Farmer to Farmer Events in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Agricultural Stewardship Association (PASA) Farmer to Farmer Exchange Events – Fall and Winter 2016
Aug. 27: Specialty Crops in Focus: Young Ginger Production in the Northeast – Patchwork Farm Aaronsburg, PA
Specialty crops hold great promise for farmers to diversify their offerings and boost their bottom line. Join PASA at Patchwork Farms where owner Scott Case will host a field day on young ginger production in the northeast region. This event will focus its attention on sourcing ginger seed, specific methods used for production at each stage of the ginger life cycle, considerations for pest, disease and water management as well as discussing value added potentials and marketing.
Sep. 9: Forage Testing in the Grazing Dairy – Sandy Spring Farm Newmanstown, PA
Join farmer Andy Kline and Dr. Kathy Soder, of the USDA-ARS, on a tour of Andy’s all grass-fed dairy farm. As part of the walk, Dr. Soder will talk about forage testing, including relating the laboratory results of a sample taken from Andy’s farm the week previous. Andy will talk about how he evaluates his forage over the course of the season, and his practice of grazing ‘tall’.
Sep. 23-25: PASA Stage & Information Booth at Mother Earth News Fair – Seven Springs Mountain Resort Spring Mountain, PA
Each year, PASA hosts a special “Small-Scale Farming” Stage at the Mother Earth News Fair. Presentations include topics such as biogas, culinary and medicinal herbs, maple syrup, value adde products, and standard bred poultry production.
Oct. 8: Grazing Dairy Cow Health & Genetics – Wholesome Dairy Farms Douglasville, PA
This field day will be a discussion regarding the challenges cows face at the different stages of their lives, including conversation around genetics, nutrition, and how the soil of the pasture directly influences the health of the animal and the end product of the system. Mark Lopez, VMD, owner of Wholesome Dairy Farms in Douglassville, PA, will lead the group from the pasture to the barn and, finally, to the on-site store that sells the farm’s finished products. Susan Beal, DVM, CVH, will also be present to lend her expertise related to whole farm/whole system pasture-based ecology: managing health from the ground up.
Oct. 15: Basics of Tractor Safety & Maintenance – Everblossom Farm East Berlin, PA
Everblossom farm will host the Basics of Tractor Safety and Maintenance on Saturday, October 15 from 11am to 3pm. Darla Romberger, Agricultural Sciences Instructor and Penn State Certified Tractor Safety Instructor, will provide an in-depth tractor safety training for beginner tractor users. Matt Steiman of the Dickinson College Farm, with over 15 years of vegetable farming experience, will instruct attendees on the basics of tractor maintenance.
Oct. 15: Productive Riparian Buffers – Happy Hollow Farm Stewartstown, PA
This farmer to farmer field day will be an in-depth look at a 5-year old riparian buffer that both follows Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) guidelines, as well as addresses different uses outside the CREP boundaries. Farm Service Agency employee Don English and wife, landscape architect Ann, have designed a buffer that uses a wide variety of native plants in the CREP area, such as elderberry, hollies, aronia, and viburnums, as well as a broader range of species outside the CREP area–including a number of heritage apples. Principles of buffer design, plant selection, working with government programs, and finding value in the buffer– ecological, social, and economic– will be discussed.
Oct 21: Advanced Greenhouse Biocontrols for Ornamental & Vegetable Producers – Peace Tree Farm Kintersville, PA
Join Lloyd and Alex Traven of Peace Tree Farm to explore the topic of advanced biological controls. Peace Tree Farm will give a tour of their greenhouse highlighting their use of biocontrols to manage pests. Suzanne Wainwright of Bug Lady Consulting will speak to her extensive experience with biological controls in her over 15 years of horticultural and entomological consulting widely throughout the country and internationally. Additionally, Doug Barrow from Biobest USA, will speak to biocontrols in greenhouse vegetable production. This event will be an opportunity to understand how biocontrols require a different mindset and skillset than conventional pest control, and how these mindesets are essential to a successful program.
Dec. 8: Economics of the Grazing Dairy – Farm and Home Center Lancaster, PA
In this Farmer to Farmer Exchange event join University of Maryland researcher Dale Johnson, and dairy farmers Myron Martin and Cliff Hawbaker, for a panel discussion on the economics of the dairy industry, particularly with regards to grass-based methods of production. The conversation will include research Dr. Johnson has done regarding profitability within different systems of dairy production, as well as Mr. Martin and Mr. Hawbaker’s experiences managing cows and dairy businesses over a number of decades. Participants are encouraged to ask questions and share their own experiences around the topic at hand.
More farmer to farmer events are being added all the time! For more information or to register visit: pasafarming.org/events
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