, Chester Co. Organic Shiitake & Other Exotic Mushrooms
Hustontown, Huntingdon Co. Organic Turnips & Apple Cider Support
Leona Meat
Milky Way Farms
Phillips Mushroom Farms
Sauder’s Eggs
Four Seasons Produce
McGeary Organics
For more healthy food options, visit The Farmers Market Café. (see ad page 33)
New Morning Farm
Souderton, Montgomery Co. Natural Pork Sausage & Bacon
Journey’s End Farm
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Lancaster Hummus Company
Nature’s Pantry
Tyrone, Blair County Sprouted Grain Bread
Latrobe, Westmoreland County Leg of Lamb
Saturday Box Lunch Meat — House Made Turkey Salad on Focaccia Vegetarian & Vegan — Mediterranean Green Salad with Quinoa, Tomatoes & Olives. Served with Focaccia. Vegetarian served with Feta Cheese also. Kid’s Selection — Cashew Butter & Banana Wrap, Fruit Salad Fresh-Baked Cookie & Natural Soda
Ephrata, Lancaster County Product Consolidation & Transportation
Meet Our Producers Ayrshire Farm Strives to Bring Livestock & Crop Production to Both Self-Sufficiency and Profitability Ayrshire Farm, located in Upperville Virginia, is unique in the region as a working farm that has met the 21st Century with one foot firmly planted in the 19th. It is a certified organic farm, specializing in rare and endangered livestock breeds and heirloom fruits and vegetables. It is also a working manor farm, historically a place of efficiency, sufficiency and serenity. Ayrshire’s mission today is to bring livestock and crop production to both self-sufficiency and profitability. Additionally, there is a commitment to achieving these goals using Certified Humane®, organic, sustainable farming methods, preserving
genetically viable herds of the various rare breeds and contributing to seed pools for heirloom plants. The soil is being constantly amended with cover crops and compost from the three-acre compost facility. As a
Natural Dairy is Dedicated to Health, and Features Low-Temperature Pasteurization Natural Dairy, producers of organic milk products from grass-fed cows, sources their milk from 27 dairy farms in the Pennsylvania counties of Lancaster & Montgomery. They oversee every step of the production of their milk, cheese, butter and yogurt lines in their new Newark, DE plant, which
runs extremely efficiently, reducing the company’s carbon footprint. The company has created 38 new jobs with their new plant opening. “We have a niche in the market,” stated Jay Totman, Sales Manager. “More people now understand and appreciate the health benefits that grass-based dairy products deliver. Also, ultra-pasteurization processes have come under scrutiny. At Natural Dairy, we are careful to protect and maintain as much of the raw nutrients as possible with our low-temperature pasteurization. This decreases shelf life, so an important element of our new plant is
Tuscarora Organic Growers — The Cooperative Model Helps Reach New Markets Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative (TOG) took root in 1988 when three neighboring organic fruit and vegetable farmers in South Central Pennsylvania came together to share a common problem — each farm marketed their produce in the Baltimore-Washington area at farmers markets each weekend, but was becoming overwhelmed by requests from food coops, retailers and restaurants for their produce. They soon discovered that by working together, they could coordinate crop production to compliment one another rather than compete, and each grower could focus on crops they did well. The
cooperative form of business fit the farmers’ needs, allowing ownership and market access to be divided fairly and decisions to be made jointly. And through cooperation, the growers were able to serve their customers better, by providing a diversity of crops and a level of service that no one grower could provide on their own. In their twenty-sixth season, TOG worked with 44 member producers and an additional 15 or so growers to bring over 100,000 cases of produce from farm to city, offering locally grown, Certified Organic produce, all 12 months of the year. The TOG staff serves three primary
part of their training, the Ayrshire Shires help in the constant task of soil improvement, keeping the skills of horse-powered farming alive. Among the rare breeds are Shire horses, Scottish Highland cattle, Ancient White Park cattle, Gloucestershire Old Spot hogs and several breeds of free-range chickens, turkeys and ducks. Pheasants and wild turkeys are raised for release into the farm woodlands, areas which are being replanted and managed to provide “wildlife corridors” among the various habitat areas. Native trees, plants and grasses are being re-introduced as woodland cover, hedgerows and fodder crops. We invite you to visit www.ayrshirefarm.com for more information!
product delivery. These efficient processes will assure the freshest products possible for our loyal customers.” Ned MacArthur, founder and president of Natural Dairy Products Corporation, is a life-long dairy worker. He started the company in 1994 after becoming frustrated with the fact that there wasn’t a cost effective way to sell organic milk. Ned, along with father Norman, took matters into their own hands, teaming up with organic dairy farmers in Lancaster to develop an effective system for producing, transporting, processing and packaging grass-fed organic milk, while retaining independence from the milk industry. We invite you to visit www.natural-by-nature.com for more information!
functions for its growers: marketing of their crops; production coordination (they offer over 1200 active produce items annually that must be fairly divided among over 50 independently minded growers!) and providing the quality standards that all growers must adhere to so their customers can expect the same high quality produce from all their growers. We invite you to visit www.tog.coop for more information!
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FUTURE FutureFARMERS FarmersSCHEDULE Schedule Our Future Farmers: Babysitting, Kids & Youth Programs We are thankful to all of our volunteers who have offered their time and creativity to educating and empowering the next generation of local food producers and advocates! Thursday’s Sprouts & Seedlings program is organized by Penn State’s Healthy Bodies Project. The Youth Program is brought to us by Claire & Rusty Orner of Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living and the PA Game Commission. On Friday and Saturday, the Sprouts program is led by Kat Alden and
Childcare Room & Cooperative Babysitting Room 222 This unstaffed room is stocked with toys and games for parents with children 5 years and younger. Parents are responsible for supervising their children at all times. Parents may coordinate with each other if they wish to share supervision duties. Children may not be left unattended at any time.
Dorothy Habecker along with a team of local Centre County volunteers and Master Gardeners, and the Seedlings program is led by members of the Chatham University Naturality Club. The Youth program is facilitated by members of Penn State’s Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture Clubs. They will also be hearing from various conference speakers and volunteers. Please be sure to thank them when you pick up your children!
F R I DAY
S AT U R DAY
Please pick up your children promptly for lunch at 12:15pm and at the end of the day at 5:30pm!
Please pick up your children promptly for lunch at 11:45am and at the end of the day at 4:30pm!
Sprouts (Grades K–2)
Room 221
8:15am Check-in: Parent Forms & Name Tags 8:30-9:00am Magnet Monarchs Butterfly Craft 9:00-10:00am Ice Breakers & Name Games 10:00-10:45am Yoga 10:45-11:15am Pollinators Are Important, The Reason for a Flower & Snack 11:15-11:45am Wet Felted Balls Caterpillar Craft 11:45am-12:15pm Nectar Collector Game 12:15pm Parents pick up children for lunch. 1:00-1:30pm Beeswax Bee Craft 1:30-2:15pm Monarch Maze 2:15-2:45pm Scavenger Hunt 3:00-4:00pm Swim 4:00-4:15pm Snack 4:15-5:00pm Candle Dipping & Puppet Show 5:00-5:30pm Finish Crafts
Sprouts (Grades K–2)
Seedlings (Grades 3–5) Seedlings (Grades 3–5) T H U R S DAY
8:30am Check-in: Parent Forms & Name Tags 9:00-9:30am Introductions & Welcome Game 9:30-10:15am Know Your Rabbit, Daniel Salatin 10:15-10:30am The Body Body Song 10:30-11:00am Mystery Bag Game 11:00-11:30am Importance of Vegetables 11:30am-12:00pm Mask Craft 12:00-1:00pm Lunch & Free Play 1:00-2:00pm Seed Planting 2:00-2:30pm Let’s Learn About Seeds 2:30-3:00pm Seed Germination, Heather Mikulas 3:00-4:15pm Swim 4:15-5:00pm A Day in the Life of a Farmer, Holly Rippon-Butler 5:00-5:15pm What We Learned
8:15am Check-in: Parent Forms & Name Tags 8:30-8:45am CSI Badge Decorating 8:45-9:30am Investigating What We Eat: The Digestive System 9:30-10:00am Make Your Own Power Snack 10:00-10:45am Yoga 10:45-11:45am Veterinary Fun, Ernest Hovingh 11:45am-12:15pm Fingerprint Identifications: How Well Do You Know Your Fruits & Vegetables? 12:15pm Parents pick up children for lunch. 1:00-2:00pm So You Want to Survive in the Wild? (outdoor activity with Youth Program) 2:00-3:00pm Uncovering the Interactions Between the Gut & the Brain 3:00-4:00pm Swim 4:00-4:30pm The Hidden Helpers: Vitamins & Nutrition 4:30-4:45pm The Rhythm Game 4:45-5:15pm Human Body Craft: Piecing It All Together 5:15-5:30pm Closing/Wrap-up: Gather Further Evidence!
Youth (Grades 6–12)
Youth (Grades 6–8)
Lunch is provided during the program. Please pick up your children promptly at 5:15pm!
Sprouts & Seedlings (Grades K–5)
Room 221
Room 219
8:30am Check-in: Parent Forms & Name Tags 8:30-9:15am Meet our state bird, the Ruffed Grouse 9:15-10:45am So You Want to Survive in the Wild? How the Grouse Mentors Us for Winter (outdoor activity) 11:00-11:45am Ensuring Success for the Grouse’s Survival, Lisa Williams 11:45am-12:00pm Compose Interview Questions 12:00-1:00pm Lunch & Interviews 1:00-1:45pm Ruffed Grouse Habitat, Lisa Williams 1:45-2:00pm Break 2:00-3:30pm Avian Wing & Feet Adaptations, Linda Ordiway & her bird dog 3:30-5:15pm Create Conservation Ambassador Words of Wisdom
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Room 220
Room 219
8:15am Check-in: Parent Forms & Name Tags 8:30-9:00am Team Building Activities 9:00-10:15am MyPlate 10:15-11:00am Peruse conference exhibits & booths 11:00am-12:00pm Keynote Presentation by Frances Moore Lappé 12:15pm Parents pick up children for lunch. 1:00-2:00pm So You Want to Survive in the Wild? (outdoor activity with Seedlings Program) 2:00-2:30pm Cover Crops 2:30-3:00pm Nutrient Management Plan 3:00-4:00pm Petition for a State Vegetable, David Kline 4:00-5:00pm Swim 5:00-5:30 Wrap up
Room 221
8:15am Check-in: Parent Forms & Name Tags 8:30-9:00am State Vegetable Petition with Youth Program 9:00-9:45am Children choose Yoga or Martial Arts. 9:45-10:15am State Vegetable Craft with Seedlings 10:15-10:45am Haulin Pollen Game 10:45-11:30am Bee Princess Visit 11:30-11:45am Silk Wings Craft 11:45am Parents pick up children for lunch. 1:15-2:00pm Milk Jug Greenhouses 2:00-3:00pm Planning a Pollinator Garden, PSU Master Gardeners 3:00-3:30pm Snack & Bee Suit Demonstration, Heather Emminger 3:30-4:30 Life Cycle Puppet Craft
Room 220
8:15am Check-in: Parent Forms & Name Tags 8:30-9:00am State Vegetable Petition with Youth Program (Room 221) 9:00-9:45am Children choose Yoga or Martial Arts. 9:45-10:15am State Vegetable craft with Sprouts 10:15-10:45am Smokeless S’mores Snack, Review Last Night’s Evidence 10:45-11:15am Soil Savvy: The Scoop on Dirt, Josie & Frances M. Lappé 11:15-11:45am Examining Decomposers, Jason Lilley 11:45am Parents pick up children for lunch. 1:15-2:15pm Uncovering the Soil System: Terrarium Craft & Bill Nye Video 2:15-3:15pm Sustainable Farming in Brazil: Agroforestry & Riparian Buffer Systems 3:15-3:45pm Crops vs. Pesticides Game 3:45-4:15pm Pennsylvania’s Deer Population 4:15-4:30pm Rosebuds & Thorns for the Case
Youth (Grades 6–8)
Room 219
8:15am Check-in: Parent Forms & Name Tags 8:30-9:00am State Vegetable Petition with Sprouts & Seedlings (Room 221) 9:00-9:20am Game 9:20-9:40am State Vegetable Petition Progress, David Kline 9:40-10:00am Collect Attendee Signatures for Vegetable Petition 10:00-10:45am Children choose Yoga or Martial Arts. 10:45-11:45am Grinding Grains, George Wright 11:45am Parents pick up children for lunch. 1:15-2:15pm Beekeeping, Heather Emminger 2:15-2:30pm Game 2:30-3:30pm Eating Wild Weeds, Katrina Blair 3:30-4:30pm Dirt Snack & Dirt
PRE-CONFERENCE
Track Overview
PASA is pleased to offer six pre-conference tracks, a series of full-day intensive learning experiences. Each track focuses on a specific topic and brings together experts in the field for an in-depth look. The format allows attendees to gain a deeper knowledge and skill of methods that can be implemented into daily operations. Special thanks to the companies and organizations who helped to design our programming.
T U E S DAY, F E B 3 – T H U R S DAY, F E B 5
T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 5
TRACK 1
TRACK 4
Holistic Financial Planning
Weeds, Herbs & Medicinals
Presenter: Byron Shelton, The Savory Institute Funds for this program provided by PA Women’s Agricultural Network with funds from the USDA NIFA’s NBFR Program grant #2012-49400-19062
Presenters: Katrina Blair, Turtle Lake Refuge & Linda Shanahan, Barefoot Gardens; Richard Mandelbaum, ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism
T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 5
TRACK 5
T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 5
TRACK 2
Agroecology Principles & Biomimicry Strategies for Enhancing Soil Function Presenters: Ray Archuleta, NRCS; Steve Groff, Cover Crop Solutions; Klaas Martens, Lakeview Organic Grains
Livestock in Nature: Best Practices for Animal & Ecosystem Health Presenters: Brett Chedzoy, Cornell Cooperative Extension; Norm Conrad, NCAT/ATTRA; Darrell Emmick, Grazing Land Management Specialist; Lamonte Garber, Stroud Water Research Center; John Hopkins, Forks Farm; Sandra Miller, Painted Hand Farm; Benjamin Tracy, Virginia Tech Funds for this program provided by
Funds for this program provided by
T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 5
Pennsylvania Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative
TRACK 3
Marketing to Build Relationships, Bring Value & Make Sales Presenters: Edwin Shank, The Family Cow; Sheri Salatin, Polyface Inc; Ben Wenk, Three Springs Fruit Farm
T H U R S DAY, F E B R U A RY 5
TRACK 6
Seed Sovereignty Funds for this program provided by
Presenters: Amy Laura Cahn, Philadelphia Public Interest Law Center; Scott Marlow, RAFI-USA Representative; Mary-Howell Martens, Lakeview Organic Grain; Tim Mountz, Happy Cat Organics
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Friday
Workshops at a Glance
Enjoy the variety of topics our workshop line-up has to offer! You can choose to go to any of the sessions. Detailed descriptions and speaker biographies are available on the next pages. The level of material for each workshop is indicated for NOVICE and EXPERIENCED, otherwise it is appropriate for all audiences. NOTE: Not all sessions will be recorded. See the Rhino Technologies order form in your registration folder. Special thanks to Dairy Heritage by Agri-Service LLC for underwriting our dairy and cheese related workshops and to Rimol Greenhouses for supporting the attendance of Clara Coleman.
FRI 8:30–9:50 AM Wild Wisdom of Weeds Katrina Blair Presidents Hall 1 Advanced Cover Cropping Systems Steve Groff Presidents Hall 2 EXPERIENCED
Fully Employ Yourself: Price & Market Successfully Sheri & Daniel Salatin Presidents Hall 3 Simple Multi-Purpose Livestock Shelter: How to Make & Use Portable Pasture Hoop Houses Brooks Miller Presidents Hall 4 EXPERIENCED
Grazing Tidbits Darell Emmick Room 104 Walk-Behind Farming Equipment for Small-Scale Operations Joel Dufour Room 105 Soil Health in Year-Round High Tunnel Production Chris Lent Room 106 Law & Policy Tools to Access Land & Grow Food in the City Amy Laura Cahn & Marisa Manheim Room 107 Size Matters: A Panel Discussion on Farm Scale Michael Ahlert; Mike Brownback; Dillon & Justin Naylor Room 108
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FRI 1:15–2:35 PM Land Stewardship for Pollinator Conservation Kelly Gill Executive Conference Suite Fields of Farmers: Interning, Mentoring, Partnering, Germinating Daniel Salatin Presidents Hall 1 Agroecology Principles & Biomimicry Strategies to Improve Soil Function Ray Archuleta Presidents Hall 2
Milk Quality Starts in the Parlor: Sanitation & Collection Gianaclis Caldwell Room 109
Behavior-Based Grazing Management Darrel Emmick Room 104
EXPERIENCED
Small Scale Sustainable Rice Production Nazirahk Amen Room 105
Taking Control of Food Safety Certifications: Group GAP & Other Farmer-centric Approaches Roland McReynolds & Lindsay Gilmour Room 203
Solar Power for Portable & Permanent Animal Housing Rich Louis Room 106
Cold-Hardy Winter Vegetables Pam Dawling Room 204
Incorporating an On-Farm Restaurant into Your Agricultural Business Dillon & Justin Naylor Room 107
Implementing Wildlife Habitat Improvement Projects on Your Farm with Federal Funds Austin Drager; David Hughes; Linda Shanahan Room 205
Perspectives on Production, Insect & Disease Management in the Organic Apple Orchard Don Kretschmann Room 108 EXPERIENCED
Vegetable Farm Irrigation: Basics & Beyond Matt Steiman Room 206 Using Products from Your Woods to Build Soil Health Gary Gilmore Room 207 Pigs at Work in the Organic Apple Orchard from Farrow to Finish Matthew Grieshop & Jim Koan Room 208 EXPERIENCED
Troubleshooting Poultry Health Susan Beal & Jeff Mattocks Senate Suite
Feral Swine in PA: A Panel Discussion Justin Brown; John Hopkins; Kyle Van Why; Charles Bier Room 109
See page 3 for the detailed conference schedule.
The Holistic Approach to Parasite Management in Small Ruminants Susan Beal Room 205
Uncommon Fruits in the Food Forest Michael Judd Room 108
Interpreting National Food Trends for Value-Added Profit Heather Mikulas Room 206
#fileroom: Reporting & Mapping Water Complaints from Fracking Melissa Troutman & Joshua Pribanic Room 109
Farming at Night: The Business Side of Farming Eric Vander Hyde Room 207
Working with Honey Bee Queens Ross Conrad Room 202 EXPERIENCED
Four Season Forward: The Latest Innovations in Four-Season Vegetable Production Clara Coleman Room 208 Q & A with Frances Moore Lappé Senate Suite
Beneficial Bats: Supporting Nature’s Bug Eaters Brian Benner & Drew Wanke Room 203 NOVICE
Managing Udder Health for Happier Cows & Better Milk Ernest Hovingh Room 204 NOVICE
FRI 2:45–3:45 PM Membership Breakouts See page 12 for room assignments.
FRI 4:10–5:30 PM Comparing Cucurbit Production Systems: The Potential of Strip-Tillage & Row-Covers Jennifer Tillman & Jason Lilley Executive Conference Suite NOVICE
Raising Rabbits for Forage Intake Without Medications Daniel Salatin Room 104
Labels, Labels, Labels: What They Do & Don’t Mean Alice Varon; Emily Lancaster Moose; Penny Zuck Room 202
Internet Marketing for Farm Sales Simon Huntley Room 105
Averting Disaster — Real Farm Emergencies & How to Avoid Them George DeVault Room 203
Silvopastures from Scratch: Improving Pastures with Trees Brett Chedzoy Room 106
Hybrid Hazelnuts: A Real Crop, for Real Farmers Philip Rutter Room 204
Weeds for Commercial Uses Katrina Blair Room 107
See the page 13 for detailed descriptions and speaker biographies for the workshops.
Cereal Grains at the Farmers Market: How to Grow, Process & Sell George Wright Room 205 No-Till Vegetables for Homestead & Small Farm Lee Reich Room 206 A Biodynamic Approach to Soil Health & Fertility Mac Mead Room 207 EXPERIENCED
Can You Really Live Off 1.5 Acres? Jean-Martin Fortier Room 208 Understanding Your Soil’s Physical, Biological & Chemical Properties for Increased Profitability Bob Schindelbeck Room 211 EXPERIENCED
Your Farm Food to Urban Mouths: Start a Metropolitan Buying Club Sheri Salatin Senate Suite
SATURday SAT 8:30–9:50 AM Small-Scale Biogas Systems for Your Home & Farm Matt Steiman Executive Conference Suite Soil Building & Water Harvesting with Permaculture Michael Judd Presidents Hall 1
Workshops at a Glance
Employees, Volunteers, Interns & Workshares: How Labor Laws Apply to Your Farm Alison Lecker & Ross Pifer Room 204
Apitherapy: Health & Healing with Products from the Hive Ross Conrad Presidents Hall 4
Impacts of Fracking on Farming & Food Animals Michelle Bamberger & Robert Oswald Room 205
On-Farm Incubation: Experiences, Practices & Solutions Tom Wadson Room 105
EXPERIENCED
Animal Powered Farming: Costs, Equipment, Economics & Mentorship Dale Stoltzfus Room 104
Growing Breakfast: How to Roll & Steel Cut Oats George Wright Room 206
Planting for the Future: Starting Your Orchard with Smarts, Microclimate & Rootstocks Ben Wenk Room 106
Farming the Woods: Seeing the Forest for More than Just the Trees Steve Gabriel Room 205
Finding Your Cover Crop Repertoire Mary-Howell & Klaas Martens Presidents Hall 2
Pruning Tree Fruits Lee Reich Room 206
The Essential Natural Medicine Kit for Healthy Farm Living Susan Beal Presidents Hall 3
Getting Started in Farming: A Panel Kim & Eric Chase; Sara Eckert; Laura & Mark MacDonald Room 207
Organic Beekeeping for Beginners Ross Conrad Presidents Hall 4
Raising Heritage Turkeys Craig Haney Room 208 NOVICE
NOVICE
Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Insurance for Diversified & Organic Farms Paul Wolfe Room 104 The Value-Added Dairy Gianaclis Caldwell Room 105 NOVICE
Reaching Underserved Communities & Limited-Resource Consumers Charmaine Peters & Mike Tabor Room 106 Caring for Small Creeks & Streams on Farms & Homesteads Lamonte Garber Room 107 Biocontrols for Vegetable Production from Sow to Sell Lloyd Traven Room 108 EXPERIENCED
Holistic Financial Planning to Build Wealth Chase Ridgely & Willy Denner Room 109
See page 3 for the detailed conference schedule.
Managing Insects & Diseases in Cut Flowers while Keeping Your Pollinators Happy Steve Bogash Senate Suite
SAT 12:15–1:15 PM
Finding the Balance: How to Formulate Properly Balanced Feed Rations for Your Animals Jeff Mattocks Room 105 EXPERIENCED
Dealing with Talon & Claw: Preventing Wildlife Damage Norm Conrad Room 106 Restoration & Utilization of the American Chestnut Sara Fitzimmons & Philip Rutter Room 107 Accessing Land: Partnering with a Land Trust to Secure Farmland Holly Rippon-Butler & Sarah Walter Room 108 NOVICE
Discussion Sessions See page 12 for topics & room assignments.
Describing Products for Market: How to Write for Readers & Customers Tenaya Darlington Room 109
SAT 1:30–2:50 PM
Knowing Your Insurance & Liability Protection Needs: The Key to Securing Your Farm & Business for this Generation & the Next! Joan Epperson & Robert Runk Room 202
The Deeper Wisdom of the Biodynamic Preparations Mac Mead Executive Conference Suite EXPERIENCED
Selecting the Best Tomatoes, Bell Peppers & Cucumbers for High Tunnel Production Steve Bogash Presidents Hall 1
Business Planning for Local Foods Processors Silas Conroy Room 203 NOVICE
Six-Figure Farming for Small Plots, Part 1 Jean-Martin Fortier Presidents Hall 2 Once a Day Milking: A Viable Option for Small Dairy Farmers Gianaclis Caldwell Presidents Hall 3
EXPERIENCED
NOVICE
Farming the Forest for Native Medicinal & Culinary Plants: Opportunities, Challenges, & Third Party Verification Eric Burkhart & Adam Seitz Room 204
Ducks on the Homestead: Year-Round Care for Eggs & Meat Suzanne & Rich Louis Room 207 Blueberries, from Planning to Planting to Harvest Lee Reich Room 208 Q & A with Ray Archuleta Senate Suite
SAT 3:10–4:30 PM Where’s the Cash? Tools to Understand Your Business Rebecca Frimmer & Ted LeBow Executive Conference Suite
NOVICE
Understanding & Managing Urban Soils for Healthy Food Production Chris Lent Room 107 Growing Great Garlic Pam Dawling Room 108 Pairing Principles that Will Help You Sell Your Cheese Tenaya Darlington Room 109 Holistic Land & Livestock Management Chase Ridgely & Willy Denner Room 203
EXPERIENCED
Building an On-Farm Retail Market Sara Baldwin; Jennifer Brodsky; Brian Moyer Presidents Hall 1 Six-Figure Farming for Small Plots, Part 2 Jean-Martin Fortier Presidents Hall 2 The Food Safety Modernization Act: Past, Present & the Road Ahead Sophia Kruszewski & Brian Snyder Presidents Hall 3 From Amber Waves to Market: Growing & Marketing Organic Food Grade Grains Mary-Howell & Klaas Martens Presidents Hall 4 Basics of Farming with Animal Power: Safety, Husbandry, Species & Breeds Dale Stoltzfus Room 104 NOVICE
See the page 20 for detailed descriptions and speaker biographies for the workshops.
Variety Choice for Disease Resistance in Cucurbits Edmund Frost & Michael Glos Room 204 The Real Cost of Fracking: How America’s Shale Gas Boom Is Threatening Our Families, Pets, & Food Michelle Bamberger & Robert Oswald Room 205 Farming the Woods: Forest Cultivation of Mushrooms Steve Gabriel Room 206 Young Calf Care Kimberley Morrill Room 207 Natural Approaches to Common Animal Health Concerns Susan Beal Room 208 Back to the Farm — Inviting the Public as a Means to Increasing Profits Barbara Gerlach; Kristi Dimond Maher; Caroline Owens Senate Suite
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MEMBERSHIP BREAKOUTS & DISCUSSION SESSIONS PA S A R E G I O N A L MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS
Friday • 2:45–3:45 PM Join members of PASA’s Board & Staff to learn what’s happening with PASA and to catch up with your PASA “neighbors”! Please choose a meeting based on your geographical location. If you are not from Pennsylvania, you may attend the Out of State meeting, or whichever region is closest to you. • Room 105 — South Central Region (Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon, Juniata, Lebanon, Mifflin, Perry, Snyder, York) • Room 207 — Western Region (Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Mercer, Somerset, Venango, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland) • Room 106 — North Central Region (Bradford, Cameron, Centre, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Elk, Lycoming, McKean, Montour, Northumberland, Potter, Sullivan, Tioga, Union) • Room 208 — Eastern Region (Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Pike, Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Wayne, Wyoming) • Room 206 — Out of State
DISCUSSION SESSIONS
Saturday • 12:15–1:15 PM Take advantage of this hour that has been set aside for informal meetings around a variety of topics (listed below). These are intended to be discussions rather than presentations, so be prepared to contribute to the conversation. As with workshops, you can choose any of the topics below — or spend some time visiting our TradeShow vendors, socializing or networking. Bring your lunch!
Farming with Families: Children on the Farm Room 104
Parents today are overwhelmed by busyness, and farmers are no exception — farming has unique demands and like all self-employment, the work can be never 12
ending. Topics covered could include: creative child care, including children in farm work, negotiating farm/home/family division of labor, balancing obligations and rest/play, role of community and extended family, spouse as business partner, and more. If there is interest, the conversation could continue after the conference through the formation of a support group.
Finding Health through Real Food
Moderated by Terra Brownback of Spiral Path Farm and Anna Santini of North Mountain Pastures.
Good Marketing Practices — Tips from Peers
GMO Labeling: An Urgent Case for Food Transparency
If you live on a farm, you have a story to tell, and people are listening. How are you sharing your farm’s special qualities, presenting your brand and strengthening your customer base? What approaches have you used, and which are you considering? Which seem the most and least rewarding? Making plans for 2015? Bring your current marketing materials to share and get feedback on ideas you’re considering.
Room 105
What we are working towards is creating better understanding with the GMO labeling and why we need to pass a law in the Commonwealth of PA. This discussion will include everyone with the latest, most up to date information and news about GMOs. In addition we will discuss the “know how” and tools to be an advocate for this cause and provide you with action steps to take in helping to create a transparent PA food system! Moderated by GMO Free PA.
The Real Deal: Best Practices for Local Food System Engagement Room 106
PASA is piloting new tools for farmers markets, restaurants, and retailers to assess their depth of “localness” and communicate this information to their customers in transparent ways. Learn about the progress of this project and help build our toolkit by sharing your best practices in communicating about local food! Moderated by Leah Smith from PASA.
How Fracking Contamination Impacts Organic Certification Room 205
Public Herald and FracTracker Alliance are mapping water contamination from fracking. How will this information effect Organic farming and certification? ‘Fracked’ organic farmers share their stories and reporting tools will be discussed. Moderated by Josh Pribanic and Melissa Troutman from Public Herald.
Room 206
Join this group if you want to talk about the impact your diet has on your health. From what to eat to where to find it to how to know it’s real, this discussion session will cover it all. The sharing of recipes is welcome! Moderated by Weston A. Price Foundation.
Room 207
Moderated by Alice Varon from Certified Naturally Grown.
Urban Agriculture Senate Suite
Meet with other urban agriculturalists to discuss the opportunities and challenges of farming in the city. Moderated by Amy Laura Cahn of Garden Justice Legal Initiative of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia and Marisa Manheim of Grow Pittsburgh.
Charcoal Demonstration Courtyard (Outside Revolving Doors)
Charcoal made from wood can be grown and processed on the farm for a variety of uses. This demonstration will show how charcoal can be converted into a gas to run a small tractor or generator. Demonstration by Gary Gilmore of PA DCNR, Bureau of Forestry.
Birds of Prey Show Gardens Lobby (Ground Level)
Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center will have some of their birds of prey on-site. Stop by for a visit and learn all about these majestic creatures.
WOR KSHOPS
Friday
FRI 8:30 – 9:50 AM Wild Wisdom of Weeds Katrina Blair, Turtle Lake Refuge Presidents Hall 1 This lively slideshow presentation along with experiential demos is a celebration about aligning with nature’s currency of abundance by appreciating 13 wild edible and medicinal weeds found growing everywhere on earth next to human communities. These 13 special plants contribute to the regeneration of the earth fertility while supporting primal optimal health for our bodies. Each one of these wild plants represents a complete food source and first aid kit. Attendees will learn how to utilize these plants through simple recipes that promote health for their bodies, their communities and the earth. Katrina Blair began studying wild plants in her teens when she camped out alone for a summer to focus on eating wild foods. She later wrote “The Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants of the San Juan Mountains” for her senior project at Colorado College. She founded non-profit Turtle Lake Refuge in 1998, a wild harvested, locally grown and living foods café and sustainable education center for the community. Katrina teaches sustainable living practices and wild edible and medicinal classes locally and globally. She is author of a book titled “Local Wild Life — Turtle Lake Refuge’s Recipes for Living Deep” and “The Wild Wisdom of Weeds: 13 Essential Plants for Human Survival”.
Advanced Cover Cropping Systems Steve Groff, Cover Crop Solutions Presidents Hall 2 This is for those who are ready to take cover cropping to a new level. Strategic and innovative cover crop establishment ideas that have been farmer tested will be discussed as well as new data and current research topics Steve Groff and his family farm 225 acres of cash grain crops, 25 acres of pumpkins and 2 acres of high tunnel tomatoes in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Cover Crops are used purposefully and some fields have not had any tillage for over 35 years. He is the founder of Cover Crop Solutions, a national cover crop seed business featuring Tillage Radish® and manages over 700 cover crop research plots on his farm.
Fully Employ Yourself: Price & Market Successfully Sheri & Daniel Salatin, Polyface, Inc. Presidents Hall 3 Learn how to price, package and bundle products to capture the attention of a larger customer demographic. Diversify what farms have to sell without raising or planting another product. Add value and package products in a way that will attract more customers. Sheri Salatin is the Marketing Director for Polyface Farm and was influential in getting the buying clubs up and running. She currently oversees 31 drop locations through-
out Virginia and Maryland, serving over 5,000 families. The buying clubs are nurtured under her direct oversight. Through real life experiences, Sheri has honed her skills and shares the best ways to approach and sell to some of the top chefs in the world. Daniel Salatin is the son of Joel Salatin, innovative farmer, writer and speaker. As the third generation on Polyface Farm in Virginia, he has grown up in the family business. As a child, he started a pastured rabbit enterprise, which gave him first-hand experience with marketing, processing, research and development and the costs of a new business. Fully employed by the farm, Daniel spends his days orchestrating animal movement, scheduling daily tasks and training apprentices.
equipment to farm it, Walk-behind agricultural equipment may be right for you — it is for many of the small farms in Europe. History, applicability, construction, current availability and basic maintenance will be covered.
Simple Multi-Purpose Livestock Shelter: How to Make & Use Portable Pasture Hoop Houses
Soil Health in Year-Round High Tunnel Production
Brooks Miller, North Mountain Pastures Presidents Hall 4 Starting with Salatin-style chicken tractors, North Mountain Pastures has used several types of structures for their various livestock. Their final design of a movable hoophouse came about from a desire to have a multi-purpose, multi-season shelter suitable for all livestock. Brooks and Anna will explain designs, uses and costs of portable steel hoophouses. Brooks Miller graduated from Penn State with a degree in aerospace engineering but switched careers to farming and food production soon thereafter. He and his wife Anna Santini have been raising poultry, pigs, beef, lamb and goats on pasture since 2006 and have run North Mountain Pastures, a meat CSA, since 2009. Brooks put together his first movable hoophouse in 2011 and now has six on the farm for housing, moving and loading various livestock.
Grazing Tidbits Darell Emmick, Grazing Land Management Specialist Room 104 In this presentation, intended for general audiences, Dr. Emmick will share 35 years of grazing research, experiences and management. The information will be presented in tidbit style with a take home message for each topic presented. Dr. Darrell Emmick began his career in grassland agriculture in 1980 by accepting a position as Pasture Research Manager at the Cornell University Hillside Pasture Research and Demonstration Project in Harford, NY. In 1983 he went to work for the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), where he, through cooperative agreement with Cornell, continued to manage the pasture research project until 1993. Darrell served 26 years as the NRCS-NY State Grazing Land Management Specialist until he retired in 2010.
Walk-Behind Farming Equipment for Small-Scale Operations Joel Dufour, Earth Tools Inc Room 105 If you have a small acreage and are looking for
Joel Dufour was raised on a farm in Southern Indiana, where his family ran a small engine business and an organic vegetable farm. He has been using, repairing and selling walk-behind tractors for over 30 years. Joel’s business, Earth Tools Inc., is currently the largest retail supplier of Walk-behind Tractors and compatible implements in North America. Joel lives with his wife and 2 daughters on a farm North of Frankfort, KY.
Chris Lent, National Center for Appropriate Technology Room 106 Along with the possibility to increase profitability, high tunnel production comes with challenges for maintaining and improving soil health. This workshop will focus on the issues such as intensive planting, continuous plastic cover, limited equipment access and temperature extremes that can all have an impact on soil health in these structures. Best practices in soil preparation will be covered as well as soil testing, compost, cover crops and irrigation as ways to improve soil health in high tunnel production. Chris Lent is currently an Agricultural Specialist with NCAT and the ATTRA project working to provide sustainable farmers with information and resources to be more successful. With the ATTRA program, Chris is focused on urban agriculture, high tunnel production and farm energy issues. He has been studying soil health and hoop house production techniques since he started a certified organic vegetable farm in northeastern PA in 1998. More recently he has been involved in a study of urban farms across the country and is focused on urban soil health. He has presented on urban soil issues at the US Botanic Gardens in Washington DC as part of a series of talks on urban agriculture. His interest and experience in high tunnels and season extension also came from his farming experience where he offed a winter CSA share to his members.
Law & Policy Tools to Access Land & Grow Food in the City Amy Laura Cahn, Garden Justice Legal Initiative of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia Marisa Manheim, Grow Pittsburgh Room 107 Interactive workshop on law, policy and organizing to support urban agriculture. Drawing on experiences from Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, we will focus on tools to gain legal access to land and preserve space for community gardens or market farms, while building networks and creating strategies to meet community and individual goals. Amy Laura Cahn directs the Garden Justice Legal
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WOR KSHOPS
Friday
Initiative (GJLI) at the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, providing legal, policy, education and organizing support to community gardens and farms. In 2013, GJLI launched www.GroundedinPhilly.org, to foster urban agriculture land tenure. Amy Laura has worked with a number of environmental justice organizations, clerked at federal, district and New Jersey appellate courts and serves on Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Gardens Trust board and Mayor’s Food Policy Advisory Council. Marisa Manheim believes that growing and consuming healthy food is a right, not a privilege. At Grow Pittsburgh, an urban agriculture nonprofit, Marisa advocates for policies that promote and protect that right. As part of the community gardens team, she has started 16 community gardens in five years, created a grant that supports community gardens in the greater Pittsburgh region, opened a publicly accessible tool lending library and gardening supply depot and proposed a farm incubator project.
Size Matters: A Panel Discussion on Farm Scale Michael Ahlert, Red Earth Farm Mike Brownback, Spiral Path Farm Dillon & Justin Naylor, Old Tioga Farm Room 108 Join three unique farming operations — from a 30-member CSA farm with a restaurant to a 2,000+ member CSA and wholesale farm — to learn how farms of different sizes operate. The farmers will cover how they got to where they are now and highlight the particular challenges and advantages of their different scales. Come with questions, as a good portion of the workshop will be Q&A. Michael Ahlert and his wife Charis have been running Red Earth Farm together since 2006. Red Earth Farm is a 90 acre mixed vegetable farm in Lehigh County serving over 600 CSA families as well as customers at the Emmaus and West Chester farmers’ markets. The farm’s unique ‘choice’ CSA model allows customers to select their produce share weekly from an online availability list. They partner with many other local farms to also sell fresh fruit, eggs and dairy products through an online buying club. Michael and Charis have three children who all help out on the farm. Mike Brownback along with his wife, Terra, have owned and operated Spiral Path Farm, a certified organic vegetable farm in Perry County, PA, since 1978. They are both first generation farmers. Today, two grown sons, Will and Lucas, both farm with the family on 255 certified organic acres, with about 80 acres in produce, 4 acres under high tunnel vegetable production and 13,000 square feet of transplant production for on-farm use. Since 2007, Dillon and Justin Naylor have operated Old Tioga Farm, a four acre micro-farm with a 30 member vegetable CSA and an on-farm fine dining restaurant, inspired by experiences traveling in Italy. The farm, which has no employees but is financially self-supporting, offers a model for sustainability and profitability which Dillon and Justin hope to encourage others to consider.
Milk Quality Starts in the Parlor: Sanitation & Collection Gianaclis Caldwell, Pholia Farm Creamery, LLC Room 109 Milk collection is the first opportunity to contaminate what is likely otherwise pristine
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milk. From teat preparation, air quality, milking equipment maintenance and more, there are many things to consider and monitor. In addition, practices in the milking parlor can influence udder health and therefor milk quality and herd health. Gianaclis Caldwell, author of The Small Scale Dairy, The Small Scale Cheese Business and Mastering Artisan Cheesemaking. She also manages the goat herd and is the main cheesemaker and milker at Pholia Farm, a licensed dairy located in southern Oregon. Pholia is well known for its artisan, aged raw milk cheeses, classes on small-dairy, goat husbandry, cheesemaking and off-grid, sustainable lifestyle focus.
Taking Control of Food Safety Certifications: Group GAP & Other Farmer-centric Approaches Roland McReynolds, Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Lindsay Gilmour, Fair Food Room 203 Expanding demand for local and regional food is creating opportunities for small to mid-sized farms to access larger markets. But food safety certification requirements designed for large-scale food distribution can be a major roadblock. Learn innovative ways farmers and food entrepreneurs are demonstrating commitment to safety without breaking the bank. Roland McReynolds is an attorney and the Executive Director of the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA), a member-based non-profit that helps farmers and consumers in North and South Carolina grow and eat local organic food. He led the development of a first-of-its-kind Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) training manual specific to diversified produce farms. CFSA works extensively with food hubs in the Carolinas and advocates for sustainable agriculture at the state and federal levels. Lindsay Gilmour’s bio not available.
Implementing Wildlife Habitat Improvement Projects on Your Farm with Federal Funds Linda Shanahan, Barefoot Gardens Austin Drager, USDA NRCS David Hughes, Weatherwood Design, LLC Room 205 A farmer, landscape architect and NRCS representative will talk about their experiences working together on the implementation of a five-year grant-funded wildlife habitat improvement project that has served to improve field drainage, increase pollinator biodiversity and provide habitat for ground nesting bird species. Linda Shanahan has been organically growing vegetables, herbs and flowers with her husband Eric Vander Hyde since 2008, primarily to supply their market-based CSA. Prior to farming, Linda apprenticed with herbalists on the East and West coasts, to learn more about our human relationship with plants. Over the last few years, Linda has worked to establish a three-acre wildlife corridor of native plants and warm season grasses with the help of local, state and federal agencies. Most recently, she has been working to increase interest in the green world through her workshop series, “Second Sundays: Herbs through the Seasons,” a farm-based herbal education series. Austin Drager has worked for the UDSA-NRCS since 2005 in several southeastern Pennsylvania counties. In November, he took a position with the New Jersey NRCS, stationed in the Hackettstown office, servicing northern New Jersey. David Hughes is a registered landscape architect that has developed his business with the niche of utilizing ecological landscape design principles in all facets of residential and institutional design projects. He has worked with farm owners and non-profit organizations to enhance the flora diversity in hedgerows and farm woodlots with techniques often only used in the field of restoration ecology. Native plant community design is the key element that supports a diversity of native and non-native pollinators which in turn enhances crop production over time.
Vegetable Farm Irrigation: Basics & Beyond Cold-Hardy Winter Vegetables Pam Dawling, Twin Oaks Community Room 204 This session will explore details on crops, timing, protection and storage. Why farm in winter? Throughout this session, Pam will discuss tables of cold-hardiness, details of four ranges of cold-hardy crops (fall crops to harvest before serious cold, crops to keep growing into winter, crops for all-winter harvests, overwintering crops for spring harvests), scheduling, hoophouse growing and vegetable storage. Suitable for homesteaders and small-scale commercial growers. Pam Dawling is the author of Sustainable Market Farming: Intensive Vegetable Production on a Few Acres. She is also a contributing editor with Growing for Market magazine. An avid vegetable grower for almost 40 years, she has lived at Twin Oaks Community in central Virginia for over 20 years, growing vegetables and berries for 100 people on 3.5 acres and providing training for members in sustainable vegetable production.
Matt Steiman, Dickinson College Farm Room 206 Supplemental water is essential for vegetable production in most of the northeast. This technical presentation will cover the practical aspects of irrigation system design and operation, including pumps, overhead, drip and greenhouse irrigation. This new and improved version of Matt’s 2013 presentation is targeted to beginning and intermediate farm managers. Matt Steiman is production manager at the Dickinson College Farm near Carlisle PA. The farm operation includes 10 acres of certified organic produce, small herds of pasturefed cattle, sheep and chickens and several renewable energy projects. Matt has over 20 years experience in vegetable farm management and over ten years experience working with small scale renewable energy systems. In addition to farming and tinkering, Matt enjoys teaching.
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Using Products from Your Woods to Build Soil Health Gary Gilmore, PA Dept of Natural Resources & Conservation Room 207 Soil health is affected by the interaction between plants, temperature, moisture, chemistry and the “wee beasties” that live there. This presentation will look at how products from trees can be used to affect these parameters to increase soil health. Trees are a sustainable and reliable source of material that can be used to “feed” the soil. While this topic does not fit the traditional concept of AgroForestry it still is using the woods to enhance the productivity of your farm fields. Gary Gilmore is a forester with the PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources. As a hands on type of person, he is experimenting with different ways to increase soil health using renewable products. From making and using charcoal for biochar and to power equipment, he is working on a system that can utilizes trees to maintain or increase soil fertility as well as supply energy.
process of troubleshooting individual and flock health issues. The goal of this session is not to necessarily diagnose, but to fully understand the process of gathering meaningful observations and history and samples in order to come to a logical conclusion about what might be influencing the birds. Common sense and clinical examples will be employed as we work through some situations and scenarios. Susan Beal comes from a long background of holistic veterinary practice and is dedicated to providing holistic care for animals, humans and the environment. Susan is particularly interested in whole farm/whole system pasture-based ecology and offers common sense advice and counsel, with the goal of health from the ground up – thriving individuals and ecosystems. She is in involved with providing training in Holistic Management, a whole farm/business planning process that considers the triple bottom line of relevant economic, environmental and social considerations, simultaneously. Jeff Mattocks has over 20 years experience working with organic, natural and sustainable farming communities. He is actively involved in diet formulation for all types of livestock and poultry for organic and sustainable farmers. Jeff also assists and educates farmers, improving management practices, to increase animal health, productivity and income from poultry and livestock. He believes a healthy animal is the most profitable!
Pigs at Work in the Organic Apple Orchard from Farrow to Finish Matthew Grieshop, Michigan State University Jim Koan, AlMar Orchards Room 208 The speakers will talk about the benefits of animal and plant agricultural integration, using hogs and apples as an example system. This will include an overview of farming methods, pest and weed management benefits and the problems and their solutions they have encountered. The presentation will be followed by a discussion period. Dr. Matt Grieshop conducts research, teaching and extension in a variety of Michigan and Great Lakes agricultural commodities. His overall goal is to provide economically viable pest management tactics for organic farming systems, designed through a better understanding of agroecosystem dynamics, pest natural history and behavior. He is particularly interested in pest management systems where off-farm inputs are minimized and pest management services are derived from system components that provide multiple benefits (e.g. pollination services, nutrient management and additional salable products). Jim Koan is owner/operator of AlMar Orchards in Flushing, Michigan. The farm has been certified organic for 15 years and is continuing to evolve in it’s goals to become a more sustainable family farm. Retail/wholesale apples and sweet/hard cider are the main enterprises on the 400 acre farm that has 100 acres of apple orchards.
Troubleshooting Poultry Health Susan Beal, Laughing Oak Farm Jeff Mattocks, Fertrell Company Senate Suite In this practical session, Jeff Mattocks and Susan Beal will lead the group through the
FRI 1:15 – 2:35 PM Land Stewardship for Pollinator Conservation Kelly Gill, The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation & USDA NRCS Executive Conference Suite In this session, the speaker will discuss the latest science-based approaches to reversing the trend of pollinator declines and recipes necessary to protect and manage pollinator habitat including: importance of native pollinators, habitat improvements, establishing wildflower meadows and hedgerows, creating annual bee pasture with flowering cover crops, minimizing land-use impacts on pollinators and Farm Bill programs for pollinators. Kelly Gill is the Pollinator Conservation Specialist for the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and a Partner Biologist with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). She provides technical support to NRCS staff, farmers and landowners for implementing Farm Bill practices to conserve pollinators and beneficial insects. This technical support includes planning, installing and managing pollinator habitat on farms and in natural areas.
Fields of Farmers: Interning, Mentoring, Partnering, Germinating Daniel Salatin, Polyface, Inc. Presidents Hall 1 Trace the steps that Polyface Farm uses to successfully build a passionate, hardworking team for their farm. From family to interns to employees, Daniel will share their secrets to creating an atmosphere that attracts, energizes and stabilizes farm labor. For Daniel Salatin’s bio, refer to page 13.
Agroecology Principles & Biomimicry Strategies to Improve Soil Function Ray Archuleta, USDA NRCS Presidents Hall 2 Soils are complex ecosystems. These ecosystems are “sub-aquatic” environments and at the same time-“nutrient deserts”. Soil organisms dominate and transform this elegant complex subterranean matrix. Learn how plants and soil biota build and maintain the physical components and regulate the chemical aspects of the soil. By understanding and applying agroecology principles and biomimicry strategies, producers can synergize with living biota to increase water and nutrient cycling and thereby increase and maintain sustainable yields and reduce the need for finite petroleum based inputs. For Ray Archuleta’s bio, refer to page 1.
Behavior-Based Grazing Management Darell Emmick, Grazing Land Management Specialist Room 104 In this presentation, intended for general audiences, Dr. Emmick will present, explore and discuss grazing as a plant-herbivore interaction and offer behavior-based management guidelines that enhance livestock performance and enterprise sustainability at little to no cost. For Darrell Emmick’s bio, refer to page 13.
Small Scale Sustainable Rice Production Nazirahk Amen, Purple Mountain Organics Room 105 There is a growing movement in the East to increase small-scale grain production. Rice is proving to be one of the most popular. Come learn about our experimentation with upland
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rice. Changing the way rice is grown is one way to promote local sustainability and good health in your community. Nazirahk Amen, ND, L.Ac. is a natural medicine practitioner for over 15 years in the DC area and manages about 6 acres of orchard and vegetable production. His company, Purple Mountain Organics offers fine quality tools, growing supplies and sustainable ag services. Dr. Amen is first and foremost a spiritual adherent practicing and refining harmonious living skills for himself and the greater community and is excited to share information and skills gained from this journey.
Solar Power for Portable & Permanent Animal Housing Rich Louis, Sunnyside Solar Energy & Louis Family Homestead Room 106 In this session the speaker will cover how to use solar energy devices for portable and permanent animal housing. Lighting, fencing, water heating and other energy needs will be discussed. Rich Louis and family have raised ducks (for eggs and meat) on pasture at a 14-acre homestead in Maryland. They have designed and constructed portable housing, incorporating solar-powered devices and have constantly evaluated procedures to find methods to simplify care and maximize production.
Incorporating an On-Farm Restaurant into Your Agricultural Business Dillon & Justin Naylor, Old Tioga Farm Room 107 The speakers will detail their story of successfully incorporating an on-farm fine-dining restaurant into their farming business. After sharing their inspiration for the restaurant, Dillon and Justin will describe the their startup costs, financial details and factors contributing to their success. For Dillon and Justin Naylor’s bio, see page 14.
Perspectives on Production, Insect, & Disease Management in the Organic Apple Orchard Don Kretschmann, Kretschmann Farm Room 108 An experienced grower will share his enthusiasm and practices growing organic apples with those who have an existing orchard familiar with the basics of the task. This will include fertility, pest control, diseases, understory management, pollination, characteristics of varieties, marketing/managing consumer expectation, products for organic use and equipment. The speaker will also outline the annual production routine he has
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developed. Don Kretschmann planted the first of three blocks of organic apples in 1985 with the idea they’d only be good enough for cider. Within a few years, it became apparent that production of organic table fruit was indeed possible. Kretschmann’s now grows 10 scab immune varieties fruiting from July through November.
Feral Swine in PA: A Panel Discussion Justin Brown, Pennsylvania Game Commission John Hopkins, Forks Farm Kyle Van Why, USDA APHIS Charles Bier, Western PA Conservancy Room 109 In states with established and widely dispersed feral swine populations, the economic and ecological costs of this invasive species are staggering; particularly to agricultural producers. Currently, PA is one of a number of Mid-Atlantic States where isolated populations of feral swine are known to exist, but where there is still opportunity to eradicate them if we go about it the right way. Join this panel discussion to learn more about the many threats that feral swine pose to sustainable farming interests, the current context and approach PA is taking to monitoring and managing the feral swine threat and how you can be a part of the solution to eradicate feral swine in the Commonwealth. Dr. Justin Brown is the wildlife veterinarian for the Pennsylvania Game Commission. John Hopkins and wife Todd run Forks Farm and Forks Farm Market in Columbia County, Pennsylvania where they raise, graze, process and market 100% grass fed beef and lamb, woodlot pork and pastured poultry. They direct market all of their pastured products through custom orders, retail sales, buying clubs and farmer’s markets. In addition to being a grazier, John is a professional forester and arborist and combines his interests in grazing and forestry by developing silvopasture at Forks Farm and using the unique abilities of grazing animals to prepare and maintain open and woodland pastures. Kyle Van Why is a Wildlife Disease Biologist with USDA-Wildlife Services. He has worked on issues related to feral swine management, surveillance, disease sampling, agency coordination and public education. He is a member of the feral swine task force and works with various landowners to accomplish goals of reducing the impacts of feral swine. Charles Bier’s bio not available.
Labels, Labels, Labels: What They Do & Don’t Mean Emily Lancaster Moose, Animal Welfare Approved Alice Varon, Certified Naturally Grown Penny Zuck, PA Certified Organic Room 202 Producers and consumers face a great variety of terms and claims used to label food and
many are confusing and misleading. Learn from three certification program representatives about what the most commonly used labels mean (and don’t mean) and how certification can help producers meaningfully differentiate their products. Emily Lancaster Moose, Animal Welfare Approved (AWA)’s Director of Communications and Outreach, developed an interest in food, sustainability and agriculture at an early age during summer visits to her cousin’s hog farm in eastern Virginia. Based in Pittsboro, NC, Emily now works with AWA to build consumer awareness of the label and provide farmers with the highest level of service and support, leading AWA’s four-region Outreach Team. Emily also coordinates AWA’s Labeling Assistance and Good Husbandry Grants programs. Alice Varon is Executive Director of Certified Naturally Grown, which offers peer-review certification for farmers and beekeepers who produce food for their local communities, without synthetic inputs or GMOs. Alice helped launch CNG’s apiary program to encourage natural beekeeping and is now working with experts to develop a new program for aquaponics producers. Alice currently lives in Brooklyn, NY but her home and her bee hives are in the Hudson River Valley. Penny Zuck is a Certification Specialist with PA Certified Organic, specializing in the certification of organic processing facilities. She reviews organic processed food product labels on a daily basis for approval according to the USDA National Organic Program regulations.
Averting Disaster — Real Farm Emergencies & How to Avoid Them George DeVault, Pheasant Hill Farm/Jump Seat Press Room 203 A 30-year volunteer firefighter (and farmer) provides practical — and easy — advice on how you can keep yourself, your family and your farm safe from disaster. PASA Lifetime Member George DeVault knows too well that anything — and everything — can go terribly wrong, even on a sustainable farm. Sounding like a Garrison Keillor/Stephen King hybrid, George wrote the book on how you can easily keep yourself, your family and your farm safe from disaster.
Hybrid Hazelnuts: A Real Crop, for Real Farmers Philip Rutter, Badgersett Research Farm Room 204 The new hybrid hazelnuts are an advanced mixture of 3 species, European, American and Beaked hazels. Currently a crop for experimenters and pioneers, they have demonstrated great potential as a mainstream, machinable crop, yielding oil, protein and biomass. Like all new crops — and all new kinds of hybrids — there is a lot to know and plenty of pitfalls for the unwary. This workshop provides solid grounding on benefits, practices, hazards and the state of the art from the originator.
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Philip Rutter was Founding President of The American Chestnut Foundation and its CEO for its first 10 years. He also served as President of the Northern Nut Growers Associaction and founded Badgersett Research Farm, where he is CEO and Chief Scientist. Trained in Evolutionary Ecology, before there was such a thing, he narrowly escaped a PhD. Badgersett Farm has worked 35+ years developing staple food crops from hazelnut, chestnut and hickory/pecan hybrids.
The Holistic Approach to Parasite Management in Small Ruminants Susan Beal, Laughing Oak Farm Room 205 Successful parasite management strategies in small ruminants demand the shepherd balance multiple factors, including pasture management, genetic selection, nutritional needs, monitoring of stock and manure, FAMACHA scoring and the potential use of a variety of dewormers. This workshop will cover the material needed to create — and monitor — an individual farm approach to parasite management in small ruminants. For Susan Beal’s bio, refer to page 15.
Interpreting National Food Trends for Value-Added Profit Heather Mikulas, Penn State Extension Room 206 Ever notice how one year chipotle is king of flavor, only to be knocked off the throne by lime-cilantro? This session is for all valueadded food producers and market managers, to understand how food trends ebb and flow in order to capitalize on customer demand and keep product lines fresh. Heather Mikulas is a Penn State Extension Educator in Ag Entrepreneurship / Community Development. She is the leader of Extension’s Direct Marketing Team and Chair of the Pittsburgh Food Policy Council. She has an M.Sc. in Agroecology and BSBA in Marketing and loves to engage diverse stakeholders in regional food system development.
Farming at Night: The Business Side of Farming Eric Vander Hyde, Barefoot Gardens Room 207 Farming at Night…? The “business side” of farming usually takes place between 9pm and midnight while sitting at a desk, staring at a computer. Use MS Excel to efficiently create your yearly crop plans and greenhouse seeding schedule, harvest forms, customer order forms, invoices, track billing, manage labor and more. Eric Vander Hyde started Barefoot Gardens with his wife Linda Shanahan and they have slowly transitioned from having “real jobs” to being “real farmers.” While apprenticing with themselves, they have expanded from a 12-member CSA to now having an 80-member CSA, selling
at a farmers market, having several direct restaurant accounts and partnering with a local wholesale distributor. Barefoot Gardens is a small, production-oriented, community-centered farm that is dedicated to building the ecological resiliency of their farm.
Four Season Forward: The Latest Innovations in Four-Season Vegetable Production Clara Coleman, Clara Coleman Four-Season Farm Consulting Room 208 Join Clara Coleman and learn the latest innovations in year-round four-season vegetable production for the small-scale farm. Topics include greenhouse/high tunnel designs (including movable tunnels), inner covers, temperature limits, best crop scheduling practices including sowing dates, crop variety selection to minimize using supplemental heat, irrigation methods, specialized tools & overall winter growing techniques. Clara Coleman is a second-generation organic farmer, consultant, writer and keynote speaker on sustainable fourseason farming practices and daughter of renowned farming pioneer Eliot Coleman. Clara resides in Portland, Maine and runs her own consulting business, Clara Coleman FourSeason Farm Consulting.
Q&A Frances Moore Lappé, Small Planet Institute Senate Suite This session is a chance for Frances to further connect with the audience and dive deeper into the themes presented during her keynote address that morning. Bring your questions! For Frances Moore Lappé’s bio, refer to page 1.
FRI 4:10 – 5:30 PM Comparing Cucurbit Production Systems: The Potential of StripTillage & Row-Covers Jennifer Tillman, Iowa State University Jason Lilley, Penn State University Executive Conference Suite This session will focus on specific setbacks with the use of black plastic mulches for cucurbit production and discuss a potential alternative in strip-tillage. Additionally we will touch on the use of row covers for increased plant development and pest protection. This talk is intended for organic vegetable growers. Beginner/intermediate.
(Ames, IA), working with Dr. Ajay Nair. She worked as a seasonal research technician at the Rodale Institute after graduating from Lafayette, which enhanced her interest in sustainable and organic farming systems. At ISU, she works with strip-tillage and row cover use in cucurbit cropping systems. Jason Lilley has worked on several vegetable farms across the Northeast as well as volunteered with the U.S. Peace Corps promoting soil conservation techniques and school gardens in Paraguay. Currently he is a Masters Student at the Pennsylvania State University. He has focused his graduate school research on comparing strip-tillage field preparation to black plastic mulch on raised beds, with and without row covers, in organic and conventional summer squash and muskmelon production.
Raising Rabbits for Forage Intake Without Medications Daniel Salatin, Polyface, Inc. Room 104 Daniel will share his experience of over 25 years of line-breeding rabbits to perform with various levels of forage intake. Learn how to use biodiversity and layering to increase profits and health. For Daniel Salatin’s bio, refer to page 13.
Internet Marketing for Farm Sales Simon Huntley, Small Farm Central Room 105 There’s a big gulf between facebook “like” or website visit and that customer buying from your farm. Simon Huntley will cover tools and techniques to help you bridge the chasm between the internet and the face-to-face sale. Simon Huntley has worked in and around farms his whole life. From growing up on a western Pennsylvania farm to working with over 1000 farms in 8 years running Small Farm Central.
Silvopastures from Scratch: Improving Pastures with Trees Brett Chedzoy, Cornell Cooperative Extension & Angus Glen Farms, LLC Room 106 The speaker will discuss the benefits and economics of enhancing grazing systems through the introduction of functional trees, as well as practical and profitable approaches for doing so. Brett Chedzoy is a Forester with Cornell Cooperative Extension and also the operator of Angus Glen Farms, LLC. Brett has 20 years of experience with silvopasturing and uses this agroforestry system extensively on his family’s ranches in Argentina and New York. Over the past six years, Brett has given an estimated 30 talks on silvopasturing to over 2,000 people. He has also authored a number of documents on this topic and moderates Cornell’s online silvopasture forum.
Jennifer Tillman is a graduate student in horticulture and sustainable agriculture at Iowa State University
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Weeds for Commercial Uses Katrina Blair, Turtle Lake Refuge Room 107 This presentation will focus on the various commercial uses of commonly found and abundant weeds from Wild Food CSAs to superfood green powders to mineral supplements and other health, beauty and wellness needs. The goal of the presentation is to highlight the concept that weeds are some of our societies’ greatest resources and provide direction and inspiration to create a more sustainable future, by utilizing their gifts for our daily needs. For Katrina Blair’s bio, refer to page 13.
Uncommon Fruits in the Food Forest Michael Judd, Ecologia, Edible & Ecological Landscapes Room 108 There is a colorful and fruitful world of uncommon fruits that grow with ease throughout the mid-Atlantic region. Paw paws, hardy kiwi’s, persimmons, jujubes and mushrooms are just a few that are covered in this workshop on creating perennial food forests. Workshop will go into detail of establishment, variety selection, care and trellis needs. Good for backyard growers and homesteader alike. Michael Judd has worked with agro-ecological and whole system designs throughout the Americas for the last 20 years focusing on applying permaculture and ecological design to increase local food security and community health in both tropical and temperate growing regions. The founder of both Ecologia, LLC, Edible & Ecological Landscape Design and Project Bona Fide, an international nonprofit supporting agro-ecology research. Michael is the author of ‘Edible Landscaping with a Permaculture Twist’.
umentary “Triple Divide” concerning human and environmental impacts from fracking. Melissa quickly learned that accessing state information about fracking was difficult and time-consuming and has helped develop the #fileroom to give the public access to data required to make sound decisions. Melissa grew up in Potter County and much of her work focuses on rural farming communities in northern Pennsylvania. She’s covered oil and gas development since 2010 and currently serves as Managing Editor of Public Herald. Joshua Pribanic is a journalist, filmmaker, photographer, chef and permaculturalist, certified at Oberlin College. He created a nonprofit for agricultural advocacy that started the first community gardens and multi-grower CSA in north central Ohio, generating annual revenue to over 10 farms. During that time, he operated a regional publication that covered agriculture and post-industrial waste, leading to an invitation to see fracking firsthand in Potter County, Pennsylvania. This ignited both the creation of PublicHerald.org, an investigative news nonprofit where he currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief and the feature length documentary Triple Divide (2013). His 2014 #fileroom project provides access to unpublished oil and gas records for benefit of the public interest.
Working with Honey Bee Queens Ross Conrad, Dancing Bee Gardens Room 202 This workshop will provide beekeepers with information they need to work productively with queens. Participants will learn how to differentiate between healthy queens and unhealthy ones, receive tips on how to introduce queens into a hive and how to address queen problems that may arise. Ross Conrad learned his craft from the late Charles Mraz, world renowned beekeeper and promoter of apitherapy and Charlie’s son Bill. Keeping bees since 1992, Conrad is a former president of the Vermont Beekeeper’s Association, a regular contributor to Bee Culture — The Magazine of American Beekeeping and author of Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches To Modern Apiculture.
Beneficial Bats: Supporting Nature’s Bug Eaters #fileroom: Reporting & Mapping Water Complaints from Fracking Melissa Troutman & Joshua Pribanic, Public Herald Room 109 Investigative news team Public Herald will share their experiences and data related to water contamination from oil and gas fracking in Pennsylvania. Their #fileroom project, now launched in beta at PublicFiles.org, digitizes Department of Environmental Protection oil and gas files for public transparency and analysis. Data is mapped by FracTracker Alliance and is searchable by county, township and watershed. Public Herald’s investigations are detailed in the documentary “Triple Divide,” self-released in March 2013. Melissa Troutman is a journalist, filmmaker and the co-founder of Public Herald, an investigative news nonprofit in Pennsylvania that produced the investigative doc-
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Brian Benner & Drew Wanke, Wildlife Specialists, LLC Room 203 This workshop will include basic bat biology, species diversity, agricultural and economic benefits of bats, white-nose syndrome, bat exclusion from buildings and building and installing bat houses. Anyone interested in preserving or creating habitat for these terrific insectivores is welcome to attend. For the past five years, Brian Benner has worked with Wildlife Specialists, LLC, with threatened and endangered species, such as Timber rattlesnakes, Allegheny Woodrats and various species of bats. Although his work relates primarily to natural gas development, he has been a part of constructing bat boxes and “condos” for the purpose of exclusions and general artificial habitat creation.
Managing Udder Health for Happier Cows & Better Milk Ernest Hovingh, Penn State University Room 204 This workshop will discuss factors affecting udder health and mastitis and how mastitis affects milk quality and safety. Effective techniques for diagnosing and managing this condition will be presented. The workshop is intended for owners and managers of dairy herds (of any size!), employees/milkers, or anyone else with an interest in the production of high-quality, safe milk. The material will be presented at a basic to advanced level, depending on the experience and interest of the audience. Ernest Hovingh is an epidemiologist and dairy extension veterinarian at Penn State University who works with farmers and veterinarians to implement effective mastitis and milk quality programs. As a field investigator, he frequently works with herds, including raw milk producers, experiencing mastitis and milk quality challenges. He has expertise in management of mastitis, records analysis, milking equipment evaluation and milker performance assessment. He also has interest in topics such as cow comfort, Johne’s Disease, lameness and hoof health.
Cereal Grains at the Farmers Market: How to Grow, Process & Sell George Wright, Castor River Farm Room 205 George Wright will describe how he organically grows cereal grains on a tight, realistic budget using older equipment to make a living on 45 acres. He harvests, cleans, mills and sells all his crops at the Farmers’ Market. He likes to say “Farmers’ Markets must be so much more than just veg and grains are absent from most markets”. George Wright started growing his own crop of oats as a 4H project at the age of 13. After twenty years he figured out how to roll and steel cut those oats selling all of his farm products at the farmers’ market. He grows 10 different grains and mills them right into flour at the farmers’ market. Castor River Farm is located 3 hours north of Lake Placid NY near Ottawa Canada. George’s biggest strength is that he has done all this on a tight realistic budget and freely shares all information, being only interested in his local market.
No-Till Vegetables for Homestead & Small Farm Lee Reich, Springtown Farmden Room 206 No-till, when integrated with nurturing the ground from the top down, avoiding soil compaction, maintaining a soil cover and pinpointing watering, grows healthy plants while minimizing weed problems. The principles and practices are rooted in the latest agricultural research. Discussion will cover gardens,
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farmdens and small farms.
Can You Really Live Off 1.5 Acres?
Lee Reich, PhD is an avid farmdener (more than a gardener, less than a farmer) with graduate degrees in soil science and horticulture. He eventually turned from plant and soil research with the USDA and Cornell University to writing, lecturing and consulting. His writing includes a number of gardening books and a bimonthly column for Associated Press. His farmden is a test site for innovative techniques in soil care, pruning and growing fruits and vegetables.
Jean-Martin Fortier, la Grelinette Farm Room 208 For more than a decade JM Fortier and his wife have been making a living farming on 1.5 acres of land. Last year, their micro-farm grossed more than $140 000 in sales selling fresh veggies through their 140-member CSA and at seasonal market stands. Their story is living proof that small-scale farming can be accessible, productive and...profitable.
A Biodynamic Approach to Soil Health & Fertility Mac Mead, Pfeiffer Center Room 207 This workshop will cover specific measures essential in developing soil health and fertility efficiently in the whole farm organism. Methods covered will include: diversification of plant and animal life, producing high quality compost and potting soil, raised bed systems for hand, horse, or tractor work, cover cropping and the use of the biodynamic preparations. For serious growers whether new or experienced. Mac Mead has practised biodynamics for forty years. He and his wife helped develop a beautiful diversified farm at a remarkable elder care center, the Fellowship Community, in Chestnut Ridge, N.Y. from 1975 until 2005. Since then he has been the program director for the Pfeiffer Center for biodynamics, which adjoins the Fellowship Community.
Jean-Martin Fortier is the founder of Les Jardins de la Grelinette, an internationally recognized micro-farm, known for its high productivity and profitability using lowtech, high-yield methods of production. A leading proponent of biologically intensive cropping systems, JM has more than a decade’s worth of experience in organic farming. His first book, The Market Gardener, published in French and English, has sold more than 30,000 copies since its release in fall 2012.
Understanding Your Soil’s Physical, Biological & Chemical Properties for Increased Profitability’ Bob Schindelbeck, Cornell University Room 211 Profitable soil management requires robust soil measurements to identify limitations to soil function. Soil health testing is presented
which can then be used to inform our management strategy. A grower-sensitive framework for soil management is presented using linkages between the soil measures and soil management options. Bob works from an Extension platform to develop soil health measurements which are scientifically valid, rapid, easy to disseminate and affordable. The Cornell Soil Health Assessment contains a suite of soil tests developed to understand soil functioning. Soil Health testing is the nucleus for adapting soil management to cropping systems in a changing financial and ecological climate. A framework for ag professionals to develop a soil management plan using linkages between soil measurements and grower strengths will be presented.
Your Farm Food to Urban Mouths: Start a Metropolitan Buying Club Sheri Salatin, Polyface, Inc. Senate Suite Increase sales with less time away from the farm. Join Sheri as she gives her experiences, hard-core marketing tips and ideas on starting and adding a buying club delivery service to your farming enterprise. She will cover what it is, how it works and how to get started. For Sheri Salatin’s bio, refer to page 13.
Conference CDs, DVDs and MP3s are available! Farming for the Future Keynotes & Workshops are recorded courtesy of Rhino Technologies Workshops are available on-site as CDs. MP3s of the full conference are available and MP3s of individual workshops will be available on-line after the conference. rhino-technologies.com
Visit Rhino at Booth #72 19
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SAT 8:30 – 9:50 AM Small-Scale Biogas Systems for Your Home & Farm Matt Steiman, Dickinson College Farm Executive Conference Suite Biogas is a clean burning renewable alternative to natural gas that can be generated from readily available farm and household residuals, including livestock manure, crop waste and kitchen scraps. This talk demonstrates household scale easily constructed biogas digesters used for cooking fuel at the Dickinson College Farm. Energy from waste! For Matt Steiman’s bio, refer to page 14.
Soil Building & Water Harvesting with Permaculture Michael Judd, Ecologia, Edible & Ecological Landscapes Presidents Hall 1 Landscape restoration, water harvesting and soil building become one in permaculture design. In this workshop we explore creating simple design structures such as swales on contour, hugelkultur beds and pairing with fungi for long term soil fertility and diversity. From backyards to homesteads, practical samples and how-to are covered.
The Essential Natural Medicine Kit for Healthy Farm Living Susan Beal, Laughing Oak Farm Presidents Hall 3 The contents of a well and thoughtfully stocked medicine kit might surprise you ! This workshop is geared for the human farm family (though some of the ideas are equally effective for the animals). Susan Beal will outline some of the resources, supplies and educational materials she and others have found to have been helpful over the years. The conversation promises to be wide ranging, but please do not expect to have specific health care concerns addressed in this session. For Susan Beal’s bio, refer to page 15.
Organic Beekeeping for Beginners Ross Conrad, Dancing Bee Gardens Presidents Hall 4 This workshop provides an introduction for folks interested in small-scale and part-time backyard beekeeping and presents a balanced view of natural and organic beekeeping topics and practices including location and equipment requirements, basic honey bee biology, working with bees and non-toxic pest and disease control. For Ross Conrad’s bio, refer to page 18.
For Michael Judd’s bio, refer to page 18.
Finding Your Cover Crop Repertoire Mary-Howell & Klaas Martens, Lakeview Organic Grain Presidents Hall 2 When it comes to cover crops, we are only limited by our imagination! Strategies for incorporating cover crops throughout the year will be covered, using as diverse a crop mix as possible for maximum benefit, along with new ideas of expanding our definition of cover crops and the ways in which we can use them on the farm. For over 20 years, Klaas and Mary-Howell have farmed organic grain and vegetable crops and livestock with their three children in Penn Yan, NY. They also own and operate Lakeview Organic Grain, an organic feed and seed business that provides organic dairy and small animal farmers with feed and organic farmers of all sizes with seed, throughout the Northeast. Klaas and Mary-Howell have also been involved in numerous national organizations and advisory committees, with Klass serving on the Organic Farming Research Foundation (OFRF) Board of Directors and with the Farm Foundation Soil Renaissance and MaryHowell, with the USDA Advisory Committee on 21st Century Agriculture (AC21) and the Cornell University CALS Dean’s Advisory Committee (Mary-Howell). They have written numerous articles for Acres USA, New Farm and other publications.
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Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Insurance for Diversified & Organic Farms Paul Wolfe, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Room 104 This program will explain the Risk Management Agency’s new Whole-Farm Revenue Protection insurance policy to help farmers decide if the policy is right for them. This policy, unlike traditional yield or revenue insurance, is not intended for a single, specific crop, but for all the crops and livestock grown or raised on a single farm. It is especially suited to diversified and organic farms that do not have single crop policies or organic price elections available for one or more of the crops grown. Learn how you could benefit from this program. Paul Wolfe, Policy Specialist, has worked on sustainability and food issues in the United States Senate for over 8 years. Paul has spent the last six years working for Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA). Prior to that, he was the Senior Policy Analyst for the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production, where he contributed to the Commission’s final report and led its Congressional education efforts. He previously worked for Senator Tim Johnson (DSD).
The Value-Added Dairy Gianaclis Caldwell, Pholia Farm Creamery, LLC Room 105 Boutique bottled milk, yogurt, ice-cream and cheese are all products that can help the small farmer earn a living — but producing them is expensive. Learn the important aspects of entering into a value added dairy business. For Gianaclis Caldwell’s bio, refer to page 14.
Reaching Underserved Communities & Limited-Resource Consumers Charmaine Peters & Mike Tabor, Licking Creek Bend Farm Room 106 The growing disparity of access to healthy produce between the well-to-do and the under-served compels some farmers and organizers to find creative ways to serve these communities. This workshop addresses what is being done in the Washington DC area and explores how these ideas can be applicable in other communities. Charmaine Peters began farming in 2006 after over 15 years in the non-profit sector of Washington DC. She has spoken to grade school children in Washington and Pennsylvania about farming careers. A life-long struggle with severe allergies helped cement her interest in food as medicine for a sickly society. Nine years as a CSA administrator and farm manager has further solidified her belief in the power of sustainable agriculture to bring joy and wonder to communities. Michael Tabor has been a full-time, sustainable farmer since 1972. His earlier work included community organizing, civil rights movement, anti-war and environmental justice. His graduate background was in cultural anthropology and spent five years working at the Department of Health, Education and Welfare in the office of the Secretary. More recently, he has been involved in agricultural public policy on the federal, state and local level. His is a strong advocate for healthier food in public schools and the reduction of certain pesticides and herbicides in public and private spaces.
Caring for Small Creeks & Streams on Farms & Homesteads Lamonte Garber, Stroud Water Research Center Room 107 Healthy creeks and streams contain rich communities of life that sustain people, plants and animals while providing clean water. Learn about forest buffer restoration and other techniques that landowners and communities can use for enhancing and protecting their waterways, while watching the bottom line. Lamonte Garber has worked for over 25 years in agricultural water quality protection and natural habitat restoration. As Stroud’s Watershed Restoration Coordinator, he coordinates landowner relations and the implemen-
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tation of agricultural and watershed restoration projects. Prior to his work at Stroud, Lamonte held positions at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and the Environmental Quality Initiative.
Biocontrols for Vegetable Production from Sow to Sell Lloyd Traven, Peace Tree Farm Room 108 Growing vegetable and herb transplants is very intensive and requires strict attention to details and management of all the different environments closely. Making this all happen organically, without any chemical usage and utilizing only Biocontrol methodology adds to the challenge and all of this before the crop ever gets started in production. Follow the presenter through the process from start to finish and see how it can be done repetitively and accurately. Lloyd Traven is a PASA Board Member, USDA Certified Organic Grower and the 2005 US National Grower of the Year — Greenhouse Grower. He is known as the ‘mad scientist’ of Peace Tree Farm and has grown herbs, vegetable transplants and fine ornamental plants since 1983. As suppliers to botanical gardens, museums, growers and farmers across North America, Peace Tree is known for its passion, innovation and leadership in sustainable growing techniques and biocontrol systems.
Holistic Financial Planning to Build Wealth Willy Denner, Savory Institute NY Hub Chase Ridgely, Savory Institute Chesapeake Center Room 109 Description not provided. Willy Denner has operated Little Seed Gardens, a 100 acre certified organic produce and livestock farm in Chatham Ny with his wife Claudia Kenny since 1995. They have been practicing Holistic Management for 20 years. Chase Ridgely is managing and creating a bio-diverse Holistic Managed mixed livestock farm in Ellicott City Md. He has had extensive experience as well permaculture project design, development & management. He was selected to create the Savory Institute Hub in the Chesapeake region.
Employees, Volunteers, Interns & Workshares: How Labor Laws Apply to Your Farm Alison Lecker, Esq & Ross Pifer, Penn State Rural Ag Law Center Room 204 lt is great to have extra hands in the fields. It’s also important to understand the legal risks that come along with those extra hands. This workshop will cover the labor laws and agricultural exemptions that apply to your operation depending upon the types of labor that you utilize.
Alison Lecker is a lawyer and beginning farmer in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. She is a partner at Warren Environmental Counsel, where she advises clients on environmental and food law issues. Alison has also worked at several organic farms in Pennsylvania and is passionate about providing legal advice to small-scale growers and food entrepreneurs. Her current adventure is working to establish a family homestead and CSA with her soulmate, Brad Berry. Ross Pifer is a Clinical Professor of Law at the Penn State Dickinson School of Law where he also is Director of the Agricultural Law Resource and Reference Center and Director of the Rural Economic Development Clinic.
Farming the Woods: Seeing the Forest for More than Just the Trees Steve Gabriel, Farming the Woods/Cornell Small Farms Program Room 205 The author of the new book, Farming the Woods, invite you to learn how a healthy forest can be maintained while growing a wide range of food, medicine and other products. This talk covers cultivation of ginseng, pawpaw, mushrooms, ramps, tree syrups and more, along with compelling stories of forest farmers from around the country. Steve Gabriel is an ecologist, educator, author and forest farmer from the Finger Lakes region of New York. He currently works for the Cornell Cooperative Extension Small Farms program as an agroforestry specialist and runs Wellspring Forest Farm, which produces mushrooms, duck eggs, pastured lamb, nursery trees and maple syrup. He recently co-authored the book Farming the Woods with Dr Ken Mudge and recently retired from Cornell.
Pruning Tree Fruits Lee Reich, Springtown Farmden Room 206 Correct and timely pruning is the key to keeping apples, peaches and other tree fruits healthy and productive and bearing the tastiest fruits. Learn the how and — importantly — the why of pruning these plants in their young, developing stage and then as they mature and bear fruits. Lee will also go over how to bring a neglected, old plant back to its former, luscious glory. For Lee Reich’s bio, refer to page 18.
Getting Started in Farming: A Panel Kim & Eric Chase, Chase Farm Sara Eckert, Healthy Harvest Farm Laura & Mark MacDonald, Bee Tree Berry Farm Room 207 Join three unique farmers with very unique operations that have started their adventure in farming within the last ten years. The
farmers will cover how they got to where they are now, the keys to their successes and the biggest challenges they have faced. Come with questions, as a good portion of the workshop will be Q&A. Kim & Eric Chase own and operate Chase Farm, a small farm specializing in pastured pork and eggs located just outside of State College, PA. They have been in business for only 2 years and have experienced both great success and great challenges in that short time. They market their pork and eggs through farmers markets, a meat CSA and freezer trade. Sara Eckert began her farming career in 2001 as an apprentice at New Morning Farm. She then helped manage another area farm before getting a job at Penn State in soil science research. In 2012 she and her husband, Dave Sandy, started Healthy Harvest Farm. Located in Bellefonte, PA, it is a CSA-only vegetable farm serving 130 members in the summer and 55 members in the winter. Laura and Mark MacDonald are new to farming. Their background consists of thirty plus years of ornamental horticulture, primarily turf and retail greenhouse operation. Farming had been a topic of discussion for the past thirty years and in July of 2012, they decided to act upon their dream, developing a u-pick small fruit farm. They have been learning their craft on their 20-acre farm in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
Raising Heritage Turkeys Craig Haney, Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture Room 208 From day-old poults to the Thanksgiving table, this workshop cover the details of husbanding pastured heritage turkeys, giving particular attention to brooding, pasture rotation, housing/roosting, diseases, feeds and preparation for the harvest. Whether for your family or for profit, this workshop will get you started with heritage turkeys. Craig Haney has been the livestock manager at Stone Barns Center in Westchester County, New York since its opening in 2004. He has been involved with animal husbandry since 1989, while at The Farmers Museum. He currently oversees a pasture rotation that includes sheep, geese, swine, meat and egg laying chickens, honey bees, goats and turkeys.
Managing Insects & Diseases in Cut Flowers While Keeping Your Pollinators Happy Steve Bogash, Penn State Cooperative Extension Senate Suite The wide variety of genus, species and varieties that make up popular cut flowers requires that growers be both nimble and observant. Biocontrols, crop rotations, crop timing and related practices used proactively can produce excellent quality cut flowers while doing very little damage to pollinating insects. Steve Bogash is currently a Horticulture Educator serving Pennsylvania out of the Cumberland County office in Carlisle. He covers vegetables, small fruit, cut flowers,
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greenhouse vegetables and specialty marketing as his primary areas of responsibility. Tomatoes, bell peppers, container vegetables, cucumbers and other specialty crops are regular items in the trial gardens under Steve’s management. Evaluating more than 400 varieties of tomatoes for flavor, appearance, disease resistance and general usability has made Steve very opinionated when it comes to tomato varieties.
SAT 1:30 – 2:50 PM
Once a Day Milking: A Viable Option for Small Dairy Farmers Gianaclis Caldwell, Pholia Farm Creamery, LLC Presidents Hall 3 Imagine using half the chemicals and water, less grain and almost half the labor – and still get 75-80% of the milk volume you are used to. With once a day milking this is possible! Learn what research and practical application has proved about this viable option for dairy farmers. For Gianaclis Caldwell’s bio, refer to page 14.
The Deeper Wisdom of the Biodynamic Preparations Mac Mead, Pfeiffer Center Executive Conference Suite This workshop will cover the essential nature of each of the nine biodynamic preparations and get into the nitty gritty of their very practical uses. Designed for experienced growers. For Mac Mead’s bio, refer to page 19.
Selecting the Best Tomatoes, Bell Peppers & Cucumbers for High Tunnel Production Steve Bogash, Penn State Cooperative Extension Presidents Hall 1 This session will review the best tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers for production under high tunnel conditions using a proactive, IPM-based management program. We will also discuss fertility and sustainable pest management programs that work well in high tunnels. For Steve Bogash’s bio, refer to page 21.
Six-Figure Farming for Small Plots, Part 1 Jean-Martin Fortier, la Grelinette Farm Presidents Hall 2 Learn essential tools & techniques for successful market gardening from one of Canada’s most recognized and influential organic growers. This workshop will give you in-depth instruction with JM Fortier about how adopting intensive methods of production can lead to the optimization of a cropping system. The focus of this session will be on farm set up and design for biologically intensive cropping systems. For Jean-Martin Fortier’s bio, refer to page 19.
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Apitherapy: Health & Healing with Products from the Hive Ross Conrad, Dancing Bee Gardens Presidents Hall 4 The honeybee and hive products have historically played a large role in disease care and prevention. Today science is finally catching up to what beekeepers, naturalists, herbalists and acupuncturists have known for years. Covered are the healing properties of Honey, Pollen, Propolis, Royal Jelly and Honeybee Venom.
development and calculation exercise to familiarize the attendees with how to find the correct balance of nutrients. For Jeff Mattocks’ bio, refer to page15x.
Dealing with Talon & Claw: Preventing Wildlife Damage Norm Conrad, National Center for Appropriate Technology Room 106 Predators, nuisance wildlife and birds cause direct and indirect damage to livestock, poultry and crops. These unwanted visitors can also spread diseases on farmsteads and contaminate water and feed stuffs. We’ll discuss the relevant rules and regs pertaining to wildlife, strategies for managing both the nuisance species and predators. Examples will include low cost do it yourself options and sources of information and assistance. Norm Conrad is an ag program specialist and regional director for the National Center for Appropriate Technology. Prior to joining NCAT he worked as an extension specialist. He lives in neighboring Mifflinburg and has dealt with vertebrate pest problems on his farm ranging from black bears to foxes to raptors and will share his knowledge and experiences.
For Ross Conrad’s bio, refer to page 18.
Animal Powered Farming: Costs, Equipment, Economics & Mentorship Dale Stoltzfus, Log Cabin Horse Farm/Horse Progress Days Room 104 This workshop will consider the costs of farming with animals, costs of animal farming equipment, bottom line economics of animal farming and mentorship. There will be lots of classroom participation. Dale Stoltzfus has been breeding and training Belgian draft horses since 1988. He is the immediate past secretary of Board of Directors of Horse Progress Days and secretary of the PA Draft Horse Sale, a public auction held every January in Harrisburg, PA. He has many years of experience with draft horses. He is particularly interested in aiding discussions about how the use of animal power fits the sustainable farming models of PASA.
Finding the Balance: How to Formulate Properly Balanced Feed Rations for Your Animals Jeff Mattocks, The Fertrell Company Room 105 The presentation will cover how to formulate rations for livestock and will include nutritional requirements for each species. By addressing nutritional values of grains and feed inputs, we will have a hands-on ration
Restoration & Utilization of the American Chestnut Sara Fitzimmons, The American Chestnut Foundation Philip Rutter, Badgersett Research Farm Room 107 Once the mighty giants of eastern US forests, American chestnuts were all but eliminated by an imported fungal pathogen. Efforts to breed resistance into American chestnut appear to be successful and reintroduction efforts have begun. Learn about this work and how you can use chestnuts in the landscape. Sara Fern Fitzsimmons started working with the American chestnut as a Duke Stanback Intern in the summer of 2000. Hired full-time at Penn State University in 2003, Sara has worked as a contact for chestnut growers and researchers throughout the eastern US. For Phil Rutter’s bio, refer to page 16.
Accessing Land: Partnering with a Land Trust to Secure Farmland Holly Rippon-Butler, National Young Farmers Coalition Sarah Walter, Centre County Farmland Trust, Centre County Planning & Community Development Office Room 108 This workshop will provide participants with an introduction to land trusts, conservation
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easements and innovative strategies to make farmland affordable for beginning farmers. We will detail examples of innovations from around the country that are helping farmers get access to affordable land. Holly Rippon-Butler works with the National Young Farmers Coalition advocating for policy changes and supporting organizations that help the next generation of farmers access land. Her previous experience includes work with a local agricultural land trust and the American Farmland Trust. In addition to her work with NYFC, Holly milks cows and works with her parents on her family’s farm in upstate New York. Sarah Walter has been coordinator for the Centre County Agricultural Land Preservation Program since August 2012. Through her role with the Centre County Planning and Community Development Office, Sarah also provides staffing support to the Centre County Farmland Trust, a private non-profit land trust, as Executive Director.
Describing Products for Market: How to Write for Readers & Customers Tenaya Darlington, Saint Joseph’s University & Madame Fromage Room 109 Learn tips from a seasoned food writer on how to create descriptive signage, collaborate effectively with the media and engage your customers online or in print. By day, Tenaya Darlington teaches Food Writing at Saint Joseph’s University. By night, she pens Madame Fromage, a blog devoted to artisan cheese. She also leads cheese tastings and writes for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Edible Philly, Grid and Culture Magazine.
Knowing Your Insurance & Liability Protection Needs: The Key to Securing Your Farm & Business for this Generation & the Next! Joan Epperson & Robert Runk, American National/Farm Family Room 202 This presentation is more than a basics discussion about insurance! If you value your farm and business; want to secure your family’s financial future; want to protect yourself and family from unexpected losses, you must attend this session! Your presenters have over 30 years of industry experience and will be on hand to provide your with the information, tools and resources to secure your family and farm. Joan Epperson has 27 years of experience in the insurance and financial services industry. As the Pennsylvania State Growth Director, she recruits, trains and develops Multiple Line General Agents who will then go on to recruit agents and develop agencies throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Her focus is on protecting families. Bio for Robert Runk not provided.
Business Planning for Local Foods Processors Silas Conroy, Crooked Carrot Farm & Kitchen Room 203 Bring your value-added product ideas to the table for this discussion of the mechanisms of value chains for small-scale, local and regional production. Silas Conroy, from the Crooked Carrot Farm and Kitchen in Ithaca, NY, will discuss necessary formulae and numbercrunching throughout the food system, from your production costs to distributor pricing and finally retail pricing. Learn how to compute markups and profit margins at each stage in the value chain, how to price your product and estimate the scale of production and sales you’ll need to achieve the financial goals of your value-added enterprise. You will need a good understanding of basic algebra and 1+ years farming/food production experience is recommended. Born and raised in Williamsport, PA, Silas Conroy studied engineering science at Penn State before beginning a career in local, sustainable food. He’s developed a wholesystem perspective through varied experiences in local foods, from sous chef at a community-owned gastro-pub to truck driver for a farm cooperative to manager of a 70-acre certified organic vegetable farm. Since 2011, Silas has owned and operated the Crooked Carrot Farm and Kitchen, a local foods processing business in Ithaca, NY.
Farming the Forest for Native Medicinal & Culinary Plants: Opportunities, Challenges, & Third Party Verification Eric Burkhart, Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center Adam Seitz, PA Certified Organic Room 204 Many native forest plants in the eastern US are wild-harvested species with potential to become niche forest crops. Both opportunities and challenges await landowners interested in sustainable forest-based production of these plants for market. This workshop will briefly overview the markets, profitability and sustainability surrounding three forest crops (American ginseng, goldenseal and ramps) and present information on a new Forest Grown Verification Program offered by Pennsylvania Certified Organic intended to address shortcomings within this industry.
and production systems through the use of agroforestry and plant husbandry. Adam Seitz joined the staff of Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO) in early 2011 as a Certification Specialist. As a Certification Specialist, he works with organic crops producers, mushroom producers, dairies and food/feed processors throughout the Northeast. Most recently, he has worked with several groups to assist in the development of a Forest Grown Verification Program, which was launched by PCO in 2014.
Impacts of Fracking on Farming & Food Animals Michelle Bamberger, Vet Behavior Consults Robert Oswald, Cornell University Room 205 This workshop is intended for a general audience. We will cover our research on the health of farm animals in areas of intensive shale gas and tight oil extraction. We will use case reports to illustrate exposures and associated health problems. Michelle Bamberger is a veterinarian and researcher who investigates the links between animal health and unconventional fossil fuel extraction. Dr. Bamberger received her DVM from Cornell University and her MS in pharmacology from Hahnemann University Medical College. She serves on the advisory board of Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy and is the author of The Real Cost of Fracking: How America’s Shale Gas Boom Is Threatening Our Families, Pets and Food. Robert Oswald is a Professor of Molecular Medicine at Cornell University. Dr. Oswald received his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in Biochemistry and did postdoctoral studies at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. He has received Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships. His work on the effects of drugs and toxins on the structure and function of central nervous system proteins has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the American Cancer Society.
Growing Breakfast: How to Roll & Steel Cut Oats George Wright, Castor River Farm Room 206 George Wright will describe how to organically grow, clean, roll and steel cut oats into the freshest sugar free breakfast available anywhere. He will freely reveal all he has learned about “getting to market”. In depth info on cost of production, profit and marketing. His oats are revered throughout the capital of Canada as the best oats around. Who knew fresh oats taste better? For George Wright’s bio, refer to page 18.
Eric P. Burkhart is currently plant science program director for Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center and teaches courses for the Penn State Ecosystem Science and Management Department. Working with partners such as the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), Eric conducts research on non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and offers practical guidance in forest farming of NTFPs through related workshops and publications. His research program in Pennsylvania is focused on developing sustainable wild crop management
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Ducks on the Homestead: Year-Round Care for Eggs & Meat Suzanne & Rich Louis, Louis Family Homestead Room 207 Four-season homestead pastured duck production: personal observations, lessons learned, seasonal effects on flock care and size, housing designs, winter and summer care, egg and meat production considerations, feed types and sources, production tips, fencing alternatives, integration with vegetable production, solar-powered devices, natural breeding, culling, material selection, sources and references. For the Louis Family bio, refer to page 16.
Blueberries, from Planning to Planting to Harvest Lee Reich, Springtown Farmden Room 208 A workshop starting with the kinds and varieties of blueberries to order, then moving on to all-important soil preparation and ongoing soil care, planting, pruning, pests and harvest. We’ll foray into bird issues and what to do with your probable overabundance. For Lee Reich’s bio, refer to page 18.
Q & A with Ray Archuleta, USDA NRCS Senate Suite Continue the conversation begun in the Saturday Morning Keynote. Ray Archuleta will sit with attendees of this session and delve deeper into subjects raised in his plenary address as well as questions raised by attendees. For Ray Archuleta’s bio, refer to page 1.
SAT 3:10 – 4:30 PM Where’s the Cash? Tools to Understand Your Business Rebecca Frimmer & Ted LeBow, Kitchen Table Consultants Executive Conference Suite Are you struggling to solve your business cash mysteries? Let’s learn how to find the cash in the crevices of your balance sheet and understand how to use this report to judge the health of your business. Then we’ll move from theory to tactics as we show you how to manage cash by developing a 13 week rolling
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cash flow spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel and we will share the template with all attendees. Bring your questions! Ted LeBow is co-founder and principal of Kitchen Table Consultants, the mission of which it is to keep small farms and local food businesses financially sustainable. Its goal is to help passionate farmers and food artisans build lasting, profitable, locally focused businesses. Ted has run and owned all or part of five small businesses and his consulting practice has driven profits with dozens of local food and farm businesses since its inception in 2008. Rebecca Frimmer serves as Entrepreneur-in-Residence to Kitchen Table Consultants, committed to coaching passionate farmers and food artisans to build lasting, profitable, locally-focused businesses. Rebecca’s practice in marketing strategy, operations management and financial advising touches farming and CSA, non-profits, retail stores, food service, direct marketed farm products, artisan food product manufacturing, E-commerce, catering and event production. Her work history highlights 17 years of operating businesses including Greensgrow Farms and the online division for Di Bruno Bros., Philadelphia’s chief gourmet retailer. Rebecca holds an MBA in Small Business Development from George Washington University and operates Balanced Brew, a kombucha beverage company under the banner Frimmer Family Farms LLC.
er of the Skippack Farmers Market from 1999 to 2009. Brian and his wife Holley own and run Green Haven Farm and raise grass-fed livestock on their 27 acre farm just outside of Fleetwood, in Berks County. For 16 years, they’ve sold chicken, eggs, lamb, pork and goat to restaurants, CSA’s, farmer’s markets and at their farm.
Six-Figure Farming for Small Plots, Part 2 Jean-Martin Fortier, la Grelinette Farm Presidents Hall 2 Learn essential tools & techniques for successful market gardening from one of Canada’s most recognized and influential organic growers. This workshop will give you in-depth instruction with JM Fortier about how adopting intensive methods of production can lead to the optimization of a cropping system. The focus of this session will be on alternative machinery, minimum tillage techniques and the use of the best hand tools for the market garden. For Jean-Martin Fortier’s bio, refer to page 19.
Building an On-Farm Retail Market Sara Baldwin, Oyler’s Organic Farms Jennifer Brodsky, Kitchen Table Consultants Brian Moyer, Penn State Extension/Green Haven Farm Presidents Hall 1 You can find retail farm markets throughout Pennsylvania and each one has something different to offer. When starting an on-farm retail market, you need to carefully research a few things. Are there regulations I need to know about? What will make my market unique? What, if any, are the challenges I will face with starting a market? Sara Baldwin farms with her family in south-central Pennsylvania. Oyler’s Organic Farms has been certified organic since 2008 and includes 360 acres of certified land. Farm enterprises include apples, peaches, vegetables and grass-finished beef as well as pastured broilers, laying hens and turkeys. A recent expansion project included the construction of a farm market, cold storage, packing house, commercial kitchen and cider press. Jennifer Brodsky’s expertise in sustainable food developed during 14+ years of hands-on experience on farms, in non-profits and in dynamic retail operations. Her farming career began at Montgomery County’s first certified organic farm where she served as General Manager of market and PYO operations. She served as the first General Manager of Terrain at Styers in Glen Mills, PA and was awarded the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence for the successful revitalization of 130-acre family farm as a thriving diversified fruit and vegetable farm, local food market and hub. In 2013 she co-founded Kitchen Table Consultants, a firm dedicated to helping locally focused farm and food businesses stay profitable. Jennifer proudly serves on the PASA Eastern Regional Advisory Committee, acts as a Fox School of Business Distinguished Advisor and recently joined the board of Pennsylvania Certified Organic. Brian Moyer is a program assistant with Penn State Extension at the Lehigh County office, where he assists farmers with marketing and regulations. Brian is a past board member of PASA. Brian was the founder and manag-
The Food Safety Modernization Act: Past, Present & the Road Ahead Sophia Kruszewki, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Brian Snyder, PASA Presidents Hall 3 This discussion will provide a look at the current state of food safety regulations, including a discussion of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) — its history, where things stand and what to expect as the FSMA rules are finalized. Sophia Kruszewski is a Policy Specialist with the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, a grassroots organization based in Washington, D.C. that advocates for federal food and farm policy reform. Sophia handles NSAC’s policy work on food safety and working lands conservation programs.
From Amber Waves to Market: Growing & Marketing Organic Food Grade Grains Mary-Howell & Klaas Martens, Lakeview Organic Grain Presidents Hall 4 Organic grains are experiencing a wide range of exciting emerging market opportunities, all of which depend on organic farmers being able to produce appropriate quality and which, as we learned the hard way in 2014, may be difficult to achieve without careful planning and attention to details. Buyer expectations, harvest and storage requirements, mycotoxins, feed vs. food grade differ-
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ences and other considerations will be addressed. For Klaas and Mary-Howell Martens’ bio, see page 20.
Basics of Farming with Animal Power: Safety, Husbandry, Species & Breeds Dale Stoltzfus, Log Cabin Horse Farm/Horse Progress Days Room 104 This workshop will be a discussion of the very basics of animal farming-the dangers of working with animals, how to care for them and various breeds and species of animals suitable for farming. There will be lots of classroom participation. For Dale Stoltzfus’ bio, refer to page 22.
On-Farm Incubation: Experiences, Practices & Solutions Tom Wadson, Wadson’s Farm Room 105 The presenter will share his practical experiences with on farm incubation of poultry. This is relevant for all who wish to learn the basics right up to the finer points of poultry incubation. Tom Wadson began Wadson’s Farm in 1976. Since then, It has grown to be arguably the most diverse farm operation in Bermuda. Wadson is also president of The American Pastured Poultry Producers’ Association (APPPA).
Planting for the Future: Starting Your Orchard with Smarts, Microclimate & Rootstocks Ben Wenk, Three Springs Fruit Farm Room 106 There’s a lot to consider when planning your orchard — far beyond choosing varieties. You’ll learn the science and wisdom behind all the factors, from rootstocks to slope to microclimate and all the preparation steps needed for success, right down to lining off your orchard! Ben Wenk is a seventh generation owner-manager at Three Springs Fruit Farm in Aspers, PA. With his father Dave and uncle John, he oversees a diversified 450-acre Food Alliance certified fruit farm, attending seven farmers markets per week.
healthy soil practices in urban production systems and how good soil management practices affect the soil ecosystem, nutrient availability and plant health. Secondly, the focus will turn to identifying both the problems and opportunities of managing soils in an urban context. Specific types of possible urban soil contamination will be discussed along with soil sampling and testing options. Common contaminants and their sources will be uncovered and we’ll discuss practical strategies for how to mitigate risks when contaminants are found. For Chris Lent’s bio, refer to page 13.
Growing Great Garlic Pam Dawling, Twin Oaks Community Room 108 Planting, harvest, curing, storing and the selection of planting stock are comprehensively covered in this workshop. As well as both hardneck and softneck bulb garlic, I cover “byproduct crops” such as garlic scallions and scapes, which are ready early in the year when new crops are at a premium. Suitable for beginners and experienced growers. Suitable for small-scale growers up to 6000 row feet, manually planted and harvested. For Pam Dawling’s bio, refer to page 14.
Pairing Principles that Will Help You Sell Your Cheese Tenaya Darlington, Saint Joseph’s University & Madame Fromage Room 109 How often do you offer pairing ideas or suggestions for seasonal cheese combinations? Taste then teach your customers how to pair your products. For Tenaya Darlington’s bio, refer to page 23.
Holistic Land & Livestock Management Chase Ridgely, Savory Institute MD Hub Willy Denner, Savory Institute NY Hub Room 203 Description not provided. For Chase Ridgely and Willy Denner’s bios, refer to page 21.
Understanding & Managing Urban Soils for Healthy Food Production
Variety Choice for Disease Resistance in Cucurbits
Chris Lent, National Center for Appropriate Technology Room 107 This workshop will discuss how to support
Edmund Frost, Twin Oaks Seed Farm, Common Wealth Seed Growers Michael Glos, Cornell University Room 204
Finding and breeding disease-resistant varieties is key to managing Downy Mildew and other cucurbit diseases, especially on organic farms. Michael Glos will cover ongoing organic-focused breeding and trialing work at Cornell. Edmund Frost will present results from organic on-farm cucumber, melon and winter squash trials in Virginia. Edmund Frost has grown organic vegetable seed crops at Twin Oaks Seed Farm in Central Virginia since 2008. In 2013 and in 2014 (funded by a SARE grant) he conducted on-farm melon, cucumber and winter squash variety trials, with a focus on evaluating Downy Mildew resistance. Edmund is the Director of Common Wealth Seed Growers, a new seed company that is a cooperative of several Virginia seed growers. Michael Glos has been involved in sustainable agricultural research for over twenty years. Since 2001 he has worked on projects relating to organic vegetable variety selection, seed production and breeding for organic systems with a focus on cucurbits and breeding for tolerance and resistance to common organic pests and diseases. He also operates a certified organic crop and livestock farm in upstate NY with his wife and daughter.
The Real Cost of Fracking: How America’s Shale Gas Boom Is Threatening Our Families, Pets, & Food Michelle Bamberger, Vet Behavior Consults Robert Oswald, Cornell University Room 205 This workshop is intended for a general audience. We will discuss how the process of unconventional extraction of gas and oil may affect farming and food safety, specifically crop production, animal health, the food supply and the economic well-being of the farmer. For Michelle Bamberger and Robert Oswald’s bios, refer to page23.
Farming the Woods: Forest Cultivation of Mushrooms Steve Gabriel, Farming the Woods/Cornell Small Farms Program Room 206 Mushrooms cultivated in natural forest and field conditions are quickly growing in demand throughout the northeast. Of them, shiitake, lions mane, oyster and stropharia offer the most promise for success and income generation. The best growing techniques, along with harvesting, processing and value-added products will be presented in this talk. For Steve Gabriel’s bio, refer to page 21.
25
WOR KSHOPS
Saturday
Young Calf Care Kimberley Morrill, Cornell University Cooperative Extension Room 207 This session will cover information you need to help ensure success with rearing young calves. Colostrum management, calf health, housing and nutrition during the first 6 weeks of life will be covered. Kimberley Morrill graduated from Iowa State University with her PhD in Animal Physiology in 2011 and currently works for Cornell Cooperative Extension as the Regional Dairy Specialist in Northern New York. She has many programs and projects that she oversees, including the Northern New York Dairy Institute, many calf research projects, a water quality study, farm transition and women in agriculture programs. She is currently the President Elect for New York Agriwomen.
Natural Approaches to Common Animal Health Concerns Susan Beal, Laughing Oak Farm Room 208 There is a smorgasbord of possibilities for treating common animal health concerns using a natural approach. This workshop will
explore some of fundamentals of this approach and will provide the herdsman with some options with which to approach care. Case examples from a variety of species will be used and the discussion will include the use of herbs, homeopathic medicines and common sense solutions. For Susan Beal’s bio, refer to page 15.
Back to the Farm — Inviting the Public as a Means to Increasing Profits Barbara Gerlach, Berry Fields Farm Kristi Dimond Maher, Blue Hound Farm Caroline Owens, Owens Farm Senate Suite Join this panel of speakers to talk about how to use agritourism and on-farm events to boost your farm’s bottom line or to serve your farm’s mission. The various panelists represent just some of the ways you can invite the public onto your farm. Come with questions, this will be an open discussion.
northeastern Pa. Because of their remote location they have devised several ways to bring the market to their farm. They invite guests to visit their farm to stay in their guests houses, to eat a meal in their field to table dining room, to shop in their farm store, or to attend their annual blueberry festival. Kristi Maher and her husband Jim own Blue Hound Farm, a seventy acre sustaining farm focused on agri-tainment. Events provide an entertaining opportunity to learn about plants, animals and nature. The gardens, primarily in native plants and the farm animals provide an added array of interest to the guest. Kristi’s years of marketing experience have enabled her to grow a successful event business through referrals from satisfied customer experiences and through social media. Caroline Owens and husband David moved to Sunbury, Pennsylvania in 2008 from a small New Hampshire farm. They raise grass-fed lamb, pastured pork, poultry and honeybees and offer educational programs including Sheep Camp, Adopt-A-Sheep, Lambing-Time Slumber parties and Farmstays. Caroline is a former Vocational Agriculture teacher who worked in marketing communications and equestrian travel before starting her family. She holds a B.S. in Animal Science/Agricultural Education from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Boston University.
Barbara Gerlach and her husband Charles own and operate a diversified, integrated, organic and therefore sustainable 51 acre farm in the beautiful Endless Mountains of
in memoriam
Jerry Brunetti 1950¬2014 PASA Board Member, PASA Lifetime Member, PASA Permanent Business Partner, Industry Leader, Health Advisor, Personal Mentor & Friend Your contributions to the Farming for the Future Conference and Farming Community will always be treasured. Thank you Jerry. You are forever in our hearts.
26
SPE AKER S
Contact List
Michael Ahlert
Mike Brownback
Pam Dawling
Edmund Frost
Red Earth Farm Orwigsburg, PA 17961 mdahlert@gmail.com (610) 683-9363
Spiral Path Farm 538 spiral Path Lane Loysville, PA 17047 (717) 789-4433
Twin Oaks Community 138 Twin Oaks Road Louisa, VA 23093 pam@twinoaks,org
Twin Oaks Seed Farm / Common Wealth Seed Growers 138 Twin Oaks Road Louisa, VA 23093 edmund@twinoaks.org (540) 223-5861
Nazirahk Amen
Eric Burkhart
Willy Denner
Purple Mountain Organics Takoma Park, MD 20912 info@purpletools.net (301) 891-2488
Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center 3400 Discovery Road Petersburg, PA 16669 epb6@psu.edu (814) 863-2000
Agrarian Learning Center PO Box 195 Chatham, NY 12037
George DeVault Ray Archuleta USDA-NRCS 2901 East Lee Street, Suite 2100 Greensboro, NC 27401 ray.archuleta@gnb.usda.gov
Sara Baldwin Oyler’s Organic Farms 480 Pleasant Valley Road Biglerville, PA 17307 oylersorganicfarms@gmail.com (717) 677-8411
Michelle Bamberger Vet Behavior Consults 1225 Hinging Post Rd. Ithaca, NY 14850 michelle.bamberger@gmail.com (607) 277-7732
Susan Beal Laughing Oak Farm 807 Filtering Plant Road Punxsutawney, PA 15767 alchemy@penn.com (814) 952-6821
Brian Benner & Drew Wanke Wildlife Specialists, LLC 2785 Hills Creek Road Wellsboro, PA 16901 brian@wildlife-specialists.com drew@wildlife-specialists.com (570) 376-2255
Amy Laura Cahn Garden Justice Legal Initiative of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia 1709 Ben Franklin Parkway, United Way Building Fl 2 Philadelphia, PA 19143 (267) 546-1306
Gianaclis Caldwell Pholia Farm Creamery, LLC 9115 W Evans Creek Rd Rogue River, OR 97537 (541) 582-8883
Pheasant Hill Farm/Jump Seat Press 3502 Main Rd. E. Emmaus, PA 18049 (610) 928-7541
Kristi Dimond Maher Blue Hound Farm 125 Pleasant Hill Rd Lewisberry, PA 17339 bluehoundfarm@me.com (717) 938-8159
Stroud Water Research Center 970 Spencer Road Avondale, PA 19311 (610) 268-2153 x 310
Barbara Gerlach
USDA-NRCS 101 Bilby Rd, Building 1-H Hackettstown, NJ 07840
Kelly Gill
Joel Dufour Earth Tools Inc 1525 Kays Branch Rd Owenton, KY 40359 earthtools@hotmail.com (502) 484-3988
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation & USDA NRCS NRCS Service Center 1971 Jacksonville-Jobstown Rd Columbus, NJ 08022 kelly@xerces.org (609) 267-1639 ext. 110
Brett Chedzoy Cornell Cooperative Extension & Angus Glen Farms, LLC 3050 Station Road Watkins Glen, NY 14891 (607) 535-7161 (office)
Gary Gilmore Sara Eckert Healthy Harvest Farm 2423 Jacksonville Road Bellefonte, PA 16823 hhfarmcsa@hotmail.com
PA DCNR Bureau of Forestry 1514 Rt 28 Brookville, PA 15825 ggilmore@pa.gov (814) 849-7463
Darrell Emmick
Michael Glos
Grazing Land Management Specialist 57 Michigan Hill Rd Richford, NY 13835
Cornell University Cornell University/106 Love Lab Ithaca, NY 14853 mag22@cornell.edu (607) 227-7793
Clara Coleman Clara Coleman Four-Season Farm Consulting 13 B Eastern Promenade Portland, ME 04101 farmerclaracoleman@gmail.com
Joan Epperson & Robert Runk Norm Conrad NCAT / ATTRA 900 Rutter Ave. Ste 16 Forty Fort, PA 18704 (479) 587-3471
American National/Farm Family 504 Cambria Ave., Suite 154 Bensalem, PA 19020 (616) 570-3877
Sara Fitzsimmons
Steve Bogash Penn State Extension 310 Allen Rd. Suite 601 Carlisle, PA 17013 smb13@psu.edu (717) 240-6500 ext. 6507
Ross Conrad
Jennifer Brodsky
Silas Conroy
Kitchen Table Consultants 3230 Mill Rd Collegeville, PA 19426
Crooked Carrot Farm & Kitchen 431 South Geneva St. Ithaca, NY 14850 info@crookedcarrotcsk.com
Dancing Bee Gardens PO Box 443 Middlebury, VT 05753 dancingbhoney@gmail.com
The American Chestnut Foundation Penn State University 206 Forest Resources Lab University Park, PA 16802 sff3@psu.edu (814) 863-7192
la Grelinette Farm 1446 Guthrie Saint-Armand QC, Canada J0J 1T0 info@themarketgardener.com
Tenaya Darlington Saint Joseph’s University 327 E. Thompson St. Philadelphia, PA 19125 tenayadarlington@gmail.com (610) 955-1226
Matthew Grieshop Michigan State University 578 Wilson Rd 205 CIPS East Lansing, MI 48824 grieshop@msu.edu (517) 432-8034
Steve Groff Cover Crop Solutions 679 Hilldale Rd Holtwood, PA 17532 sgroff@covercropsolutions.com
Jean Martin Fortier
Justin Brown Pennsylvania Game Commission Animal Diagnostic Laboratory Orchard Rd University Park, PA 16802 judbrow@pa.gov (814) 863-8370
Lamonte Garber
Austin Drager
Katrina Blair Turtle Lake Refuge 1511 CR 205 Durango, CO 81301 turtlelakerefuge@yahoo.com (970) 317-0988
Farming the Woods 6164 Deer Run Ln Trumansburg, NY 14886 farmingthewoods@gmail.com
Berry Fields Farm 138 Berry Lane New Albany, PA 18833 gerlach@epix.net (570) 924-3019
Kim & Eric Chase Chase Farm 607 Smith Lane Centre Hall, PA 16828 kimjchase@gmail.com (406) 422-7749
Steve Gabriel
Craig Haney Stone Barns Center 630 Bedford Road Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591 craigh@stonebarnscenter.org (914) 366-6200 x116
Rebecca Frimmer Kitchen Table Consultants 162 Lauriston Street Philadelphia, PA 19128 rebecca@kitchentableconsultants.com (267) 275-1198
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SPE AKER S
Contact List
John Hopkins
Alison Lecker
Mac Mead
Ross Pifer
Forks Farm 299 Covered Bridge Rd Orangeville, PA 17859 forksfarm@gmail.com
Warren Environmental Counsel 975 Mill Rd Millridge Manor House Suite A Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 alecker@warrenenvcounsel.com
Pfeiffer Center 241 Hungry Hollow Rd Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977 (845) 425-0472
Penn State Agricultural Law Center 329 Innovation Blvd., Ste. 118 State College, PA 16803 rpifer@psu.edu (814) 865-3723
Ernest Hovingh
Heather Mikulas Penn State Extension 137 Homestead St Pittsburgh, PA 15218 hem12@psu.edu (412) 473-2540
Joshua Pribanic
David Hughes, RLA
Brooks Miller
Lee Reich
Weatherwood Design, LLC 4201 Mechanicsville Road Doylestown, PA 18902 dhughes@weatherwooddesign.com (215) 260-0566
North Mountain Pastures 201 Cold Storage Rd Newport, PA 17074 (484) 225-8636
Springtown Farmden 387 Springtown Rd New Paltz, NY 12561 garden@leereich.com
Sandra Miller
Chase Ridgely Savory Institute Chesapeake Center PO Box 263 Glenelg, MD 21737 cashmererosefarm@gmail.com (443) 447-7489
Penn State University Animal Diagnostic Lab, Wiley Ln University Park, PA 16802 eph1@psu.edu (814) 863-8526
Chris Lent National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) 346 Baer Rd Shickshinny, PA 18655 chrisl@ncat.org (479) 587-3472
Jason Lilley Penn State University 711 Kennard Rd State College, PA 16801 lilleyjm@gmail.com
Simon Huntley
Public Herald PO BOX 488 Coudersport, PA 16915 jbpribanic@gmail.com
Small Farm Central 6560 Lilac Street Pittsburgh, PA 15217 (412) 352-9673
Suzanne & Rich Louis Sunnyside Solar Energy Parkton, MD sunnysidesolarenergy.com
Painted Hand Farm PO Box 256 Mt. Holly Springs, PA 17065 sandra@paintedhandfarm.com (7170 860-9385
Michael Judd
Laura & Mark MacDonald
Kimberley Morrill
Holly Rippon-Butler
Ecologia, Edible & Ecological Landscapes 8955 Indian Springs Rd Frederick, MD 21702 info@ecologiadesign.com (240) 344-5625
Bee Tree Berry Farm 494 Benner Rd Bellefonte, PA 16823 (814) 383-2134
Cornell Cooperative Extension 260 Reagan Rd Winthrop, NY 13697 kmm434@cornell.edu (315) 379-9192
National Young Farmers Coalition P.O. Box 1074 Hudson, NY 12354 holly@youngfarmers.org
Richard Mandelbaum Jim Koan AlMar Orchards 410 N Byron Rd Lennon, MI 48449
ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism 451 16th St. #1R Brooklyn, NY 11215 nyherbalist@gmail.com
Don Kretschmann Kretschmann Farm 257 Zeigler Rd Rochester, PA 15074 (724) 622-9440
Grow Pittsburgh 6587 Hamilton Ave. #2W Pittsburgh, PA 15206 (412) 362-4769 x103
Scott Marlow The Rural Advancement Foundation International - USA PO Box 640 Pittsboro, NC 27312 smarlow@rafiusa.org (919) 542-1396
Emily Lancaster Moose Animal Welfare Approved PO Box 6 Marion, VA 24354 info@animalwelfareapproved.org (800) 373-8806
Mary-Howell & Klaas Martens Lakeview Organic Grain Box 361 Penn Yan, NY 14527 mh@lakevieworganicgrain.com (315) 531-1038
Frances Moore LappĂŠ Small Planet Institute 25 Mount Auburn Street Suite 203 Cambridge, MA 02138 info@smallplanet.org (617) 871-6609
Jeff Mattocks The Fertrell Company P.O. Box 265 Bainbridge, PA 17502 jeffmattocks@fertrell.com (800) 347-1566
Ted LeBow Kitchen Table Consultants 112 Righters Ferry Road Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 ted@kitchentableconsultants.com (267) 281-3514
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Happy Cat Organics 5105 Kennett Pike Winterthur, DE 19375
Badgersett Farm 18606 Deer Rd Canton, MN 55922 info@badgersett.com (888) 557-4211
Brian Moyer Marisa Manheim
Sophia Kruszewski National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition 110 Maryland Ave NE, Ste 209 Washington, DC 20002 skruszewski@sustainableagriculture.net (202) 547-5754
Philip Rutter Tim Mountz
Penn State Extension 4184 Dorney Park Rd Allentown, PA 18104 (610) 391-9840
Sheri & Daniel Salatin
Justin & Dillon Naylor
Robert Schindelbeck
Old Tioga Farm 1432 Old Tioga Turnpike Stillwater, PA 17878 justin@oldtiogafarm.com
Cornell University 306 Tower Rd Ithaca, NY 14853
Polyface, Inc. 115 Pure Meadows Lane Swoope, VA 24479
Adam Seitz Robert Oswald Cornell University Dept. of Molecular Medicine Cornell University Ithaca, NY 14853
Pennsylvania Certified Organic 106 School Street/Suite 201 Spring Mills, PA 16875 adam@paorganic.org (814) 422-0251
Caroline Owens
Linda Shanahan
Owens Farm 2611 Mile Post Rd Sunbury, PA 17801 (570) 286-5309
Barefoot Gardens 113 Decatur Street Doylestown, PA 18901
Edwin Shank Charmaine Peters Licking Creek Bend Farm 4036 Adams Drive Silver Spring, MD 20902 (717) 573-4527
The Family Cow 3854 Olde Scotland Rd. Chambersburg, PA 17202 rodrick@thefamilycow.com (717) 729-1215
Roland McReynolds Carolina Farm Stewardship Association PO Box 448 Pittsboro, NC 27312 roland@carolinafarmstewards.org (919) 524-2402
Byron Shelton Savory Institute 33900 Surrey Lane Buena Vista, CO 81211
SPE AKER S
Contact List
Matt Steiman
Lloyd Traven
Alice Varon
Ben Wenk
Dickinson College Farm 553 Park Dr Boiling Springs, PA 17007 steimanm@dickinson.edu
Peace Tree Farm 295 Park Drive W Kintnersville, PA 18930 lloyd@peacetreefarm.com (610) 847-8152
Certified Naturally Grown 540 President Street, 3rd Floor Brooklyn, NY 11215 alicevaron@naturallygrown.org (845) 687-2058
Three Springs Fruit Farm 1606 Bendersville Wenksville Rd Aspers, PA 17304 (717) 677-7186
Melissa Troutman
Tom Wadson
Public Herald PO Box 488 Coudersport, PA 16915
Wadson’s Farm PO box SN 528 Southampton SNBX BERMUDA wadsonfarm@ibl.bm (441) 238-1862
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) 110 Maryland Ave. Suite 208 Washington, DC 20002 pwolfe@sustainableagriculture.net (202) 547-5754
Ira Wallace
George Wright
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange 1259 Indian Creek Rd Mineral, VA 23117 gardens@southernexposure.com (540) 894-9480
Castor River Farm 2696 9th Line Rd Metcalfe, Ontairio K0A 2P0 castorriverfarm@xplornet.ca (613) 821-0807
Sarah Walter
Penny Zuck
Centre County Farmland Trust/Centre County Planning and Community Development Office Willowbank Bldg., 420 Holmes Street Bellefonte, PA 16823 srwalter@centrecountypa.gov (814) 355-6791
PA Certified Organic 106 School Street, Suite 201 Spring Mills, PA 16875 penny@paorganic.org (814) 422-0251
Dale Stoltzfus
Paul Wolfe
Log Cabin Horse Farm/Horse Progress Days 1006 Log Cabin Road Leola, PA 17540 717-940-4412
Kyle Van Why Michael Tabor Licking Creek Bend Farm 706 Erie Ave. Takoma Park, MD 20912
USDA Wildlife Services PO Box 60821 Harrisburg, PA 17106 (717) 236-9451
Jennifer Tillman
Eric Vander Hyde
Iowa State University 613 6th St Ames, IA 50010
Barefoot Gardens 113 Decatur St. Doylestown, PA 18901-3611 ericv@barefootgardens.net (267) 629-9349
Benjamin Tracy Virginia Tech Smyth Hall, 0404 Blacksburg, VA 54061 bftracy@vt.edu
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SPON SOR S & EXHIBI TOR S
Contact List
Delaware Valley College
Harvest Market
888-506-2460 website TBD
700 East Butler Ave Doylestown, PA 18901 215-489-2333 www.DelVal.edu
PO Box 1739 Hockessin, DE 19707 302-234-6779 www.harvestmarketnaturalfoods.com
Longwood Gardens, Inc.
doTERRA-Feel Better Now by Lori
Healcrest Urban Farm, LLC
43994 Maiden Creek Court Ashburn, VA 20147 703-728-2662 www.yoginiOils.net
5207 Brown Way Pittsburgh, PA 15224 4 12-302-4419 www.healcresturbanfarm.com
Earth Tools, Inc.
High Mowing Organic Seeds
1525 Kays Branch Rd. Owenton, KY 40359 524-484-3988 www.earthtools.com
76 Qyarry Rd. Wolcott, VT 05680 802-472-6174 www.highmowingseeds.com
East End Food Co-op
House in the Woods Farm
7516 Meade St. Pittsburgh, PA 15224 415-242-3598 www.eastendfood.coop
2104 Mt Ephraim Rd. Adamstown, MD 21710 301-461-6574 www.houseinthewoods.com
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association
EnviroKure, Inc
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
PO Box 85 Hughesville, PA 17737 888-662-7772 www.apppa.org
5222 E. Comly Street Philadelphia, PA 19135 215-289-9800 www.envirokure.com
955 Benton Ave. Winslow, ME 04901 800-854-2580 Ext.5308 www.johnnyseeds.com
Animal Welfare Approved
Farm Credit
Kimberton Whole Foods
1007 Queen St. Alexandria, VA 22314 717-412-1701 www.animalwelfareapproved.org
411 Roseville Rd. Lancaster, PA 17601 888-339-3334 www.mafc.com
2140 Kimberton Rd. Kimberton, PA 19442 610-935-1444 www.kimbertonwholefoods.com
BCS America
Farm Family Insurance Companies
King’s Agriseeds, Inc.
PO Box 656 Albany, NY 12201 1-800-THE-FARM www.farmfamily.com
60 N. Ronks Rd. Ronks, PA 17572 717-687-6224 www.kingsagriseeds.com
FarmMatch
Kitchen Table Consultants
120 Liberty St. PO Box 238 Atglen, PA 19310 610-593-2995 www.organicfeedmill.com
500 E. Jefferson St. #201 Viroqua, WI, 54665 608-807-5520 www.farmmatch.com
112 Righters Ferry Rd. Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004 610-324-6973 www.Kitchentableconsultants.com
The Organic Mechanics Soil Company, LLC
The Fertrell Co.
Kreher Enterprises, LLC
600 N. 2nd St. Bainbridge, PA 17502 717-367-1566 www.fertrell.com
5411 Davison Rd. Clarence, NY 14031 716-759-6802 www.krehereggs.com
FRESHFARM Markets
Kretschmann Farm
945 G Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 202-362-8889 www.freshfarmmarkets.org
257 Zeigler Rd. Rochester, PA 15074 724-452-7189 www.kretschmannfarm.com
Green Heron Tools, LLC
Lady Moon Farms
PO Box 71 New Tripoli, PA 18066 610-298-0002 www.greenherontools.com
1795 Criders Church Rd Chambersburg, PA 17201 www.ladymoonfarms.com 717-369-2113
SPONSORS
Agri-Dynamics Inc. PO Box 267 Martins Creek, PA 18063 610-250-9280 www.agridynamics.com
Agri-Service LLC 18138 Maugans Ave. Hagerstown, MD 21740 301-223-6877 www.dairyheritage.com
American HealthCare Group/ Farm to Table 1910 Cochran Rd One Manor Oak, Suite 405 Pittsburgh, PA 15220 412-463-7807 www.farmtotablepa.com
5001 N. Lagoon Ave. Portland, OR 97217 800-543-1040 www.bcsamerica.com
Berger 121, 1 Er Rang Saint-Modeste, Quebec G0L3W0 800-463-5582 www.customerservice@berger.ca
Chatham University — Falk School of Sustainability Woodland Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15332 412-365-1386 www.falk.chatham.edu
Chesapeake Bay Foundation 1426 North Third St., Suite 220 Harrisburg, PA 17102 717-234-5550 www.cbf.org
Common Wealth Seed Growers 138 Twin Oaks Rd. Louisa, VA 23093 540-223-5861 www.commonwealthseeds.com
Crop Services International 10332 Shaver Rd. Poratge, MI 49024 800-260-7933 www.cropservicesintl.com
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PO Box 501, 409 Conservatory Rd. Kennett Square, PA 19348 610-733-4974 www.longwoodgardens.org
McGeary Organics PO Box 299 Lancaster, PA 17608 717-394-6843 www.mcgearyorganics.com
Mid Atlantic Highland Cattle Association Inc. 635 Stagecoach Rd. Leighton, PA 18235 570-778-9771
Mid-Atlantic Alpaca Association (MAPACA) www.mapaca.org
Moyer’s Chicks 266 E. Paletown Rd Quakertown, PA 18951 215-536-3155 www.moyerschicks.com
Northeast SARE 655 Spear St. Burlington, VT 05405 802-656-0471 www.nesare.org
Organic Unlimited Inc.
PO Box 272 Modena, PA 19358 610-380-4598 www.organicmechanicsoil.com
Organic Valley/ CROPP Cooperative One Organic Way La Farge, WI 54639 888-809-9297 www.organicvalley.coop www.farmers.coop
PA Department of Agriculture 2301 N. Cameron St. Harrisburg, PA 17110 717-787-3568
Peace Tree Farm Green Mountain Energy Company 3711 Market Street, 10th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19104 267-298-5371 www.PAPartnerships@greenmountain .com
Lakeview Organic Grain PO Box 361 Penn Yan, NY 14527 315-531-1038 www.lakevieworganicgrain.com
295 Park Dr. West Kintnersville, PA 18930 610-847-8152 www.peacetreefarm.com
Life Essentials
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences
84 Willow Ln. Belleville, PA 17004
501 Ag Science Industries Building University Park, PA 16802
SPON SOR S & EXHIBI TOR S 814-863-9922 www.agsci.psu.edu
Contact List
Kutztown, PA 19530 610-683-1400 www.rodaleinstitute.org
Penn State Extension, Ag Business State Team
Savory Institute
335 Ag Administration Building University Park, PA 16802 814-865-2833
637-B South Broadway St. Suite 124 Boulder, CO 80305 303-327-9760 www.savoryinstitute.org
Penn State Press 820 N. University Dr. USB 1, Suite C University Park, PA 16802 814-865-1327 www.psupress.org
Seedway, LLC 99 Industrial Rd. Elizabethtown, PA 17022 800-952-7333 www.seedway.com
Pennsylvania Certified Organic 106 School St Suite 201 Spring Mills, PA 16875 814-422-0251 www.paorganic.org
www.tierrafarm.com
Pennsylvania Farm Vacation Association
USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service
330 Hassinger Way McClure, PA 17841 www.pafarmstay.com
1400 Independence Ave. SW Rm. 5038 Washington, DC 22050 800-727-9540 www.nass.usda.gov
FA R M E R S M A R K E T CAFÉ VENDORS
USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service One Credit Union Place, Suite 340 Harrisburg, PA 17110 717-237-2100 www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/sit e/pa/home
Eden View Organics
Vitalis Organic Seeds
Gemelli Bakery
7 Harris Place Salinas, CA 93901 831-753-6141 www.vitalisorganic.com
129 South Pugh Street State College, PA 16801 (814) 234-8946
4707 Warriors Mark Path Tyrone, PA 16686 edenviewfoods.com info@edenviewfoods.com
SF & Company — CPAs 1423 N. Atherton Street State College, PA 16803 814-238-8474 www.sfc-cpa.com
Pennsylvania College of Technology School of Business & Hospitality
Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center
Wild For Salmon
One College Ave. Williamsport, PA 17701 570-327-4505 www.pct.edu
3400 Discovery Road Petersburg, PA 16669 814-863-2000 x. 7501 www.shaverscreek.org
521 Montour Blvd. Bloomsburg, PA 17815 570-387-0550 www.wildforsalmon.com
Pennsylvania DCNR Bureau of Forestry
Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter
Good Seed Baking Company 129 South Fraser St. State College, PA 16801 814-238-1133 www.goodseedbaking.com
Lancaster Hummus
400 Market St. RCSOB 6th Fl. Harrisburg, PA 17105 717-783-0381
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture: Fruit Tree Improvement and Integrated Pest Management Programs 2301 N. Cameron St. Harrisburg, PA 17110 717-346-0316
Pennsylvania Farm Link 2301 N. Cameron St. Rm 310 Harrisburg, PA 17110 717-705-2121 www.pafarmlink.org
Pennsylvania Farmers Union PO Box 62024 Harrisburg, PA 17106 717-576-0794 www.pafarmersunion.org
Poultry Man, LLC 922 Conley Rd. Mifflinburg, PA 17844 570-966-0769
Purple Mountain Organics 7120 Carroll Ave Takoma Park, MD 20912 301-891-2488 www.purpletools.net
Rimol Greenhouse Systems 40 Londonberry Tpke Hooksett, NH 03106 603-629-9004 www.rimol.com
PO Box 606 Harrisburg, PA 17108 717-232-0101 www.pennsylvania.sierraclub.org
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange PO Box 490 Mineral, VA 23117 540-894-9480 www.southernexposure.com
SQM Organic 2727 Paces Ferry Rd. Bldg 2, Ste. 1425 Atlanta, GA 30359 770-916-9423 www.allganic.net
T.A. Seeds 39 Seeds Lane Jersey Shore, PA 17740 570-753-5503 www.taseeds.com
Tait Farm Foods 179 Tait Rd. Centre Hall, PA 16828 814-466-2386 www.taitfarmfoods.com
E X H I B I TO R S
Certified Naturally Grown 540 President St. 3rd Fl. Brooklyn, NY 11215 845-687-2058
GMO-Free PA
Webster’s Café 133 East Beaver Avenue State College, PA 16801 (814) 826-3278 www.webstersbooksandcafe.com
889 Westover Rd. Newtown Square, PA 19073 952-484-8113 www.GMOFREEPA.org
Hy-Tech Mushroom Compost, Inc 55 Valley Rd. PO Box 390 West Grove, PA 19390 610-331-1849 www.Hy-TechMyshroomCompost.com
National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) 900 Rutter Ave. Forty Fort, PA 18704 800-346-9140 www.attra.ncat.org
The Weston A. Price Foundation
National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region
4200 Washington Ave. NW Washington, DC 20016 202-363-4394 www.westonaprice.org
3550 Terrace St. 200 Scaife Hall Pittsburgh, PA 15261 412-624-3336 www.nnlm.gov/mar
Thorvin, Inc
Nature Safe Natural & Organic Fertilizers
49 Race St. New Castle, VA 24127 800-464-0417 www.thorvin.com
P.O. Box 7983 Lancaster, PA 17603 (717) 316-0068 www.lancasterhummus.com
4221 Alexandria Pike Cold Spring, KY 41076 800-252-4727 www.naturesafe.com
Tierra Farm Rodale Institute 611 Siegfriedale Rd.
2424 State Route 203 Valatie, NY 12184 518-392-8300
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EXHIBI TOR BOOT H MAP
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KEY TO EXHIBI TOR BOOT H MAP Agri-Dynamics, Inc. Agri-Service, LLC
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32
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51
American HealthCare Group/ Farm to Table ................................................... 23 Animal Welfare Approved
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19
American Pastured Poultry Producers Association (APPPA) .................................... 59 ...................................................
30
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92
BCS America
House in the Woods Farm
26
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Chesapeake Bay Foundation
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Common Wealth Seed Growers
Pennsylvania DCNR Bureau of Forestry ....... 3 Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture: Integrated Pest Management ...................... 86
58
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Kimberton Whole Foods .................................. 1 King’s Agriseeds ............................................. 50 Kitchen Table Consultants Kreher Enterprises, LLC
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15
80
Pennsylvania Farmers Union
McGeary Organics, Inc
Poultry Man, LLC
EnivoKure
PSU Press
40 47
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24
Purple Mountain Organics
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Mid-Atlantic Alpaca Association (MAPACA) ...................................................... 64
Rhino Technologies
Rimol Greenhouse Systems Savory Institute
National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region ............... 81
Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter
31
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36
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Farm Family Insurance Companies
4
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8 2
FarmMatch
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66
FarmMatch
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67
The Fertrell Company ..................................... 61 ....................................
10
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42
Nature Safe Natural & Organic Fertilizer ............................................................ 93 .............................................................
Seedway, LLC
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Organic Valley/CROPP Cooperative
44
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49
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18
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68
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54
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28 & 29
5 Thorvin
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7 Tait Farm
PASA Auction
72 85
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange ............. 41 T.A. Seeds
The Organic Mechanics Soil Co.
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Rodale Insitute ................................................ 60
SQM Organic NE SARE
20 & 21
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National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) ....................................... 87
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48
13 & 14 Tierra Farm ....................................................... 77
PASA Hub
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73 USDA NASS
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62
PASA Mercantile ................................... 70 & 71
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55
Peace Tree Farm .............................................. 52
USDA — Natural Resources Conservation Service ..................................... 57
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88
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences .............................................................. 6
Vitalis
Green Heron Tools GMO-Free PA
Mid Atlantic Highland Cattle Association ...................................................... 63
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Moyers Chicks
65
FRESHFARM Markets
37
35
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Farm Credit
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46
Pennsylvania Farm Vacation Association ...................................................... 89
79
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East End Food Coop
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doTERRA-Feel Better Now by Lori Earth Tools
Pennsylvania Farm Link
Life Essentials .................................................. 27
43 22
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture/ PA Preferred ............................. 12
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Crop Services International Delaware Valley Colllege
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39
34
Hy-Tech Mushroom Compost ...................... 91
Certified Naturally Grown ............................ 90 Chatham University — Falk School of Sustainability
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Johnny’s Selected Seeds
Lakeview Organic Grain ................................ 56 Berger
Pennsylvania College of Technology
Green Mountain Energy Company
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9
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69
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45
Weston A. Price Foundation Healcrest Urban Farm, LLC
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25
Penn State Extension
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33 Wild for Salmon
High Mowing Organic Seeds ........................ 17
Farmers Market Café
Pennsylvania Certified Organic .................... 16
Visit Our Farmers Market Café (1st Floor Break Area) Don’t have a meal ticket? Hungry for a snack? Try some local food from local folks! Below is a sampling of the menu items:
Gemelli Bakery
Eden View Organics
Webster’s Café
Artisanal breads & baked goods
Pocket pies, hot dogs (local, all beef, nitrate free), frittata, spinach walnut feta salad, spicy sauerkraut salad, pasta salad, oatmeal date/ fig bars, energy bars, giant chocolate chip whole grain cookies, chocolate peanut butter pretzel bark, cider.
Hummus or Smoky Walnut Paté Wraps; Curried Egg Salad Wrap; Beef Burritos (local, grass-fed), spicy bean chili & local cheese; Vegan Chili & Mushroom Burritos; Curried Egg Salad or Organic Portabella Mushroom or Hummus Entreé Salads; Sides (gluten free): Organic Marinated crimini mushrooms, Quinoa & bean salad, Potato salad; Unsweetened Iced Tea; Iced Brown Cow; Assorted wrapped desserts
Lancaster Hummus Hummus: Lemon Kale, Red Beet Garlic, Mushroom and Sage, Original Garlic, Chipotle Black Bean, Blaz’n Buffalo, Pumpkin, Cranberry Orange. Rip Rap Bakery crackers & locally made tortilla chips or flat bread.
Friday & Saturday 10:15am– 1:15pm
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Good Seed Baking Co. Gluten free muffins, cookies, brownies, sweet hand pies, savory focaccia. Vegan where marked.
Larger quantities will be available Saturday to take home.
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Special Thanks to Our Underwriters In addition to our many sponsoring companies, those listed below provided support to specific pieces of our conference programming — from tracks and workshops to the Seed Swap and BookNook.
by Agri-Services LLC
Pennsylvania Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative
Organic Agriculture Research & Extension Initiative
United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Introducing the PASAbilities Scholarship Fund Special thanks to these generous companies who funded our newly created PASAbilities Fund — supporting established farmers interested in learning about and incorporating new sustainable practices into their operations. Scholarship support in this first year was awarded to 50 recipients.
We also are grateful to our wonderful Future Farmers Program volunteers and coordinators for educating and inspiring our youngest farmers. • Penn State’s Healthy Bodies Project • Claire & Rusty Orner of Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living • Penn State’s Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture Clubs
• Kat Alden and Dorothy Habecker along with a team of local Centre County volunteers and Master Gardeners • Chatham University’s Naturality Club
The PASA Conference just got a little smarter. Are you in? Get the ! app mobile
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2015 Farming for the Future Conference Sponsors Opening Keynote Sponsor
PASAbilities Sponsor Patron Sponsors
AN AMERICAN NATIONAL COMPANY
GUARDIAN
CHAMPION BCS America • Chatham University — Falk School of Sustainability • Chesapeake Bay Foundation • doTERRA • Earth Tools, Inc. • EnviroKure, Inc • The Fertrell Co. • Harvest Market • Kretschmann Farm • McGeary Organics • Mid-Atlantic Alpaca Association (MAPACA) • Moyer’s Chicks • Northeast SARE • The Organic Mechanics Soil Company, LLC • Peace Tree Farm • Penn State Extension, Ag Business State Team • Pennsylvania Farmers Union • Savory Institute • Southern Exposure Seed Exchange • SQM Organic • T.A. Seeds • Tait Farm
ALLY Agri-Service LLC • American Pastured Poultry Producers Association • Animal Welfare Approved • Delaware Valley College • Green Heron Tools, LLC • Healcrest Urban Farm, LLC • High Mowing Organic Seeds • King’s Agriseeds Inc. • Lakeview Organic Grain • Life Essentials • Longwood Gardens, Inc. • Mid Atlantic Highland Association Inc. • Organic Unlimited Inc. • Penn State Press • Pennsylvania College of Technology • Pennsylvania Farm Link • Poultry Man, LLC • Purple Mountain Organics • Rimol Greenhouse Systems • Rodale Institute • Seedway, LLC • SF & Company – CPAs • Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter • Weston A. Price Foundation • USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service • Wild For Salmon
SUPPORTER American HealthCare Group/Farm to Table • Barger • Common Wealth Seed Growers • Crop Services International • House in the Woods Farm • Kreher Enterprises, LLC • National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region • PA Department of Agriculture: Fruit Tree Improvement & Integrated Pest Management Programs • Thorvin, Inc • Tierra Farm • Vitalis Organic Seeds
Friends of the Conference 2015 Katherine & Marvin Andersen • Mary Barbercheck • The Barnhart Family • Nancy & Bob Bernhardt • Lisa & John Boecker • Eda & Scott Case • Lisa & Duane Diefenbach • Melanie & Mark Dietrich Cochran • Helen & Bill Elkins • Meg Gleason • Kathy & Wes Gordon • Todd & John Hopkins • Kristin & Steve Hoy • Cathy Kassab & Dave Abler • Mary & Aaron Kolb • Gretchen Ludders • Sue & Ken Miller • Jamie Moore • Libby & Dave Mortensen • Mountain Meadow Farm • Ginny & Larry Mutti • Jean & Ray Najjar • Joni Rabinowitz & John Haer • Susan Richards & Rob Amsterdam • Susan & Don Sauter • Louise Schorn Smith • Heidi Secord & Gary Bloss • Ann, Kim, Jess & Dane Seeley • Lauren & Ian Smith • Paula & Brian Snyder • Michele & Kevin Spencer • Judy Styborski • Karen Styborski • Sandie & John Walker • Walnut Hill Farm • and those who contributed after this program went to press