2010
August
In the “three-legged stool” of sustainable agriculture, the environmental leg often receives the most popular and academic attention. But in order for farmers to operate in ways that are ecologically sustainable, they must also consider the economic and social implications of their farm management practices. The employment and management of hired farm workers raise critical questions for small-scale farm operators with regards to the economic viability of their farms as well as the social sustainability of their practices.
Penn State Cooperative Extension is partnering with several organizations to launch Pennsylvania MarketMaker, an online tool to connect buyer and sellers within the food industry. The tool provides access to free, in-depth marketing information to help farm and food business owners find markets for their products throughout Pennsylvania and other participating states.
As someone with an abiding interest in sustainability standards and certification, I was excited to see that the Food Alliance had a session planned at this year’s PASA conference. The Food Alliance began in 1994 in the Northwest region, where it is well-recognized and has a very strong presence. It more recently moved into the Midwest, and is only just beginning operations in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region.
At the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture’s Farming for the Future Conference this past February, there were no doubt a lot of people in attendance who were inspired by the growing enthusiasm for local and sustainable food systems to pursue farming as a business and livelihood. But would-be growers often encounter two seriously intimidating entry barriers to making a go in farming: access to the land and capital that starting a farm venture requires. Fortunately, opportunities in urban and peri-urban environments may offer a way around these barriers and a path towards viable, small-scale agricultural enterprises.
Check out the wide variety of sustainable agriculture events organized by Penn State, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, the Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network, and others.
May
Organic cucurbit growers face two main challenges, managing insect pests and using organic nutrient sources. Researchers at Penn State are investigating innovative strategies to manage cucurbit problems more sustainably through a multidisciplinary approach that integrates key components of pest management and soil fertility. The goal is to optimize promising strategies which apply to organic cucurbit production throughout the eastern United States.
Misha Moschera, a graduate student in the Department of Agricultural and Extension Education, shares her path to sustainable agriculture and the work she is doing to build sustainable local food systems in low-income communities.
What is in a seed? Some may answer germ or starch; but others, such as Tim Mountz , president of Happy Cat Farm, would answer culture. Mountz inherited a mason jar filled with beans of every color from his grandfather. “It was just that last little connection with my grandfather that I had,” Mountz recalls. Mountz’s grandfather had grown the beans, saved them, and now years later his grandson would attempt to grow the same beans his grandfather had sown. Mountz didn’t have experience with gardening like his grandfather had, but he did have determination to not lose his cultural link.
Increasingly, Pennsylvania farmers are using cover crops to limit erosion from fields, control weed growth, fix nitrogen in the soil, feed livestock and produce biomass for energy. But depending on an agricultural producer's needs, all cover crops are not created equal, according to Bill Curran, a professor of weed science in Penn State's Crop and Soil Sciences Department. To help farmers determine how best to integrate cover crops into their operations, Curran and colleagues Eric Nord and Rich Smith, both postdoctoral associates, and Matt Ryan, a doctoral degree candidate in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, recently published a new fact sheet titled "Suppressing Weeds Using Cover Crops in Pennsylvania."
The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program of the USDA recently announced its funded projects for 2010. Twelve projects were funded in Pennsylvania for a total of $536,000.
Check out the wide variety of sustainable agriculture events organized by Penn State, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture, the Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network, and others.
March
On Friday, February 12th, there was standing room only as Jim Crawford, owner of New Morning Farm and president of Tuscarora Organic Growers, presented the spring semester Sustainable Agriculture Seminar organized by the Sustainable Agriculture Working Group and co-hosted by the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology. In addition to his seminar, “Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative: Twenty years of helping small growers compete in a big market,” Crawford visited with students, faculty and staff to discuss his 38 years of experience as an organic farmer.
An interdisciplinary team of 12 Penn State and USDA-ARS researchers and educators were awarded the 2009 USDA NESARE Agroecosystems grant to evaluate cropping system strategies that can produce the forage, feed and fuel for an average-sized dairy farm in Pennsylvania. The team is testing the hypothesis that a well-planned cropping system can minimize off-farm inputs and environmental impacts, and be productive, profitable and sustainable.
Two Penn State groups recently received funding for programs to support new farmers through the USDA's Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program. In southeastern Pennsylvania, a team of Extension Educators is launching a program called "Start Farming" which will bring courses, workshops, and expert assistance to new farmers. The Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network is using a peer learning approach to offer programs on business planning and marketing, sustainable production and value-added processing, and stewardship of air, land and water resources.
A new publication on maple syrup production is available in Penn State's Agricultural Alternatives series and SARE has released several new books including the 3rd edition of Building Soils for Better Crops, Crop Rotation on Organic Farms, and Youth Renewing the Countryside.
Funds are available from NRCS for Organic transition and practices, a new grant program at the Wallace Healthy Urban Food Enterprise Development Center is announced, and the USDA and EPA offer grants for integrated pest management projects.
The winter season of conferences and meetings is well underway. Check the calendar to learn about the upcoming sustainable agriculture events held by Penn State Extension and other organizations around the state. Many classes have been scheduled for the spring as well.
