PASA’s 21st Annual Farming for the Future Conference

Breaking Ground for a New Agricul ture

Cul tivating Versatility and Resilience

February 1–4, 2012 • State College, Pennsylvania

2012 Program BookPennsylvania Associationfor Sustainable Agriculture

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Shannon Hayes is the author of The Grassfed

Gourmet, Farmer and the Grill and Radical Home-

makers: Reclaiming Domesticity from a Consumer

Culture, a book for anyone who has “considered

quitting a job to plant tomatoes, read to a child,

pursue creative work, can green beans and heal

the planet.” Hayes grew up on Sap Bush Hollow

Farm in West Fulton, NY, where today she raises

grassfed lamb, beef, pork and poultry with three

generations of her family, and lives out her vision

of homemaking as an agent of social, economic and ecological change.

Her essays and articles have appeared in regional and national publications,

including The New York Times and The Boston Review, and she currently blogs for

Yes! Magazine. Hayes’ newest book, Long Way on a Little: An Earth Lovers’ Companion

for Enjoying Meat, Pinching Pennies and Living Deliciously, is due out from Left to Write

Press this year.

Featured Speakers

Shannon HayesPASA-bilities Main Speaker

Mary Seton Corboy, Greensgrow FarmsSustainable Ag Leadership Award

PASA-BILITIES LEADERSHIP AWARD SERIES

Brian Halweil is among the van-guard in the growing “eat local”movement. As a senior fellow atthe Worldwatch Institute he co-directs the Nourishing the Planetproject and writes on the socialand ecological impacts of how wegrow food, focusing on organicfarming, biotechnology, hungerand rural communities. He is theauthor of Eat Here: ReclaimingHomegrown Pleasures in a GlobalSupermarket and his work hasbeen featured in national andinternational press.

Halweil has traveledthroughout Mexico, CentralAmerica and the Caribbean andEast Africa to learn indigenousfarming techniques and promotesustainable food production. Hehas highlighted environmentallysustainable innovations in sub-Saharan Africa that are success-fully alleviating hunger andpoverty.

Halweil edits Edible East Endand works on other Edible Com-munities publications from hishome in Sag Harbor, New York,where he and his family tend ahome garden and orchard andraise oysters.

Brian HalweilFriday Keynoter

The PASA community is rich with leaders in sustain-ability. With the PASA-bilities Series, we bring themout of the audience and into the spotlight. Join us asthis year’s recipients address the PASA-bilitiesPlenary. Special thanks to Kimberton Whole Foods,a former award winner, for their support of the PASA-bilities Leadership Award Series.

Mary Seton Corboy of Greensgrow Farms started growingsmall plantings of gourmet lettuce in 1997. Today, Greens-grow Farms comprises a nursery, a farm stand and a 600-member Community Supported Agriculture program, allhoused on one acre in Philadelphia’s Kensington neigh-borhood, the former site of a galvanized steel plant.

After T. Lyle Ferderber and his wife, Betty, left college to returnto the family farm in Saxonburg, PA, they began grindingflour in the farmhouse with a small gristmill and makingweekly deliveries to Pittsburgh in their pickup truck. Thirtyyears later, Frankferd Farms Foods is a thriving farm, flourmill and natural foods warehouse with 31 employees (andsix delivery trucks).

T. Lyle Ferderber, Frankferd Farms FoodsSustainable Ag Business Leader Award

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Track 1: Tractor Operation & Maintenance for New & BeginningFarmersPenn State University Agricultural ArenaInstructors: Aaron Yoder & Dr. Dennis J. Mur-phy, Penn State University; Doug Schaufler,Penn State Farm Operations

• Pre-Operational Checks & EquipmentMaintenance

• Starting & Moving Equipment• Hitching/Unhitching Implements, Use ofImplements

• Equipment Decision-Making: What toLook for When Purchasing Equipment

WEDNESDAY, FEB 1

Track 2: Hands-On Poultry Processing & MarketingPoultry Man LLC in Mifflinburg, PA

Presenters: Eli Reiff, Poultry Man LLC; Daniel &Sheri Salatin, Polyface Inc.; Brian Moyer, GreenHaven Farm; Peter Burns, Heritage Farm

• Foiling Predators Discussion• On & Off-Farm Processing with Hands-On Component

• Marketing & Regulations

Track 3: Introduction to Perma culturePrinciples & ConceptsPresenters: Darrell Frey, Three Sisters Permacul-ture Farm; Juliette Jones, Pittsburgh Permacul-ture; Dave Jacke, Dynamics Ecological Design

• Permaculture Overview: Ethics & Stewardship

• Principles of Permaculture• Design Process• Introduction to Site Analysis & Development

• Permaculture Community & Resources• Optional: Design Clinic

Track 4: Sustainability in the FoodService IndustryWith Jamie Moore, Eat ‘n Park; Chef MarkJohnson, Elk Creek Cafe; Kim Tait, Tait FarmFoods; Michael Galterio, Eat ‘n Park; Carla Castagnero, AgRecycle; Lou Lego, Elderberry Pond; Jenn Halpin, Dickinson College Farm; Shannon Hayes, Grassfed Cooking; Orin Moyer, Fetrell Company;Melanie Dietrich Cochran, Keswick Creamery;Chef Mike Passanita, Parkhurst @ St FrancisUniversity; Carissa Itle Westrick, Vale WoodDairy; Tom & Joanne Logan, Logan FamilyFarms LLC

• Label, Logos: What Do They Mean &What Are the Issues?

• Adding Value to Fruits & Veggies in theKitchen

• Waste Not: Composting in the Kitchen• FoodSource Connection Networking• Hyper Local: On-Site Farms & Gardens• Cooking Grassfed Meat: A Whole OtherAnimal

• Choosing Dairy Products & Milk Processing: Tasting the Difference

• Working with Your Farmers: Building the Relationship

• Telling the Local Story: Sharing YourCommitment to Local with Your Cus-tomers Group Discussion

WEDNESDAY, FEB 1& THURSDAY, FEB 2

Track 5: Planning & Ensuring YourFinancial Success Using HolisticManagement™Presenter: Byron Shelton, Landmark Diversified& Holistic Management™ Instructor

Track 6: Pastured Poultry for Meat Production for Beginning &Advanced FarmersPresenters: Daniel Salatin, Polyface Inc.; PeterBurns, Heritage Farm; Jeff Mattocks, FertrellCompany; Don Brubaker, Fertrell Company;Jeannette Beranger, American LivestockBreeds Conservancy; Jody Padgham, MOSES &APPPA

• Pasturing Poultry Successfully: A Look at Polyface Inc.

• Setting Up Your Pastured Poultry Operation

• Advanced Poultry Health & Nutrition• Introduction to Poultry Health & Nutrition

• Scaling Up, Gaining Speed: Raising MoreBirds & Keeping Up with the Butchering

• Picking Your Poultry: Considering Species& Breeds

• Economics of Chickens, Turkeys & Ducks

THURSDAY, FEB 2

Pre-Conference Track OverviewPASA is pleased to offer 13 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 knowledgeand skill of methods that can be implemented into daily operations. Pre-conference tracks are available through pre-registation only.Walk-in registrations are not available.

Funds for this program provided by Women in Agriculture Network

Funds for this program provided by

Funds for this program provided by

Funds for this program provided by

Region 3

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Track 7: Applying PermacultureDesign to Urban & Rural LandscapesPresenters: Melissa Miles, Permanent FutureInstitute & Eastern PA Permaculture Guild;Darrell Frey, Three Sisters Permaculture; JoelCahalan, Wild Meadows Farm; Dave Jacke,Dynamics Ecological Design; Juliette Jones,Pittsburgh Permaculture; Phil Forsythe,Philadelphia Orchard Project

• Permaculture: A World-Wide MovementHelping to Build Resilient, Local Commu-nities

• A Deeper Look: Site Analysis & Development with Rural Case Studies

• A Deeper Look: Site Analysis & Development with Urban Case Studies

THURSDAY, FEB 2 • Tools & Techniques for Effective Market-ing & Communications with Shareholders

• Increasing Product Variety through Cooperation

• Expanding Your Season with a WinterCSA

• Operating a Meat CSA

Track 10: Advanced Orchard Healthfor Sustainable Fruit ProductionPresenter: Michael Phillips, Lost NationOrchard

• A Clean Slate Mentality & Old SchoolReview

• Integrating Holistic Tenets into OrchardPractices

• Built-In Defenses: The Tree ImmuneResponse

• Holistic Alternatives to Fungicides &Organic Spray Options

• In-Depth Look: Bacterial Riffs• Fungal Duff Management• Orchard Soil Health: Food Web Inter -action, Compost, Nutrients & Fertility

Track 11: Maximizing Food Produc-tion on the Integrated, EcologicallyBalanced HomesteadPresenters: Harvey Ussery, The Modern Home-stead; Kate Hunter, Living the Frugal Life Blog

• The Working Homestead in Its Ecology• From the Ground Up: Soil Care StrategiesUsing Compost, Mulch & Cover Crops

• Healthy Soil in Small Spaces• Growing for the Table Year Round• Maximizing Harvests in Small Spaces• Maximizing Diversity in the Homesteadwith Livestock & Through Alliances withWild Species

• Pursuing Integration at the Small Scale

Track 12: Cheesemaking for Beginning & Advanced ProducersPresenters: Peggy Smith, Cowgirl Creamery;Amy Thompson, Lucy’s Whey; Peter Dixon,Dairy Foods Consulting; Sue Conley, CowgirlCreamery; Kerry Kaylegian, Penn State University

• Taste Cheese Like a Pro: Identifying Fla-vors & Marketing Your Best Qualities

• Cost & Considerations for Starting aCheese Operation

• Marketing & Determining a Price Point• Marketing & Setting Prices in Your FirstYear

• Cheese Faults & Troubleshooting• Keep It Safe: Hazard Analysis & CriticalControl Points (HACCP)

Youth in FarmingPresenters: Teena Bailey, Red Cat Farm; TimMountz, Happy Cat Farm; David Kline, Mont-gomery School; Sam Comfort, Anarchy Api-aries; Daniel Salatin, Polyface Inc.; MattWilkinson, Hard Cider Homestead; ShannonHayes, PASA-bilities Main Speaker

• Grow Your Own Garden• Saving Seeds & Seed Swap Set-up• Make a Difference, Start a School Gar-den!

• Beekeeping Basics• Why Does It Matter? The “Real Life”Importance of Growing Your Own Food

• Raising Rabbits• Putting It All Together

Track 8: Building & Managing SoilFertility on the FarmPresenters: Robert Schindelbeck, Cornell Uni-versity; Doug Beegle, Penn State University;John Jamison, Jamison Farms; Thomas Björk-man, Cornell University; Teena Bailey, Red CatFarm; Roman Stoltzfoos, Spring Wood Farm

• Developing a Soil Improvement & Management Plan

• Soil, Manure & Compost Testing and How to Interpret Results

• Rehabilitating Poor Quality Soils• Filling Soil Health Prescriptions with Cover Crops

• Farmer Panel on Soil Management

Track 9: CSA SchoolPresenters: Brion Smoker, Sweet Valley Suris;Dave Ruggiero, Village Acres Farm; MikeAlhert, Red Earth Farm; Terra Brownback, Spi-ral Path Farm; Tom Murtha & Tricia Borneman,Blooming Glen Farm; John & Aimee Good,Quiet Creek Farm; Zach Lester, Tree & LeafFarm; Brooks Miller & Anna Santini, NorthMountain Pastures

• Business Planning: Setting Goals andDeveloping Balance & Income and ProfitSheets

• Managing Product Flow for Year-Roundor Season-Long Supply

Pre-Conference Track Overview

Funds for this program provided by

by Agri-Services LLC

Funds for this program provided by

Region 3

Funds for this program provided by

Region 3

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Talking to Legislators aboutDrilling in the MarcellusRegionErika StaafRoom 112

Providing Clean Water:Practices, Programs & PolicyIdeas for ProducersKelly O’Neill; Kim Snell-Zarcone; Jon WinstenRoom 202

SNAP at Farmers Markets:Logistics, Partners & Evaluating SuccessStacy Miller; MeganMcBride; Sandy Hopple;Cathy BuhrigRoom 203

Mushroom Cultivation forthe Home & for Small LocalMarketsHarvey UsseryRoom 204

GFN Series: Harvesting,Preparing & Preserving WildEdibles & MedicinalsGrace Lefever; Faye BurtchRoom 205

Soil Ecology & Self-Renewing FertilityDave JackeRoom 206

Successful Tomato GrowingTechniques: High TunnelHeirlooms from Seed to HarvestTom Murtha & Tricia BornemanRoom 207

Meat Curing 201: Prosciutto,Salami, Facilities & MoreBrooks MillerRoom 208

Raw or Pasteurized? Equipment, Regulations &Production TechniquesRoman Stoltzfoos; RichardRutherford; Steven KurtzRoom 211

Pastured Poultry 101Jim McLaughlinExecutive Conference Suite

GFN Series: Radical HomemakersShannon HayesPresidents Hall 1

Plant Doctor: DiagnosingNutrition Problems in VegetablesMike Orzolek & Elsa SánchezPresidents Hall 1

The Regulation of NaturalGas Development in Penn-sylvaniaRoss PiferPresidents Hall 2

GFN Series: Cancer, Nutrition & HealingJerry BrunettiPresidents Hall 3

GFN Series: Taking Back theMeans of Beekeeping — AnIntroduction to Natural Bee-keepingSam ComfortPresidents Hall 4

Organic Seed v. Monsanto:The Lawsuit ChallengingPatents on SeedDaniel Ravicher; Ira WallaceSenate Suite

Integrating Renewable Energy into Your Sustain-able Farm PlanErik Gundacker; MattSteimanRoom 104

Holistic Management Decision-Making for Novice& Experienced FarmersByron SheltonRoom 105

Building the Team You Need & Want: Filling LaborNeeds on the FarmDaniel SalatinRoom 106

PCO Series: The Basics ofOrganic Certification: Why& How to Get CertifiedMabell RivasRoom 107

Solar Greenhouse Design:Lessons at Three SistersBioshelterDarrell FreyRoom 108

Health Management Tech-niques to Reduce Build-Upof Antibiotic ResistanceJeff Mattocks; Susan BealRoom 109

FRI 1:15PM

Playing the BiocontrolTrump Cards—Chemical-free Organic GrowingLloyd TravenPresidents Hall 2

How to Start a Staple FoodFacility: Challenges, Costs &Lessons LearnedMichelle Ajamian & Brandon JaegerSenate Suite

New! Discussion Sessions For topics and room

assignments, see page 10.

GFN Series: Baking withHeritage GrainsMary-Howell MartensRoom 104

Integrated, Organic HighTunnel Bramble & VegetableProductionErik GundackerRoom 105

Managing Biological Capitalthrough Holistic Manage-ment Grazing PlanningByron SheltonRoom 106

PCO Series: Increasing CropSpecies & Genetic Diversityfor Higher Yield, FewerPests & Less DiseaseJohn Tooker & Beth GuginoRoom 107

Going Underground:Mycotechnology to Regener-ate the Land, ImproveEcosystem Health &Increase ProductivityMelissa MilesRoom 108

Emerging Issues in FoodSafety Regulation: The FoodSafety Modernization Act inPracticeSteve Warshawer; GeorgeDeVault; Brian SnyderRoom 109

Q & ABrian HalweilRoom 112

FRI 4:10PM

FRI 2:45PM

How to Build a Rain-Pow-ered, Year-Round IrrigationSystemHomer WaldenRoom 202

Farming on Leased Land:Pros, Cons & Real Life LessonsChris Henwood; TJ Costa;Laura SienaRoom 203

Choosing the Right Poultryto Meet Your Goals & FitYour FarmJeannette BerangerRoom 204

Value-Added Dairy Series:Affinage: The Practical Artof Aging CheesePeter DixonRoom 205

5 Principles of Web Marketing for FarmersSimon HuntleyRoom 206

Managing Fertility: Ways toBuild & Maintain Soil HealthThomas BjörkmanRoom 207

10 Things to Think aboutWhen Getting Started inMarket FarmingChris BlanchardRoom 208

Value-Added Dairy Series:Farmstead Ice CreamTom & Donna PerryRoom 211

Community Organizing:Training & Tools for WinningCampaignsCharlie KratovilRoom 218

On- and Off- Farm ButcheryJohn Hopkins; Brooks Miller;Daniel SalatinExecutive Conference Suite

Trash to Treasure: Bioconversion of Organic“Wastes” to ResourceHarvey UsserySenate Suite

Friday WORKSHOPS AT A GLANCE

Using Food Alliance Criteriato Reach SustainabilityGoals on Your FarmJenn Halpin; Roberta AndersonRoom 104

Act 106 Regulations & Farmers MarketsBrian Moyer; Lydia JohnsonRoom 105

The Basics of RaisingHealthy ChicksDon BrubakerRoom 106

PCO Series: Standards &Policy Update: Hot Topics onthe Organic FrontKyla Smith; Patty LoveraRoom 107

The Art of Grafting FruitTreesMichael PhillipsRoom 108

Top 10 Pest Problems inBerry CropsKathy DemchakRoom 109

Art that Works: ReclaimingLeftover LandscapesStacy LevyRoom 112

Oilseeds for Fuel & FoodDouglas SchauflerRoom 204

Value-Added Dairy Series:Bottling MilkClare SeibertRoom 205

Forest Succession & Its Les-sons for Ecological DesignDave JackeRoom 206

Four Season GrowingZach LesterRoom 207

A Look at Polyface’s Systemfor Multi-Species Grazing &PasturingDaniel SalatinRoom 208

Lowering the Risks of FarmingAndy PressmanRoom 211

FRI 8:30AM

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Using Food Alliance Criteria toReach Sustainability Goals on YourFarmRoberta Anderson, Food Alliance; Jenn Halpin,

Dickinson College FarmRoom 104

Are you committed to great stewardship?Would you like help assessing how you’redoing now and what improvements youcould make to achieve a more sustainableoperation in the future? Join Jenn Halpin andRoberta Anderson to learn how FoodAlliance’s standards and criteria for environ-mentally and socially responsible farm man-agement can help you build farm plans,conserve natural resources and save money.Food Alliance certification is an optionalnext step for those seeking third party verifi-cation for marketing purposes.

Roberta Anderson provides guidance to farmers andfood processors who are considering Food Alliance certifi-cation to support their marketing claims about environ-mental stewardship, humane treatment of animals andsafe and fair working conditions. She works to build oppor-tunities and relationships between certified farmers andthe many food businesses that seek values-added prod-ucts. Roberta grew up on a centennial farm in Illinois. Shehas been studying, volunteering or working in the field ofsustainable agriculture and food ever since.

Jenn Halpin manages the production and educationalfarm for Dickinson College, in Boiling Springs, Pennyslva-nia. The main focus of the 50-acre farm program is to raiseproduce for the College dining hall. Dickinson studentswork with Jenn to manage all aspects of the farm opera-tion; from planting and harvesting crops to livestock man-agement and renewable energy projects. College facultyand students utilize the farm for academic opportunitiessuch as labs, classes, internships and independent researchprojects.

Act 106 Regulations & Farmers MarketsLydia Johnson, PA Dept of Agriculture; Brian

Moyer, Penn State ExtensionRoom 105Discuss the status of Act 106 regulations in PAand learn what effects might be seen for farm-ers markets as a result.

Lydia Johnson has served as the Director of the Bureauof Food Safety and Laboratory Services for the Pennsylva-nia Department of Agriculture since 2011. Lydia served pre-viously as the Assistant Director of the bureau for threeand a half years.

Brian Moyer is a program assistant with Penn StateExtension in Lehigh County. He is also a board member ofPennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture(PASA) and a past board member of American PasturedPoultry Producers Association (APPPA) as well as formerDirector for Rural Vermont, a farm advocacy organization.Brian was the founder and manager of the Skippack Farm-ers Market located in Montgomery County. Brian and hiswife Holley raise grassfed livestock on their 27-acre farm inBerks County.

FRI 8:30AM The Basics of Raising Healthy ChicksDon Brubaker, The Fertrell CompanyRoom 106

If you are new at raising chicks, this sessionis for you. The chicks have just arrived andyou’re thinking, “What did I need to do yes-terday and in the coming days to raise ahealthy flock of birds?” Don will answer allthose questions and will also cover chickbehavior and diagnosing common problems.You’ll also learn the nutritional basics ofwhat is in that bag of feed and why it is need-ed. Leave the session ready to receive andraise your chicks with confidence.

Don Brubaker has been involved in agriculture hisentire life, starting from a family farm in Lancaster Countyraising broilers and swine for conventional agribusiness, toeventually transitioning the family farm to natural, free-range poultry and hormone-free beef with an on-farmmarket stand. He now works for the Fertrell Company as apoultry and livestock consultant, where he helps otherfarmers achieve their organic and sustainable farminggoals.

PCO Series: Standards & PolicyUpdate: Hot Topics on the OrganicFrontPatty Lovera, Food and Water Watch; Kyla

Smith, PA Certified OrganicRoom 107

The organic standards are continually evolv-ing. Join Kyla Smith and Patty Lovera to dis-cuss impending changes to the regulations,such as pesticide residue testing and animalwelfare standards. Learn how certificationagencies enforce regulation changes andwork with producers to implement them.Explore current legislative issues impactingthe organic industry, including food safetyand genetically modified organisms(GMOs).

Patty Lovera is the Assistant Director of Food & WaterWatch, where she coordinates the food policy team. Food& Water Watch is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organi-zation that works to ensure the food, water and fish weconsume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced.Before joining Food & Water Watch, Patty was the DeputyDirector of the energy and environment program at PublicCitizen and a researcher at the Center for Health, Environ-ment and Justice.

Kyla Smith is the Policy Director at Pennsylvania Cer-tified Organic (PCO), where she is tasked with trackingNational Organic Program directives, policy changes andthe history of decisions. She has worked with PCO for thepast 8 years in the roles of Organic Inspector and Certifi-cation Specialist.

The Art of Grafting Fruit TreesMichael Phillips, Lost Nation OrchardRoom 108

Grafting involves a sharp knife and the mind-set of a surgeon—but don’t let that intimi-date you! This session will cover manymethods of grafting suitable for a variety ofsituations. Some of these methods are bud-

ding, bench grafting, whip-and-tongue, top-working, bridge grafting and inarching.Insights into all these grafting techniques,including what time of year each is best suit-ed for, will launch many fruit adventurersahead.

Michael Phillips is known across the country for help-ing people grow healthy fruit. The “community orchardmovement” that he helped found at www.GrowOrgani-cApples.com provides a full immersion into the holisticapproach to orcharding. His Lost Nation Orchard is part ofa medicinal herb farm in northern New Hampshire.Michael’s book, The Apple Grower is available in a fullyrevised 2005 edition, along with an exciting companionvolume, The Holistic Orchard, that speaks for all fruits.

Top 10 Pest Problems in Berry CropsKathy Demchak, Penn State UniversityRoom 109

Several insects and diseases are widespreadand common in berry plantings in nearlyevery year, while others are new to the U.S.and spreading quickly. This workshop willhelp producers learn to recognize theseproblems and minimize their impacts assafely as possible. Diseases and insects onstrawberries, blueberries, raspberries andblackberries will be covered.

Kathy Demchak is a Senior Extension Associate in theDepartment of Horticulture at Penn State, where she hasworked for 28 years in extension and research. She hasconducted research on various production systems andproblems, with a recent focus on management of tarnishedplant bug and black root rot in strawberries and high tun-nel production of raspberries and blackberries.

Art that Works: Reclaiming LeftoverLandscapesStacy Levy, art/land/waterRoom 112Stacy Levy will talk about how she uses art tohelp solve site issues such as storm waterrunoff and mine pollution. She will discusswater and plant-based projects that deal withthe neglected landscapes and show how herwork depicts the natural processes present instreets, parks and puddles from Philadelphia toSeattle.

Stacy Levy uses the language of landscape and art totell the ecological story of site. Her work reveals the some-times hidden natural world in the urban environments. Sheworks closely with building architects, engineers, horticul-turalists and soil scientists to create sculptures thatrespond to the site. Her work blends an understanding ofsustainable design and ecological concepts and harnessesthe ephemeral changes of weather and light and vegeta-tion with the lasting presence of sculpture.

Oilseeds for Fuel & FoodDouglas Schaufler, Penn State UniversityRoom 204This workshop explains oil and meal produc-tion from oilseeds. Topics include cleaning ofseed, oilseed press setup, pressing of oil withdifferent models of oilseed presses and press

Workshops FRIDAY

operating characteristics. Cleaning of the oilwill be explained with different methods, fol-lowed by steps needed for using the oil for fuelor as a food product. Discussion of straightvegetable oil (SVO) as fuel will be included.

Doug Schaufler has been operating an oilseed press atPenn State’s Farm Operations unit providing fuel for twotractors modified to use straight vegetable oil. Approxi-mately 2,000 gallons of oil per year are pressed from local-ly grown canola for fuel. With an interest in alternativefuels including SVO and biodiesel Doug is currently coop-erating with the University of Vermont, pulling togetherinformation useful to those interested in using oilseeds forfood or fuel.

Value-Added Dairy Series: MilkClare Seibert, Clear Spring CreameryRoom 205This workshop will cover bottling milk from asmall on-farm processor’s perspective. Topicscovered will include equipment, sanitation,testing requirements, marketing and sales. Thisworkshop will be geared toward those consid-ering on-farm bottling of milk using a vat pas-teurization system. Clare will share initial cost,cost of processing and marketing at farmer’smarkets.

Clare Seibert and her husband Mark own and operateClear Spring Creamery, a 100-acre dairy farm in WesternMaryland. The farm is a grass based operation managedwith intensive grazing principles. All of the milk producedon the farm from the 40-cow herd is processed on the farmin an on-site Grade A creamery and sold at four farmersmarkets in the Washington DC area. Products include milk,cream, yogurts and fresh and soft ripened cheeses.

Forest Succession & Its Lessons forEcological DesignDave Jacke, Dynamics Ecological DesignRoom 206

In the Northeast, when bare soil is left aloneit eventually turns into forest. Most garden-ers fight this process of ecosystem changeover time—succession—by weeding, tilling,herbiciding, etc. Why not stop motoringagainst this successional “wind” all the time,and use this wind to grow food, like a sail-boat on the breeze? This session will explorehow forest succession works and how itmight be used to learn new approaches tofood production.

Dave Jacke has studied ecology and design since the1970s, and has run his own design firm — Dynamics Eco-logical Design — since 1984. He has designed, built andplanted landscapes, homes, farms and communitiesthroughout the US, as well as overseas, and homesteadedin New Hampshire for a number of years.

Four Season GrowingZach Lester, Tree & Leaf FarmRoom 207

Join Zach Lester as he shares how he uses allfour seasons for vegetable growing. He willreview his farm’s methods of season exten-

sion, using row covers and low, mid and hightunnels. He will also discuss storage cropsgrown in summer and their importance.Zach will review the five fold dynamics ofnature — root, leaf, flower, fruit/seed — andits importance on his farm.

Zach Lester is a four season farmers market grower. Hehas 12 years of experience producing seasonal vegetablesyear round. Not certified organic, Zach has always prac-ticed sustainable organic, biological methods of farmingfocusing on soil and plant synergy. Zach owns a 48-acrefarm in Unionville, Virginia, on which he cultivates 12 acres.Tree and Leaf sells at farmers market in Northern Virginia,Washington DC and sells wholesale to a large CSA and toDC restaurants.

A Look at Polyface’s System forMulti-Species Grazing & PasturingDaniel Salatin, Polyface IncRoom 208

Polyface Farm has found success in doingthings a little differently — hear how thefarm works to maximize pastureland for min-imal hay feeding and increased fertility.Daniel Salatin will cover annual grass-growthcycles, herd needs and saving for winter. Seehow chickens and other animals fit into thisplan.

Daniel Salatin, the son of Joel Salatin, has grown up inthe family business at Polyface farm in Swoope, Virginia.Daniel has gone from carrying freshly processed chickenswhile in diapers, to over-seeing the day-to-day workings ofPolyface. At seven years old he started a pastured rabbitenterprise which continues today. Starting the rabbit busi-ness gave him first hand experience with marketing, pro-cessing, research and development and the costs of a newbusiness. Today Daniel is fully employed by the farm andspends his days orchestrating animal movement, schedul-ing daily tasks and training apprentices.

Lowering the Risks of FarmingAndy Pressman, National Center for

Appropriate TechnologyRoom 211

This workshop will provide both beginningand experienced small-scale farmers withinformation on risk management strategiesparticular to financial planning, marketdiversification and crop insurance as ameans of lowering risks and increasing farmrevenue. It will provide producers with theskills necessary to overcome financial andmarketing barriers as well as various insur-ance options that are available at their scale,all of which can play a vital role in managingfarm risks. Workshop participants willreceive and learn how to use a software toolcalled AGR-Lite Wizard. This tool givesfarmers a user-friendly way to assess theAGR-Lite insurance product for their diversehigh-value production systems and alsohelps them analyze whole-farm revenuechanges important for their financial andmarket planning.

Andy Pressman has been with NCAT since 2007 as aSustainable Agriculture Specialist, working in the fields oforganic crop production, season extension, local foods,urban agriculture and farm energy. Andy has a backgroundin small-scale intensive production systems, including Per-maculture design, Grow-Biointensive and SPIN-Farming.He has extensive experience in market farming and hasworked on and managed diversified farms in Ohio, Ver-mont, Colorado, Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Plant Doctor: Diagnosing NutritionProblems in VegetablesMike Orzolek & Elsa Sánchez, Penn State

UniversityPresidents Hall 1

Nutrient management is one of the criticalingredients for successful vegetable cropproduction. Both nutrient availability andnutrient balance play important roles inplant nutrition. When plant nutrition getsout of balance, plant performance suffers.This workshop will cover common nutritionproblems in vegetable crops, how to diag-nose them, how to avoid them and how tomanage them.

Elsa Sánchez is an Associate Professor of Horticultureat Penn State University. Her responsibilities are 60%extension and 40% teaching. Current extension projectsfocus on sustainable and organic production of vegetables.

Mike Orzolek is a Professor of Vegetable Crops in theDepartment of Horticulture at Penn State University. Hehas done extensive research on stand establishment, plas-tic mulches, high tunnels, weed management and tillagesystems. Mike is also the current director of the Penn StateCenter for Plasticulture and the High Tunnel Research andEducation Facility at Rock Springs, Pennsylvania.

The Regulation of Natural GasDevelopment in PennsylvaniaRoss Pifer, The Agricultural Law Resource &

Reference Center at Penn StatePresidents Hall 2

This session will provide an overview of theframework for regulation of natural gasdevelopment in Pennsylvania to educate par-ticipants about the current state of law onthis controversial topic. The primary Penn-sylvania statutes and regulations, municipalregulation and the role of federal agenciesand interstate River Basin Commissions willbe discussed. The session will highlightrecent legal developments related to naturalgas development as well.

Professor Ross Pifer is Director of the Agricultural LawResource and Reference Center as well as the Rural Eco-nomic Development Clinic at Penn State Law. In thesecapacities, he has provided numerous presentations on avariety of agricultural law and natural gas topics through-out Pennsylvania and the United States. He has profes-sional degrees from Penn State University, The DickinsonSchool of Law and the University of Arkansas School ofLaw.

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Workshops FRIDAY

GFN Series: Cancer, Nutrition &HealingJerry Brunetti, Agri-Dynamics IncPresidents Hall 3

About a decade ago Jerry Brunetti was toldhe would die within six months to two yearsif he did not seek chemotherapy treatmentfor lymphoma. Rather than chemotherapy,Jerry utilized non-toxic modalities to boostimmunity and detoxify. Through this journeyhe has become incredibly knowledgeable onthe subject of cancer as well as the immunesystem and disease in general. He will sharehis latest findings and protocols in this infor-mation-packed presentation.

Jerry Brunetti is managing consultant of Agri-Dynam-ics, a 33-year-old firm specializing in formulating and pro-ducing nutritional and holistic health products for farmlivestock, equine, pets and humans, as well as an ecologi-cal line of pest control products for horticulture, agricul-ture, landscaping and turf. He consults world-wide on soils,forages and holistic modalities for livestock and humansand contends there are curiously similar dynamics at workthrough nature, across breeds and even species.

GFN Series: Taking Back the Meansof Beekeeping — An Introduction toNatural BeekeepingSam Comfort, Anarchy ApiariesPresidents Hall 4

Today’s beekeeping is an esoteric sciencebogged with gadgets, medications, supple-mental feeds and supposition of a divinerole. Today the Honey Bee Renaissance isrecreating simple and accessible methods tohost honey bees on the farm and urbanhomestead for the benefits of pollination,food, medicine and the amazing connectionto the living world. This workshop will coverwhat happens in the year of the bee, settingup homemade top bar hive designs and howto catch swarms. You can do it!

Sam Comfort won six beehives in a poker game in2002. He spent several years working in migratory pollina-tion, queen bee rearing and honey production until decid-ing on a path of less-invasive, treatment-free, DIYmethods. Anarchy Apiaries keeps hives, provides bees andteaches classes up and down the east coast. The mission isto bring the Means of Production back to the beekeeperand facilitate the sustainable bee network, because beescreate Awareness.

Organic Seed v. Monsanto: The Lawsuit Challenging Patents on SeedDaniel Ravicher, Public Patent Foundation; Ira

Wallace, Southern Exposure Seed ExchangeSenate Suite

This session will discuss the lawsuit filed by83 family farmers, seed businesses andorganic agricultural organizations againstMonsanto Company to challenge the chemi-cal giant’s patents on genetically modifiedseed. The organic plaintiffs were forced to

sue preemptively to protect themselves frombeing accused of patent infringement shouldthey ever become contaminated by Monsan-to’s genetically modified seed, somethingMonsanto has done to others in the past.The suit is currently pending in federal courtin New York.

Daniel Ravicher is Executive Director of the PublicPatent Foundation (PUBPAT) and a Lecturer in Law at Ben-jamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Labeled a modern day‘Robin Hood’ by Science magazine, and awarded an Echo-ing Green Fellowship for social entrepreneurship, ProfessorRavicher is a registered patent attorney who writes andspeaks frequently on patent law and policy, including twicetestifying as an invited witness before Congress on thetopic of patent reform. PUBPAT represents the plaintiffs inOrganic Seed v. Monsanto.

Ira Wallace is on the board of Organic Seed Allianceand is a worker/owner of the cooperatively managedSouthern Exposure Seed Exchange where she coordinatesvariety selection and seed grower contracts. SouthernExposure offers over 700 varieties of open-pollinated heir-loom and organic seeds selected for flavor and regionaladaptability. In addition, Ira is a member of Acorn Com-munity which farms over 60 acres of certified organic landin Central Virginia, growing seeds, alliums and hay, andconducting variety trials for Southern Exposure.

Integrating Renewable Energy intoYour Sustainable Farm PlanErik Gundacker, Scenic Valley Farms; Matt

Steiman, Dickinson College FarmRoom 104

Erik Gundacker will discuss the design,development and testing of a solar thermalhigh tunnel greenhouse at Scenic ValleyFarms in Wisconsin. The technology hasallowed the farm to extend the season forcold adverse produce such as tomatoes andbell peppers while reducing fossil fuel con-sumption. The session will also detail thecompany’s efforts to attract investor capitalinto rural areas by merging clean energy withhigh tunnel agriculture. Matt Steiman willadd his experience at transitioning his farmtowards renewable energy sources.

Erik Gundacker is owner of Scenic Valley Farms inReadstown, WI and Rosemount, MN. They currently man-age six high tunnel greenhouses that produce organicallycertified tomatoes, peppers, melons, strawberries, raspber-ries, blackberries and a variety of leafy green produce. Hespearheaded the company’s efforts to design and developspecialized high tunnels, solar thermal heating and coolingsystems, PC-based climate control systems, intercroppingmethods, practices that conserve soil and water resourcesand online marketing of produce.

Matt Steiman is a career vegetable farmer, currentlyworking as the assistant manager of the Dickinson CollegeFarm in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Since 2003Matt has been working to shift his farm’s energy consump-tion towards renewable energy sources. His hands-onexperiences include farmer-installed solar electric, solarthermal, biodiesel and small scale anaerobic digestion sys-tems. Matt enjoys teaching the nuts and bolts of renewableenergy systems to farmers and students.

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Holistic Management Decision-Making for Novice & ExperiencedFarmersByron Shelton, Landmark DiversifiedRoom 105

Using the Holistic Management Decision-Making process you will clarify managingissues such as who the decision makers are,what resources are available and whatmoney is available. You will then developyour holistic goal or, by determining thequality of life you desire, what in general youwill have to do to produce that quality of lifeand what future landscape you will have tocreate to sustain that quality of life. You willthen test possible decisions and actions toassess whether they will move you towardyour holistic goal.

Byron Shelton owns Landmark Diversified based inBuena Vista, Colorado consisting of Landmark Harvestwhich produces and markets grass-finished, land-improv-ing, beyond-organic beef; Landmark Management whichleases and manages farms and ranches for healthy landand profits; and Landmark Decisions which provides facili-tation and training in whole farm planning using HolisticManagement™ Decision-making, Financial Planning,Ecosystem Processes Management, Grazing Planning, Bio-logical Monitoring, Land Planning, and Policy Analysis andDevelopment in family, business, agricultural and naturalresource settings.

Building the Team You Need & Want:Filling Labor Needs on the FarmDaniel Salatin, Polyface IncRoom 106

Finding and keeping energetic team playerson the farm can be a challenge, from familyto interns to employees. Do you have theskills needed to be a good team captain?Learn what has helped Polyface Inc meettheir needs for labor.

For Daniel Salatin’s bio, see pg 13.

PCO Series: The Basics of OrganicCertification: Why & How to GetCertifiedMabell Rivas, PA Certified OrganicRoom 107

Getting organically certified can be a power-ful business strategy, but you have to consid-er many factors to judge whether an organicstrategy would achieve your personal and/orbusiness goals. Then, if you decide to go forit, you have to comply with US regulationsand possibly even additional regulationssuch as the Canadian, European or Japaneseregulations, depending on which marketsyou target. The presenter will walk youthrough your decision process and provide amap for your journey from curiosity to certi-fication. This presentation will prepare youto make the wisest possible decision about

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certification and then transition smoothlyinto doing business as a certified organicproducer, processor or broker.

Mabell Rivas has been involved in organic certificationsince 1998, including establishing and managing a LatinAmerican office of a farmer-owned US organic certifier. In2008 Mabell started working in the field of internationallogistics exporting food to South America and as an organ-ic Certification Specialist making certification decisions onUS organic farms, processing facilities and brokers. Mabellis currently Certification Director of Pennsylvania CertifiedOrganic.

Solar Greenhouse Design: Lessonsat Three Sisters BioshelterDarrell Frey, Three Sisters BioshelterRoom 108

Darrell Frey, owner and manager of ThreeSisters Farm will examine the bioshelter atMercer County Pennsylvania’s Three SistersFarm and will present lessons learned in howto design and build a productive passive andactive solar greenhouse. This includes a lookat solar heating, ventilation, back up systemsand plans for renovating the building for fur-ther energy efficiency.

Darrell Frey is the latest in a long line of gardeners andfarmers, from both sides of his family tree. He is a sustain-able design consultant, permaculture teacher and owner ofThree Sisters Farm and Bioshelter. The five-acre plot ofseason extenders, gardens, uncultivated areas and pond isan ongoing research project in right livelihood and perma-culture design.

Health Management Techniques toReduce Build-Up of AntibioticResistanceJeff Mattocks, Fertrell Company; Susan Beal,

PASARoom 109

Each year there are over 29 million pounds ofantibiotics provided to livestock in sub-ther-apeutic doses with the goal of preventing ill-ness and increasing the rate of production —this is in addition to therapeutic doses totreat illness. These vast quantities of antibi-otics generate multiple issues: enhancingantibiotic resistant strains of bacteria thatpopulate both human and animal popula-tions, reactions in humans and other specieswho eat the meat, eggs and milk from theseanimals and questions about the humaneissues of maintaining animals in conditionsthat require the use of antibiotics for man-agement. Jeff Mattocks and Susan Beal willdiscuss the use of both therapeutic and non-therapeutic antibiotics. They will offer someviable options for prevention and treatmentthat do not involve antibiotic use.

Jeff Mattocks of The Fertrell Company has been work-ing with farm livestock and poultry since 1996. He has beenactively involved with the feeding and management oforganic and natural farm animals. He has gleaned methodsof natural health care prevention and management tech-

niques from successful producers over the years.Susan Beal is a holistic veterinarian and PASA’s Agri-

cultural Science Advisor with many years of experience inthe field of animal health.

Talking to Legislators about Drillingin the Marcellus RegionErika Staaf, PennEnvironmentRoom 112

As Marcellus Shale gas drilling continues tohit communities across Pennsylvania, Pen-nEnvironment is working to ensure that citi-zens and landowners, especially thoseimpacted by shale gas development, arearmed with information and skills necessaryto protect themselves. At this session youwill learn more about the Marcellus Shaleissue as well as how to effectively engagewith decision-makers and generate mediacoverage on this issue. You will also get theopportunity to meet more people working onthese issues in other communities.

Erika Staaf is the Clean Water Advocate for PennEnvi-ronment and works to promote policies that protect andpreserve Pennsylvania’s waterways. Erika joined PennEnvi-ronment in 2009 and previously worked as an Environ-mental Advocate for Environment New Hampshire whereshe oversaw the group’s energy, clean air, clean water andenvironmental enforcement programs.

Providing Clean Water: Practices,Programs & Policy Ideas for ProducersKelly O’Neill, Chesapeake Bay Foundation;

Kim Snell-Zarcone, PennFuture; Jon Winsten,Winrock International

Room 202

Agriculture is crucially important to localstreams and the Chesapeake Bay. New regu-lations require all farms, regardless of size,to take steps to protect waters with variousprograms offering financial support. Thissession will discuss new regulatory require-ments facing farms, conservation practicesthat can help farmers be more profitablewhile providing cleaner water, opportunitiesto sell water quality credits and innovativeand alternative policy ideas for improvedwater quality related to agriculture.

Kelly O’Neill has worked at the Chesapeake Bay Foun-dation to strengthen Pennsylvania’s agricultural productionand improve water quality since 2001. Originally a nativeof northeastern Pennsylvania where her family has farmedfor over 150 years, she advocates for policies to protectwater quality and help farmers to maintain soil and nutri-ents on the land.

Kim Snell-Zarcone has been with PennFuture for tenyears, focusing on agricultural and water quality issues.Kim works to ensure that farming operations do not nega-tively impact water resources, both locally and regionally.She also works to ensure that PA DEP and EPA are enforc-ing water quality requirements at farming operations. Kimalso assists communities whose water quality is threatenedby industrial scale agricultural operations.

Dr. Jon Winsten is an Agricultural and Environmental

Economist focusing on issues of agriculture and the envi-ronment. His work includes market and policy mechanismsfor the cost-effective control of agricultural nonpointsource pollution, the adoption of appropriate technologyfor improving environmental performance and farm prof-itability, as well as agri-environmental policy analysis anddevelopment. As a Program Officer for Winrock Interna-tional, Dr. Winsten leads the Performance-based Environ-mental Policies for Agriculture Initiative and several otherinitiatives.

SNAP at Farmers Markets: Logistics,Partners & Evaluating SuccessStacy Miller, Farmers Market Coalition; Megan

McBride, Easton Farmers Market; SandyHopple, PA Dept of Agriculture; CathyBuhrig, PA Dept of Public Welfare

Room 203

Making a farmers market SNAP-accessiblerequires planning, logistics, partnership, out-reach and a willingness to evaluate success.Whether you’re a market manager or a com-munity organization looking to partner, learnmore about elements of integratingSNAP/EBT into farmers markets, includingprogram design, budgeting, implementation,policies, record keeping and promotion, aswell as incentives to get new customerscoming to the market for the first time. Inthis hands-on, interactive training, partici-pants will learn from a diverse team of prac-titioners working at the state and locallevels, and get tools and templates for localcustomization.

Stacy Miller is the Executive Director of the FarmersMarket Coalition, a 501(c)(3) membership organizationdevoted to strengthening farmers markets for the mutualbenefit of farmers, consumers and communities. Stacy co-authored Real Food, Real Choice: Connecting SNAP Recip-ients with Farmers Markets, a report that continues toinform federal decision-making around the expansion ofnutrition programs in farmers markets.

Megan McBride is manager of the Easton FarmersMarket and assistant manager for the Easton’s downtownrevitalization program. The Easton Farmers Market hasserved as a successful economic development driver for thedowntown and the establishment of an EBT program at themarket has provided much needed access to fresh foods ina city deemed a food desert.

Sandy Hopple has been working for the PA Depart-ment of Agriculture for nine years and has been adminis-tering the Farmers Market Nutrition Program for the pasteight years. She has her MBA from Delaware Valley Col-lege in Food and Agribusiness.

Cathy Buhrig is the division director of Pennsylvania’sDepartment of Public Welfare Bureau of Policy.

Mushroom Cultivation for the Home& for Small Local MarketsHarvey Ussery, TheModernHomestead.usRoom 204

This presentation is for anyone interested inusing fungi for bioremediation projects,decomposition of woody wastes on the farmor homestead or edible and medicinal mush-rooms for the table or niche markets. Harvey

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Ussery has grown mushrooms for home usefor years and will describe cultivation tech-niques for edible species such as shiitake,stropharia and oyster mushrooms and medi-cinals such as reishi and turkey tail.

Harvey Ussery and his wife Ellen, activists in the localfoods movement in northern Virginia, produce all their owndressed poultry, eggs, fruits and vegetables year-round.Harvey maintains an extensive website, TheModernHome-stead.US, and has for six years contributed frequently toMother Earth News, Backyard Poultry and Countryside &Small Stock Journal. His book, The Small-Scale PoultryFlock, sets a new standard for holistic poultry husbandry.

GFN Series: Harvesting, Preparing & Preserving Wild Edibles & MedicinalsGrace Lefever, Sonnewald Natural Foods Store;

Faye Burtch, Burtch Body Work & MovementRoom 205

Wild plants for food and medicine can beprepared and preserved in a variety of ways— from immediate use as teas, decoctions orfood to preserving them for future use astinctures, oils, salves and supplements. Inthis workshop you’ll learn the properties ofdifferent herbs and preparations, as well assee the first steps in different methods ofpreparation. Get inspired to use the availablenative plants that surround you for a morehealthful life.

Grace Lefever, a cherished elder, was ahead of her timeas a homesteader and healthy food advocate. She startedSonnewald Natural Food Store on her farm in the corner ofher husband’s shop. The store now carries a comprehensivevariety of items including fresh organic produce, much ofwhich is grown on premise.

Faye Burtch uses wild plants for food and medicine asan integral part of her way of life. Her 1/2-acre plot in thecenter of town is landscaped with the plants she uses. Fayealso runs her business, Burtch Bodywork and Movement,and is preparing her gardens for the upcoming Wild Plantsfor Food and Medicine: A Survival School.

Soil Ecology & Self-Renewing FertilityDave Jacke, Dynamics Ecological DesignRoom 206

How does the soil work as a whole ecosys-tem? How do healthy ecosystems createself-renewing fertility? These questions arebecoming more important than ever as risingoil prices drive up conventional fertilitycosts. This session will suggest ways to buildlong term nutrient cycling and conservationsystems as alternatives to importing nutri-ents from far away. Understanding soil ecol-ogy provides practical solution-directions forall true soil advocates and members of thesoil food web.

For Dave Jacke’s bio, see pg 13.

Successful Tomato Growing Techniques: High Tunnel Heirloomsfrom Seed to HarvestTom Murtha & Tricia Borneman, Blooming

Glen FarmRoom 207

Make the most of your protected growingspace and raise this profitable crop. Pruning,trellising, irrigation, nutrient and diseasemanagement will be covered, with a focus ongrafting. Grafting can result in increasedvigor, fruit yield and resistance to soil-bornediseases. “Tongue approach grafting” will bediscussed, a low-tech method used for fourseasons at Blooming Glen Farm.

Tom Murtha and Tricia Borneman of Blooming GlenFarm in Bucks County are entering their seventh season asan organically managed 30-acre diverse vegetable farmmarketing to a 300-member CSA, three farmers marketsand wholesale. They grow a large variety of field crops anddevote the bulk of space in their greenhouses to intensetomato production. Before starting Blooming Glen Farm,Tom and Tricia worked for six years gaining experience onorganic farms across the country.

Meat Curing 201: Prosciutto, Salami,Facilities & MoreBrooks Miller, North Mountain PasturesRoom 208

The basics of meat curing are salt andpatience. Brooks Miller will quickly coverthese and then dive into the details of somemore sophisticated techniques and neces-sary equipment. These will include freshsausage, fermented and dried sausages(salami), drying rooms and conditions andsome brief discussion on regulations for sale.This workshop is for farmers intending toprocess and sell their own pork products.

Brooks Miller owns and operates North Mountain Pas-tures with his wife Anna. They raise and sell poultry, pork,beef and lamb direct through their CSA and to markets inWashington DC. They process pork into nitrate-free curedmeats including prosciutto and salami. They are currentlybuilding a federally-inspected processing facility on theirfarm.

Raw or Pasteurized? Equipment,Regulations & Production Techniques Roman Stoltzfoos, Spring Wood Farm;Richard Rutherford, Agri-Service LLC; Steven

Kurtz, PA Dept. of AgricultureRoom 211

Dairy farms are finding much success indirect-to-consumer sales, including extraincome from raw milk sales. What are theconsiderations for selling raw or pasteurizedequipment? Hear about the differences inregulations, equipment and techniques tohelp you decide what direction is best foryour farm.

Roman Stoltzfoos has been farming sustainably and

organically for 30 years and grazing for 20 years. The farmhas both electric and solar hot water systems for process-ing milk. They sell direct-to-consumer and supply milk to aco-op as well as to other businesses that process the milkinto value-added products.

Richard Rutherford comes from 18 years in the agricul-ture feed industry. At Agri-Service, Richard has been close-ly involved in processing plant projects up and down theeast coast as well as projects further west. Richard is alsoinvolved in the manufacturing of Agri-Service’s Dairy Her-itage line of small-scale processing equipment.

Steven Kurtz is a Milk Program Specialist with the PADept. of Agriculture.

Pastured Poultry 101Jim McLaughlin, Cornerstone Farm VenturesExecutive Conference Suite

This session will be a fast paced, all-inclusivepresentation of raising poultry on pasture.Topics that will be covered include purchas-ing chicks, brooding birds, comparison ofvarious production models, nutrition, man-agement, processing and marketing. Partici-pants will also look at egg production, broilerproduction and turkey production.

Jim McLaughlin is the owner of Cornerstone FarmVentures which provides sales, service and consulting serv-ices to farmers. Jim is a past president of American Pas-tured Poultry Producers Association and has worked tosupport sustainable methods of agriculture. He has raisedpastured poultry since 1995 and has spoken extensively onproduction and management of pastured poultry.

GFN Series: Radical HomemakersShannon Hayes, PASA-bilities Plenary Main

SpeakerPresidents Hall 1

Radical Homemaking is a rapidly growingmovement across the U.S. and Canada,where families and individuals are choosingto live by the governing tenets of ecologicalsustainability, social justice, family and com-munity, often on a single income or less.They make up for a loss of income byreclaiming domestic skills that enable themto thrive without high earnings. The result isthat these households are bringing aboutradical social change while enjoying greaterfreedom, deeper fulfillment, better food, lessstress and more peace. This workshop willcover the basic history and theory behindradical homemaking and then delve brieflyinto the seven universal skills required inorder to flourish in this lifestyle.

For Shannon Hayes’ bio, see pg 1.

Playing the Biocontrol Trump Cards— Chemical-free Organic GrowingLloyd Traven, Peace Tree FarmPresidents Hall 2

The Holy Grail for all growers, farmers,CSAs, farm markets and retailers is to elimi-nate spray suits, masks and toxic chemicals.

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Lloyd Traven will show you how Peace TreeFarm does this and how this provides anopportunity to set yourself apart from thecompetition. Lloyd has worked tirelessly toeliminate all chemicals and has created an‘ecology of competing organisms’ thatresults in sustainable and holistic control ofpests, while controlling labor and inputcosts. Lloyd will take you from cutting to con-sumer and show you how it can be done andhow it works, why you need to be doing this,who can help you and what it can do for youand your customers. Predators, bankerplants and the relationships among the Bio-logical Control Agents are covered, as wellas steps you can take to start your own pro-gram.

Lloyd Traven is the owner and operator of Peace TreeFarm in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Lloyd is known for hiscommitment to using advanced technology combined withsustainable and organic growing techniques to produce thehighest quality plants. Along with his wife Candy, Lloyd hasgrown Peace Tree Farm from ‘the little greenhouses up onthe hill’ to an established and respected operation amonginternational horticulture.

How to Start a Staple Food Facility:Challenges, Costs & LessonsLearnedMichelle Ajamian & Brandon Jaeger, Shagbark

Seed & Mill CoSenate Suite

Michelle Ajamian and Brandon Jaeger willtell the story of building a mission basedbusiness to address food security, ruraldecline and the development of low nutritionstaple crop varieties by global agribusiness.Participants will learn about building aregional network around the staple foodsvalue chain; how to draw in experts who canhelp with design, marketing and overallstrategy; and how to address access issuesfor low income community members.

Michelle Ajamian and Brandon Jaeger are founders ofthe Appalachian Staple Foods Collaborative (ASFC) andShagbark Seed & Mill Co., a start-up prototype regionalmill and bean conditioning plant. ASFC launched in 2008and the mill opened in southeastern Ohio in 2010. Michelleserves as ASFC’s Executive Director, overseeing the devel-opment of a regional and national network to launch andsupport regional scale staple food production processing,marketing and distribution systems. Brandon has a B.S. inRegional Planning and five years of experience in organicfarming.

GFN Series: Baking with HeritageGrainsMary-Howell Martens, Lakeview Organic GrainRoom 104

See a hands on demonstration of baking with

FRI 4:10PM

heritage grains — whether you grow themyourself or have a local source.

Mary-Howell and Klaas Martens farm in Penn Yan,New York. They raise 1400 acres of certified organic fieldcrops, pigs and replacement heifers and have been certifiedsince 1993. They also own and operate Lakeview OrganicGrain, an organic animal feed and seed operation thatserves farmers throughout the Northeast. Mary-HowellMartens currently is on the USDA Advisory Committee for21st Century Agriculture and Agricultural Biotechnology,and Klaas Martens is on the Board of Directors of theOrganic Farming Research Foundation.

Integrated, Organic High TunnelBramble & Vegetable ProductionErik Gundacker, Scenic Valley FarmsRoom 105

Erik Gundacker will relate methods his farmhas developed to efficiently use availablespace in high tunnels. The talk will explorestrategies for trellising tomatoes, blackber-ries, raspberries and melons. The sessionwill also look at intercropping efforts under-taken by Scenic Valley Farms that rotateplants in and out of the high tunnel depend-ing on the time of year and production levels.Other topics discussed include criteria forselecting a high tunnel and ways to preparethe site.

For Erik Gundacker’s bio, see pg 14.

Managing Biological CapitalThrough Holistic Management Grazing PlanningByron Shelton, Landmark DiversifiedRoom 106

This session will focus on understandinghow plants grow and when they should begrazed for maximum production of forage,organic matter and soil life. Timing grazingto plant regrowth rates is the fundamentalconcept that should be underlying any graz-ing plan. Participants will discuss how theholistic grazing plan allows you to managegrazing, animal impact and recovery periodsfor improvement of your biological capital.

For Byron Shelton’s bio, see pg 14.

PCO Series: Increasing Crop Species& Genetic Diversity for Higher Yield,Fewer Pests & Less Disease John Tooker & Beth Gugino, Penn State

UniversityRoom 107Ecological research is increasingly demon-strating the value of genetic diversity forecosystem function. Genotypically diverseplantings can improve and/or stabilize plantproductivity, often via improved disease-and insect-pest control. John Tooker andBeth Gugino will discuss the value for crop

production, particularly for vegetables andfield and forage crops, of planting fields withhigher levels of genotypic diversity. They willalso provide examples of production andpest management benefits to be derivedfrom planting diverse cultivar mixtures.

John Tooker is an Assistant Professor and ExtensionSpecialist in the Department of Entomology.

Beth Gugino’s extension and research program at PennState focuses on the developing integrated managementstrategies for important and emerging diseases of the pri-mary vegetable crops grown Pennsylvania as well as pro-viding statewide leadership in the area of vegetablepathology by working with stakeholders to diagnosis dis-ease problems and identify appropriate managementstrategies.

Going Underground: Mycotechnology to Regenerate theLand, Improve Ecosystem Health &Increase ProductivityMelissa Miles, Permanent Future Institute &

Eastern PA Permaculture GuildRoom 108

This workshop will provide attendees withinformation about the exciting and newlyemerging field of Mycotechnology (broughtto the fore by the work of mycologist & per-maculturist Paul Stamets), which includes:‘Mycofiltration’ as a means of filteringpotentially harmful bacteria from run-offladen manure, ‘Mycoremediation’ as a toolfor removing heavy metals, pesticide residueand other pollutants from the soil, ‘Mycoga-rdening/farming’, ‘Mycoforestry’ and thepotential for ‘Mycopesticides’ to transformthe face of modern agriculture. Successfulprojects utilizing some of these techniqueswill be featured, including one projectrecently implemented on a site located insoutheastern Pennsylvania.

Melissa Miles is an Environmental Biologist/Conser-vation Planner; a Permaculture Designer/Teacher; a sus-tainability and regenerative design consultant, ecologicalrestoration practitioner and urban farmer. Melissa servesas the Organizer of the Eastern Pennsylvania PermacultureGuild and is the Director of The Permanent Futures Insti-tute at Two Miles Micro-Farm, a peri-urban, micro-farmand sustainability training center located in MontgomeryCounty, Pennsylvania.

Emerging Issues in Food Safety Regulation: The Food Safety Modernization Act in PracticeSteve Warshawer, NSAC; George DeVault,

Pheasant Hill Farm; Brian Snyder, PASARoom 109

The long battle over national food safety leg-islation is now over, but the implementationphase has yet to begin. The FDA has prom-ised to deliver proposed regulations for pub-lic comment early this year. Hear from twoactivists who have worked in the trenches

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throughout this process, and a farmer whowill give his perspective from the field, asthey discuss what’s really at stake in deliver-ing wholesome and safe food to a public ashungry for reliable information as they arefor good nutrition.

Since the late 1970s, Steve Warshawer has worked allalong the supply chain from field to fork. He operates Ben-eficial Farm CSA and Mesa Top Farm, a diverse farm andranch with pasture-based raw milk dairy, laying hens andmarket garden. He works for NSAC and NGFN (WallaceCenter) on food safety issues, advocating for cooperativeapproaches to on-farm capacity building.

As a farm journalist, George DeVault has covered foodsafety issues for 35 years. He has been an organic veg-etable farmer in Lehigh County since 1984.

Brian Snyder is the Executive Director of PASA and hasspent much of his time working on food safety issues in thelast few years.

Q & ABrian Halweil, Friday KeynoterRoom 112

Join Brian Halweil to discuss topics coveredin his Keynote Address, learn more about hiswork and ask all those burning questions.

For Brian Halweil’s bio, see pg 1.

How to Build a Rain-Powered, Year-Round Irrigation SystemHomer Walden, Sunnyside FarmRoom 202

Homer Walden has hand watered, used driptape, dug trenches for water pipes, installedfreeze proof taps, set up 80 rain barrelsaround his hoophouse and made multipletrips to the supply house for the parts no onementioned he would need... and now, finally,has an irrigation system that works. Learnabout this rain-supplied irrigation systemand take home some ideas on how to startusing rain water for your farm or garden.

Homer Walden was trained as an experimental modelmaker and a precision sheet metal mechanic. Homer hasalso trained or apprenticed in many areas: woodworking,concrete, plumbing, electrical work, welding...and more.What started with wanting a better tasting chicken hasexpanded to full time employment as a tractorless farmer,determined to make a profit. Sunnyside Farm is proud to beFood Alliance certified.

Farming on Leased Land: Pros, Cons & Real Life LessonsChris Henwood & TJ Costa, Turning Roots

Farm & CSA; Laura Siena, Lundale Farm, IncRoom 203

This panel session will explore the opportu-nities and challenges of farming on leasedland, presenting both farmer and landownerperspectives. Presenters will establish theoverall market opportunity for leasing,describe the selection process for farmersand explain personal experiences of the

decision-making process and their progress.Laura Siena is Board President of Lundale Farm, Inc., a

new not-for-profit corporation with a mission of modelingthe active agricultural use of land under conservation ease-ment and providing educational opportunities for farmersand others. Lundale Farm, Inc. is working to create a multi-enterprise farming community at its home in northernChester County.

Chris Henwood & TJ Costa operate Turning RootsFarm, an organic and biodynamic family farm located ontwo properties in Chester County, Pennsylvania. They growa wide variety of vegetables, raise a flock of laying hensand care for thousands of honeybees. They sell produce atfarmers markets, a farm stand and through their CSA. Theyalso have a growing education program designed to con-nect people more deeply with their food and the naturalworld.

Choosing the Right Poultry to MeetYour Goals & Fit Your FarmJeannette Beranger, American Livestock

Breeds Conservancy Room 204

It’s not just about the chickens! Learn aboutthe exciting possibilities of meat and eggproduction with heritage chickens as well asalternative species of heritage fowl includingducks, geese and turkeys. Learn how her-itage fowl offer an exciting array of productsand are excellent multi-taskers that can gen-erate multiple income streams through theirproducts and services.

Jeannette Beranger is the Research & Program Man-ager for American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC).She came to ALBC with 20+ years experience working withanimals and uses the knowledge to plan and implementALBC breed conservation programs in the office and out inthe field. At home she puts her knowledge in practice withher family by maintaining a heritage breeds farm with afocus on rare breed chickens & horses.

Value-Added Dairy Series: Affinage:The Practical Art of Aging CheesePeter Dixon, Dairy Foods ConsultingRoom 205

This session will introduce participants tothe important part of cheesemaking thatinvolves crafting natural cheese rinds. Thiscomplex subject will encompass selectingthe proper environments, ingredients andtechniques to turn young cheeses in to dis-tinctive looking and tasting cheeses. Themajor groups of cheeses will be looked at sothat participants can create natural-rindedBlue, hard crust, bloomy, washed and smear-ripened cheeses.

Peter Dixon is a dairy foods consultant and cheese-maker from Westminster, Vermont. In the 1980s he madesoft-ripened type cheeses in his family’s Guilford CheeseCompany after training with traditional French cheese-makers. He has Bachelors and Masters degrees in Animaland Food Sciences from the University of Vermont wherehe did his thesis on “The Effect of Seasonal Milk Productionon Farmstead Cheddar Cheese Composition and Quality.”Currently, he acts as a consultant to Consider BardwellFarm and other clients.

5 Principles of Web Marketing forFarmersSimon Huntley, Small Farm CentralRoom 206

Web marketing is extremely important for adirect-marketing farm, but you only have somuch time and money to spend. SimonHuntley presents five principles he hasdeveloped in his experience working withhundreds of farmers across the country. Top-ics ranging from basic design & developmentto search engine optimization will be dis-cussed. This is a farmer-centered approachto web marketing that is not always chasingafter the latest and greatest technology —these are tips that work.

Simon Huntley grew up on a small farm in southwest-ern Pennsylvania before pursuing a degree in InformationSciences & Technology at Penn State University. After col-lege, Simon helped a western Colorado fruit farmer expandhis operation to include vegetable production and a CSAprogram. While at the farm, Simon used his education ininformation technology to develop a highly interactivewebsite for the CSA. After leaving the farm in 2006, Simonstarted Small Farm Central with a core group of 10 farmersfrom across the country. Small Farm Central has sincegrown to serve more than 400 farmers across the U.S. andCanada.

Managing Fertility: Ways to Build &Maintain Soil HealthThomas Björkman, Cornell UniversityRoom 207

Vegetable production can be hard on yoursoil. This workshop will cover some practicalsoil biology and things you can do to makethe biology work for you more often. ThomasBjörkman will cover ways that crop rotations,cover crops, tillage and other familiar prac-tices can help or harm your soil health. Thisworkshop will be targeted at growers whohave not had time to deplete their soil, andwould like to know how to avoid that hap-pening.

Thomas Björkman is on the Horticulture faculty atCornell. He is a plant physiologist with a particular interestin the function of plant roots. This interest has led him tostudy the way that cover crops improve soil health and howthat benefits crop roots. He is working with colleagues tointegrate cover crops into effective vegetable productionsystems.

10 Things to Think about When Getting Started in Market FarmingChris Blanchard, Rock Springs FarmRoom 208

Getting started in market farming meansmore than just growing vegetables. It meanstaking on the responsibilities of owning abusiness, managing markets, grappling withphilosophies and managing a labor force.Join Rock Spring Farm’s Chris Blanchard for alook at ten things to think about as you pre-

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pare the ground for starting your marketfarm, or as you seek to expand your marketfarm into a significant income-generator foryourself and your family.

Chris Blanchard owns and operates Rock Spring Farm,with fifteen acres of vegetables, herbs and greenhouse pro-duction north of Decorah, Iowa, selling a wide variety ofvegetables and herbs through a 200-member CSA, foodstores and a farmers market since 1999. He also co-directsthe MOSES Organic Farming Conference.

Value-Added Dairy Series: Farmstead Ice CreamTom & Donna Perry, Perrydell FarmRoom 211

If you want to add a value-added product toyour life, ice cream is an easy, rather inex-pensive way to go. Find out what it takes tomake your own ice cream mix, or what to doif making it is not an option. Find out whatyou need to get started in making your ownice cream, from where to take classes, whatequipment you will need, where to get ingre-dients and more. Learn how they managed toget from “cows to cones.”

Tom and Donna Perry are part of a third generationdairy farm in York, Pennsylvania. Their farm has been bot-tling its own milk and selling it in their on-farm retail storesince 1963. They started making their own ice cream a lit-tle over two years ago when the price of surplus milkdropped to less than $1 a gallon.

Community Organizing: Training &Tools for Winning CampaignsCharlie Kratovil, Food & Water WatchRoom 218

Whether it relates to issues of governmentfarm policy or corporate control of naturalresources, participants will learn the basicsof direct advocacy and grassroots organizingfor social change. Participants can beinvolved in a local campaign already or look-ing to start one. The workshop will focus onhow to set goals, identify targets and devel-op effective strategies and tactics for a win-ning campaign.

Charlie Kratovil is an organizer at Food & WaterWatch, a national non-profit consumer advocacy groupworking to ensure the food, water and fish we consume issafe, accessible and sustainable. Charlie worked on suc-cessful campaigns to prevent fracking in the DelawareRiver Basin, and to stop the sale of a public water systemserving five communities in Mercer County, New Jersey. Henow works on campaigns opposing fracking and promotingfair food policy.

On- and Off-Farm ButcheryJohn Hopkins, Forks Farm; Brooks Miller,

North Mountain Pastures; Daniel Salatin,Polyface Inc

Executive Conference Suites

Tackle the topic of butchering with threeexperienced farmers. Meat processing isoften the bottle neck for farmers, which canbe helped by streamlining the process andgood communication with your butcher.Learn how each farm works with a localbutcher to get the cuts they need, and whatthey’ve found they can manage on-farm.You’ll learn skills and tips that will help youget the best finished product out of your ani-mals.

John Hopkins and his wife Todd run Forks Farm, LLC

and Forks Farm Market in Columbia County, Pennsylvania.They raise 100% grassfed beef and lamb, woodlot pork,pastured poultry, turkeys and free range layers on about150 acres of grass and forest land. They sell their productsthrough custom orders, wholesale orders, farmers markets,buying clubs and their own on-farm market. John is a con-sulting forester and is especially interested in utilizing theirmix of pasture and woods with their animals.

For Brooks Miller’s bio, see pg 16.For Daniel Salatin’s bio, see pg 13.

Trash to Treasure: Bioconversion ofOrganic “Wastes” to ResourceHarvey Ussery, TheModernHomestead.usSenate Suite

This presentation, for everyone concernedabout resource use and pollution, suggeststhat the challenges of organic wastes shouldbe met, not as a disposal problem, but as aresource opportunity. The solution isnature’s own: bioconversion of organicresidues by decomposer organisms. Optionsat the institutional and municipal levels willbe described, as well as opportunities in thebackyard, including cultivation of decom-posers such as earthworms and soldiergrubs for both soil fertility and high-proteinlivestock feeds.

For Harvey Ussery’s bio, please see pg 16.

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Conference CDs, DVDs and MP3s are available!

Farming for the Future Keynotes and Workshops are audio recorded courtesy of:

Cocalico Audio • 187 East Church Street • Stevens, PA 17578 • Phone: (717) 336-4179Cocalico offers nearly all conference workshops and pre-conference programs on 80-minute audio CDsand MP3s. Not all recordings will be available in MP3 format until after the conference. Not all program-ming is recorded. A select number of workshops are also offered on DVD. To purchase CDs or DVDs, pleasesee the order form in your registration folder or stop by the Cocalico booth next to the PASA ConferenceRegistration Desk. After the Conference, you may contact Cocalico to place additional orders.

PCO Series: Materials Used in Organic Production& ProcessingJohanna Mirenda; OrinMoyerRoom 107

Efficient Human-PoweredVegetable ProductionKenneth MulderRoom 108

Building Capacity & theVoice for a Stronger Sustain-able Agriculture MovementBrian Halweil; Steve Warshawer; Scott Exo; Stacy MillerRoom 109

Marcellus Shale Legal Issuesfor LandownersRoss PiferRoom 202

Value-Added Dairy Series:Farmstead YogurtClare SeibertRoom 203

Holistic Management Decision-Making for Novice& Experienced Farmers(Repeat)Byron SheltonRoom 204

Feed Grade Grain Production& MarketingMary-Howell & KlaasMartensRoom 205

Scaling Up to Fill the Plate:Sizing Your Vegetable OperationChris BlanchardRoom 206

Grow Food Where You Live:Micro-Farms & How TheyWorkTania Slawecki; Chris Uhl;Warren Leitzel; Thom MartiRoom 207

GFN Series: How to Salt &Dry Your Favorite Meats atHome the (Mostly) Tradi-tional WayBrooks MillerRoom 208

Essex Farm StoryMark KimballExecutive Conference Suite

Gardening Like the Forest,Part 1: Home-Scale Ecologi-cal Food ProductionDave JackePresidents Hall 1

Designing a SustainableFruit Production System onYour Diversified FarmLou LegoRoom 207

Introduction to Small GrainProductionNigel TudorRoom 208

Comparing Humans, Animals & Fossil Fuel asResources for VegetableProductionKenneth MulderExecutive Conference Suite

Creating an Urban Food ForestJuliette Jones; Phil ForsythPresidents Hall 1

Innovative, Low-Tech Solutions for the IntegratedAnimal & Vegetable FarmHomer Walden & Dru PetersPresidents Hall 2

GFN Series: The Small-ScalePoultry Flock: Holistic Poultry Husbandry for theProductive, IntegratedHomesteadHarvey UsseryPresidents Hall 3

GFN Series: Small-ScaleSeed Saving for the Home &FarmTim MountzPresidents Hall 4

5 Principles of Web Marketing for Farmers(Repeat)Simon HuntleySenate Suite

Weeds! Creative & HealthfulAdditions to Your CSA Boxor Market StandGrace Lefever; Faye BurtchRoom 104

Using (Not Abusing!)Interns: Training FutureFarmers while Balancing theNeeds of a Working FarmTom Murtha & Tricia BornemanRoom 105

Advanced Seed Saving forAdded Farm ProfitTim MountzRoom 106

SAT 1:30PM

Going Bio-Extensive — Soil Building & Weed ControlAnne & Eric NordellPresidents Hall 2

Chickens in the Garden:Using a Garden Flock forTillage, Insect Control &Making CompostHarvey UsseryPresidents Hall 3

GFN Series: Home OrchardBasics, Part 1Michael PhillipsPresidents Hall 4

Harnessing NRCS Funds toSupport Conservation Proj-ects on the Farm: DickinsonCollege Farm’s IPM ProjectJenn Halpin & Scott Hoff-man; Chad CherefkoSenate Suite

Cut Flowers That Sell — & Last! Production, Pricing & MarketingMelanie DeVaultRoom 104

Treatment-Free Honey BeeStewardshipSam ComfortRoom 105

Year-Round Market Gardening in a Solar & Wood Heated BioshelterDarrell FreyRoom 106

PCO Series: Organic Livestock Production & theNOP Pasture RuleLee Rinehart; Forrest StrickerRoom 107

Practical Dairy Cattle NutritionDr. Robert PattonRoom 108

Monitoring Water Quality in the Marcellus RegionJulie VastineRoom 109

Marketing FarmsteadCheeses: Perspectives fromPhiladelphia to DCMelanie Dietrich Cochran;Susan MillerRoom 112

GFN Series: The Marvelous Wild Mushrooms of PennsylvaniaBill RussellRoom 203

SAT 3:10PM

Farmer to Farmer: MakingFarming Sustainable byPartnering Across the WorldSpencer & Mara Welton; Cletus NwakpuRoom 204

Planning Your Plantings:Seeding Schedules for anAbundant CSA HarvestDave RuggieroRoom 205

Self-Sustaining FarmingMark KimballRoom 206

Plant Doctor: DiagnosingPest & Disease Problems inCrops & VegetablesBeth Gugino & Shelby FleischerRoom 207

Incorporating PollinatorHabitat into Orchards &FarmsJolie Goldenetz-Dollar; DaveBiddingerRoom 208

Woodlot Pork: Using Pigs in the Woods toDevelop SilvopastureJohn HopkinsExecutive Conference Suite

Gardening Like the Forest,Part 2: The Ecology ofHealthy Food ProductionSocial StructureDave JackePresidents Hall 1

Plant Secondary Metabolites: The Holy Grailof Plant & Animal MedicineJerry BrunettiPresidents Hall 2

Plant Doctor: DiagnosingProblems in High TunnelsMike Orzolek & Elsa SánchezPresidents Hall 3

GFN Series: Home OrchardBasics, Part 2Michael PhillipsPresidents Hall 4

Pick-Your-Own Vegetable Marketing: An Organic Farm’s Strategyfor Reducing Labor Costs &Increasing RevenueRandy MorrisSenate Suite

Saturday WORKSHOPS AT A GLANCE

Let the Animals Do YourPasture Improvement: Integrating Cows & Chickensfor Improved Soils & GrassRoman StoltzfoosRoom 104

High Tunnel Crop Management, Automation & MarketingErik GundackerRoom 105

Monitoring Biological Capital to Assess Your ManagementByron SheltonRoom 106

PCO Series: Organic Marketing Panel DiscussionRandy Morris; Mary-HowellMartensRoom 107

Biodegradable Mulch: Does it Work? Farmers’ Tips & ExperiencesEric Vander Hyde; MikeScheidelRoom 108

Farm Bill 2012 & You: Advocating for a Sustain-able & Organic FutureMelissa Hornaday; MarthaNobleRoom 109

Marcellus Citizen Stewardship Project: Building Skills in VisualAssessment & Advocacy toProtect Your CommunityVeronica Coptis & KrissyKassermanRoom 112

Value-Added Dairy Series:Cheese Aging Caves, Rooms& CellarsPeter DixonRoom 204

Capturing & OrganizingData for Organic Certifica-tion, GAPs Compliance &Other EndeavorsChris BlanchardRoom 205

Where’s the Profit? Collecting & Assessing Farm Numbers to MeetFinancial Goals, Set Prices &Balance Your Product MixJody PadghamRoom 206

SAT 8:30AM

20

Let the Animals Do Your PastureImprovement: Integrating Cows &Chickens for Improved Soils & GrassRoman Stoltzfoos, Spring Wood FarmRoom 104

Animals can be managed to create the pas-ture and soil you dream to have. Hear fromRoman Stoltzfoos, a PA dairy farmer, how hehas harnessed the natural skills of his ani-mals to do his pasture improvement for him.

For Roman Stoltzfoos’ bio, see pg 16.

High Tunnel Crop Management,Automation & MarketingErik Gundacker, Scenic Valley FarmsRoom 105

Erik Gundacker will provide an overview ofhow growers can manage a variety of cropswithin a single high tunnel. One of the keydiscoveries Erik has made since beginninghis work with high tunnels is that higher lev-els of automation boost yields, manage riskand reduce labor requirements. The talk willprovide an overview of his farm’s transitionfrom manually controlled to near fully auto-mated high tunnels. Time will also be givento methods of marketing high tunnel grownproduce.

For Erik Gundacker’s bio, see pg 14.

Monitoring Biological Capital toAssess Your ManagementByron Shelton, Landmark DiversifiedRoom 106

Using Holistic Management Biological Mon-itoring you will learn to assess biologicalcapital changes through focusing on theecosystem processes. These ecosystemprocesses include the water cycle, the min-eral cycle, energy flow and communitydynamics (plant and animal communities).The brittleness concept and scale will be dis-cussed and its effect on the use of tools suchas technology, fire, rest, grazing, animalimpact and the use of other small livingorganisms. The importance and basics ofdaily and annual monitoring of the ecosys-tem processes will be discussed.

For Byron Shelton’s bio, see pg 14.

PCO Series: Organic MarketingPanel DiscussionRandy Morris, Morris Farm; Mary-Howell

Martens, Lakeview Organic GrainRoom 107

Randy Morris and Mary-Howell Martens willfacilitate a discussion and answer questions

SAT 8:30AM on organic marketing. Topics such as markettrends, strategies and the future of organicsin the marketplace will be discussed. Comeprepared with questions; this session is anopportunity to obtain in-depth knowledge onmarketing options.

Randy Morris of Morris Farm has been a certifiedOrganic vegetable grower since 1994 who also works a dayjob. Morris Farm migrated to a Pick-Your-Own operation toeliminate the high cost and time associated with picking,sorting, washing, boxing, storing, hauling and marketingorganic vegetables.

For Mary-Howell Martens’ bio, see pg 17.

Biodegradable Mulch: Does it Work?Farmers’ Tips & ExperiencesEric Vander Hyde, Barefoot Gardens;

Mike Scheidel, Little Peace FarmRoom 108

No one likes pulling up black plastic mulch inthe fall, but can it be avoided? It costs onaverage $25–100 an acre for labor and dis-posal, not to mention 100 lbs per acre of anon-renewable resource. Yet, it plays animportant role on the farm — mulch keepsthe weeds down and warms up the soil,which results in earlier (and more) toma-toes, peppers, eggplants and other heat lov-ing veggies. Two farmers who have testedbiodegradable films as an alternative willshare what they learned — what works, whatdoesn’t and tips for success.

Eric Vander Hyde and his wife Linda have worked forover four years to create a collection of gardens, forming asmall circle of mini-ecosystems complementing each other(croplands, riparian zones, permanent pasture & forest)that will support their family, animals and community.Their farm started out small and continues to developslowly and with patience. Barefoot Gardens is dedicated toquality and the concept of the farm as a living organism.

Michael Scheidel owns Little Peace Farm in SchuylkillCounty, Pennsylvania, which is a small sustainable familyfarm where he grows chemical free vegetables, flowers andherbs. The farm produce is offered to CSA members, localrestaurants and sold at two farm markets. Michael has pri-marily relied on straw mulch for weed control but hasrecently begun cover and smother cropping as well. Exper-imenting with biodegradable mulch during the 2011 sea-son, Michael has practical experience to share with thoseinterested in using Bio-tello or Eco-1.

Farm Bill 2012 & You: Advocating for a Sustainable & Organic FutureMelissa Hornaday, Organic Farmers Research

Foundation; Martha Noble, National Sustain-able Agriculture Coalition

Room 109

This interactive workshop will provide anupdate on how sustainable and organicfarming is faring in the Farm Bill. The work-shop leaders will then join with the workshopparticipants in identifying ways for sustain-able and organic farmers, their customersand others to be effective and active advo-cates for Farm Bill resources for sustainableand organic farm and food systems.

Melissa Hornaday works in Michigan and Ohio toensure that organic family farmers and other diverse stake-holders actively participate in shaping Federal AgriculturePolicy. Before working with Organic Farmers ResearchFoundation, Melissa managed a four season certifiedorganic farm in Michigan. She is a founder and boardmember of a growing sustainable farmers’ cooperative.

Martha Noble, Senior Policy Associate with theNational Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, has worked onthree Farm Bills. She is on the Clean Water Network’sBoard of Directors and served on the U.S. EPA’s Farm,Ranch and Rural Communities Advisory Committee.

Marcellus Citizen Stewardship Project: Building Skills in VisualAssessment & Advocacy to ProtectYour CommunityVeronica Coptis & Krissy Kasserman,

Mountain Watershed AssociationRoom 112

The Marcellus Citizen Stewardship Projectdeveloped to empower citizens to take stepsto protect their environment and communi-ties from the impact of extracting Marcellusshale in Pennsylvania. At this session partic-ipants will gain knowledge and skills in visu-al assessment, reporting pollution incidentsand protecting their private water supplies.The workshop will also focus on how individ-uals can advocate for better protection usingthe skills provided through the MarcellusCitizen Stewardship Project.

Veronica Coptis is a Community Organizer withMountain Watershed Association (MWA) in FayetteCounty. Before starting with MWA, she served as anAmeriCorps volunteer with the Center for Coalfield Justicein Washington, Pennsylvania, where she now serves on theBoard of Directors. Growing up in Greene County, a hotspot for fossil fuel extraction, Veronica has always beenpassionate about protecting the environment and sustain-able living.

Krissy Kasserman is Mountain Watershed Associa-tion’s Youghiogheny Riverkeeper and Assistant ExecutiveDirector. She has been with MWA for five years with previ-ous experience in environmental education and advocacyin northern West Virginia. Krissy currently serves on theboards of the Center for Coalfield Justice and the West Vir-ginia Rivers Coalition.

Value-Added Dairy Series: CheeseAging Caves, Rooms & CellarsPeter Dixon, Dairy Foods ConsultingRoom 204

This session will help participants get start-ed or make improvements with their HazardAnalysis & Critical Control Points (HACCP)programs for making, aging and distributingcheese. HACCP is a process-orientedapproach to food safety and is a necessarytool for cheesemakers to use in limiting therisk of hazards that can contaminate theirproducts. The end result of operating aHACCP program is that the operators willimprove their businesses by improving thesafety and quality of their cheeses.

For Peter Dixon’s bio, see pg 18.

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Capturing & Organizing Data for Organic Certification, GAPsCompliance & Other EndeavorsChris Blanchard, Rock Springs FarmRoom 205

Paperwork can be the bane of the certified-organic, GAPs-audited and financially-awarefarmer. Learn how to capture information,get on top of your paperwork and wow yourinspector, auditor or banker. Rock SpringFarm’s Chris Blanchard will provide anoverview of the basic techniques he and hiscrew use to gather information and keep itorganized for easy access with a minimum ofeffort.

For Chris Blanchard’s bio, please see pg 19.

Where’s the Profit? Collecting &Assessing Farm Numbers to MeetFinancial Goals, Set Prices & BalanceYour Product MixJody Padgham, APPPA & MOSESRoom 206

Collecting and assessing numbers by indi-vidual farm enterprises will help you meetyour financial goals, set prices and balanceyour product mix. Learn what to track, howto track it and how to juggle the numbers togive you useful information for informeddecision making. Jody Padgham will alsolook at partial budgeting, helpful in compar-ing marketing venues or production changes.

Jody Padgham, editor of the new book Fearless FarmFinances, is full of number crunching tips! Jody owns andmanages a 60-acre grass-based farm in central Wisconsinwhere she raises organic broilers and turkeys as well assheep. She is the financial manager at the Midwest Organ-ic and Sustainable Education Service. She has also been thecoordinator of the American Pastured Poultry ProducersAssociation for the past several years.

Designing a Sustainable Fruit Production System on Your Diversified FarmLou Lego, Elderberry Pond FarmRoom 207

Lou Lego will describe the importance offruit trees on diversified farms. Properlydesigned and maintained orchards providemore than just a full season of delicious fruit.They provide habitat for bees, beneficialinsects and micro-organisms; shade andwind break; feed for pastured animals andeven perfect wood for smoking meats. Prop-er design will be discussed including varietalselection, location of trees, orchard floormanagement and innovative approaches tominimize or eliminate spraying for insectsand disease.

Lou Lego and his wife Merby have been farming atElderberry Pond for 30 years. The farm is certified organicwith 35 acres of orchards, small fruits, vegetables and pas-tures. They sell their products through their country store,at farmers markets and through a fine dining restaurant

located on the farm. The mission of the farm is to promotea local sustainable food system. They do this by producingan extraordinary variety of fruits, vegetables and fresh,cured and smoked meats on the farm.

Introduction to Small Grain ProductionNigel Tudor, Weatherbury FarmRoom 208

From seed to flour, discover how organicsmall grain production and processing work.Topics covered will be: soil preparation,planting, nutrient management, harvesting,equipment for different scales, small grainvarieties and processing into a finished prod-uct.

Nigel Tudor works with his family at WeatherburyFarm in southwestern Pennsylvania. The farm producesgrassfed beef, grassfed lamb and certified organic grains &flours as well as hosting farm vacations. Nigel trained as ablacksmith in Germany and uses his metalworking skills torepair and build farm equipment.

Comparing Humans, Animals & Fossil Fuel as Resources for Vegetable ProductionKenneth Mulder, Green Mountain CollegeExecutive Conference Suite

Dwindling access to fossil fuels and climatechange will require farmers to reduce theirreliance on petroleum and other fossil fuels.This session will start with an overview ofthe challenges of reducing fossil fuel con-sumption in agriculture. Kenneth Mulder willthen present Green Mountain College’sLong-Term Ecological Assessment of Farm-ing Systems research project which com-pares the energy, land and labor costs ofhuman-, tractor- and animal-powered veg-etable production.

Kenneth Mulder is Farm Manager and Research Asso-ciate at Green Mountain College in Poultney, Vermontwhere he works with the students to manage a diversehuman- and animal-powered farm. He has been growingvegetables with human and animal power for 10 years. Heis also an ecological economist active in researching fossil-fuel-free farming techniques.

Creating an Urban Food ForestJuliette Jones, Pittsburgh Permaculture;

Phil Forsyth, Philadelphia Orchard ProjectPresidents Hall 1

In this workshop, you will hear about urbanfood forests in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.Learn the steps to completing a successfulproject from access, analysis, preparation,design, selection and installation. Presenterswill discuss urban design considerationsincluding soil remediation, useful “weeds,”community relations and invasive species.Learn from the challenges and successes ofprojects from across the state. This sessionis great for both beginning designers and

those who already have some background inpermaculture.

Juliette Jones studied sustainable agriculture and per-maculture design at Slippery Rock University. She hasworked with permaculture experts Dave Jacke and DarrellFrey teaching courses on Edible Forest Gardening and Per-maculture Design. She is currently teaching the GrowingSustainably Lab for Chatham University’s Food Studiesprogram. Notable design experience includes design andinstallation of Pittsburgh’s first food forest in Hazelwood,demonstration gardens for Phipps Conservatory and anedible garden for the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.

Phil Forsyth is a garden designer, permaculturist andurban farmer. He currently serves as Orchard Director ofthe Philadelphia Orchard Project (phillyorchards.org), anon-profit that has planted 27 community orchards in thecity since 2007. Phil also operates Forsyth Gardens(forsythgardens.com), a landscape design business thatspecializes in edible and ecological gardens. Phil writesabout urban food growing at phigblog.com.

Innovative, Low-Tech Solutions forthe Integrated Animal & VegetableFarm Homer Walden & Dru Peters, Sunnyside FarmPresidents Hall 2

Sunnyside Farm began with the dream ofbetter chicken. Hear from Homer Waldenand his wife Dru Peters how the farm nowgrows pasture-raised, intensively grazedchicken, eggs, turkey, beef, pork, open polli-nated heirloom vegetables, bees, ducks,geese and the occasional flower. They’ll dis-cuss how they’ve developed tools, tech-niques and systems to work with their farmto increase production.

Dru Peters, the farmer’s wife to Homer Walden of Sun-nyside Farm, is a refugee from a corporate cubicle. Dru hasworked as an editor in textbook publishing and in sales andmarketing. Read the daily blog, sunnysidedru.com, to keepup to date with Sunnyside Farm. Sunnyside Farm is proudto be Food Alliance certified.

For Homer Walden’s bio, see pg 18.

GFN Series: The Small-Scale Poultry Flock: Holistic Poultry Husbandry for the Productive, Integrated HomesteadHarvey Ussery, TheModernHomestead.usPresidents Hall 3

This presentation for the experienced keeperof poultry or ambitious beginner describes awhole-systems husbandry using the mixedhome flock for garden tillage, natural insectcontrol and making compost. It discussesboth starting chicks in a brooder and doingso using “broody” hens, and ways to providethe flock more natural, home grown feeds,reducing dependence on purchased feeds. Itsuggests a few options for expanding toserve small local markets.

For Harvey Ussery’s bio, please see pg 16.

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GFN Series: Small-Scale Seed Savingfor the Home & FarmTim Mountz, Happy Cat FarmPresidents Hall 4

Join professional seed-saver Tim Mountz tolearn everything you will need to know tostart saving your own seeds — from selec-tion to storage. Saving seeds is very reward-ing, and can be a great way to gain gardenindependence as well as to preserve yourfavorite varieties. You’ll gain the knowledgeand confidence you need so by next spring,you’ll be ordering fewer!

Tim Mountz and his wife Amy own Happy Cat Farm insoutheastern Pennsylvania, where they grow seeds, plants,produce and the best tomatoes in the world. They do class-es on seed saving and foraging.

5 Principles of Web Marketing forFarmers (Repeat)Simon Huntley, Small Farm CentralSenate Suite

See pg 18 for workshop description.For Simon Huntley’s bio, see pg 18.

Weeds! Creative & Healthful Additions to Your CSA Box or Market Stand Grace Lefever, Sonnewald Natural Food Store;

Faye Burtch, Burtch Body Work and Move-ment

Room 104

Not only do weeds add variety, flavor andboost nutrition, but they are easy to grow(some are hard not to!). Certain weeds helpbring your vegetables’ roots deep into thesubsoil, others act like a weed mat barrier.Many are a great addition to the diet and canadd depth and variety to your CSA box, farm-ers market stand or family dinner fresh fromthe garden. Come and brainstorm on ways toimprove your food presentation and offer-ings and use those weeds in every patch.

For Grace Lefever and Faye Burtch’s bios, see pg 16.

Using (Not Abusing!) Interns: Training Future Farmers while Bal-ancing the Needs of a Working FarmTom Murtha & Tricia Borneman, Blooming

Glen FarmRoom 105

Managing interns can be a full time job. TomMurtha and Tricia Borneman will share someof their techniques for getting the best expe-rience from this mutually beneficial relation-ship — from recruitment and interviewing tomanaging expectations, creating capacity,

SAT 1:30PM

fostering teamwork and surviving August-allwhile getting the job done! Whether youalready have interns and are looking forsome organizational tips, or have decided togo this route on your farm, come learn fromtheir experiences.

For Tom Murtha & Tricia Borneman’s bio, see pg 16.

Advanced Seed Saving for AddedFarm ProfitTim Mountz, Happy Cat FarmRoom 106

Many farms already have what it takes tobegin saving seeds, and selling seeds canadd to a farm’s bottom line. Tim Mountz willexplore large-scale production, selection,regulations and the economics behind asmall seed brand. You’ll learn what it wouldtake to add this to your farm plan.

For Tim Mountz’s bio, see previous column.

PCO Series: Materials Used inOrganic Production & ProcessingJohanna Mirenda, PA Certified Organic;

Orin Moyer, Fertrell CompanyRoom 107

While the National Organic Program Stan-dards emphasize preventative and culturalmethods of agricultural production, manyproducers find themselves needing to pur-chase off-farm inputs. Purchasing inputsbrings up the question: “Is this input allowedin organic production?” In this session, youwill increase your understanding of what isand isn’t allowed in organic production bymaking sense of the National List of Allowedand Prohibited Substances and digging intosome exciting categories of materials likefertilizers, pesticides and compost. By theend of this session, you will be confident inknowing what materials are allowed to beused on your organic farm.

Johanna Mirenda is a Materials Specialist at Pennsyl-vania Certified Organic (PCO). Johanna is responsible forreviewing materials that are requested to be used by PCO-certified organic crop and livestock producers and organicprocessing facilities. PCO has reviewed more than 6,000materials for compliance with the USDA National OrganicProgram standards.

Orin Moyer is an angronomist with The Fertrell Com-pany.

Efficient Human-Powered VegetableProductionKenneth Mulder, Green Mountain CollegeRoom 108

Increasing our reliance on human power asan energy source for crop production has thepotential to reduce farming’s reliance on fos-sil fuels and its impact on climate change.Human-powered vegetable farming can beeconomically efficient and ecologically

sound. This workshop will present thehuman-powered vegetable production sys-tem used at Green Mountain College. It willinclude details on production techniques aswell as data on the efficiency of their pro-duction systems.

For Kenneth Mulder’s bio, see pg 22.

Building Capacity & the Voice for a Stronger Sustainable AgricultureMovementBrian Halweil, Edible East End & Worldwatch

Institute; Steve Warshawer, NSAC; Scott Exo,Food Alliance; Stacy Miller, Farmers MarketCoalition

Room 109

The sustainable ag movement has seentremendous growth and success over thepast decade, so much that advocates mustnow deal with significant push back fromagribusiness and some politicians. Themovement is diverse, with many differentspecial interests in the mix, and sometimesthe leadership is too diffuse to develop andpromote a consistent vision for the future.This panel-led discussion will examine thesituation and begin to plot a course for astronger, more resilient national movementthat can withstand the challenges and push aclear agenda for a sustainable future aheadmore aggressively.

For Brian Halweil’s bio, see pg 1. For Steve Warshawer’s bio, see pg 18. For Stacy Miller’s bio, see pg 15.Scott Exo is executive director at Food Alliance. He

serves on the National Good Food Network’s advisorycouncil, and Oregon’s Food Alliance. Scott has worked onfarm and forestland conservation issues for 1000 Friends ofOregon, and managed rural development and studyabroad programs in Asia and Africa.

Marcellus Shale Legal Issues forLandownersRoss Pifer, The Agricultural Law Resource &

Reference Center at Penn StateRoom 202

This session will address legal issues ofimportance to landowners — both the own-ers of natural gas rights and surface rights —in the Marcellus Shale regions of Pennsylva-nia and neighboring states. Natural gas leas-ing issues will be discussed to assistlandowners in negotiating a lease or tounderstand a lease that already has beensigned. This session will also address theissues faced by surface owners who do notown the rights to natural gas underlying theirland.

For Ross Pifer’s bio, see pg 13.

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Workshops SATURDAY

Value-Added Dairy Series: Farmstead YogurtClare Seibert, Clear Spring CreameryRoom 203

This workshop will cover bottling yogurtfrom a small on-farm processor’s perspec-tive. Topics covered will include equipment,sanitation, testing requirements, marketingand sales. This workshop will be gearedtoward those considering on-farm bottling ofyogurt using a vat pasteurization system.Presenters will share initial cost, cost of pro-cessing and marketing at farmers markets.

For Clare Seibert’s bio, see pg 13.

Holistic Management Decision-Making for Novice & ExperiencedFarmers (Repeat)Byron Shelton, Landmark DiversifiedRoom 204

For a description of the workshop, see pg 14.For Byron Shelton’s bio, see pg 14.

Feed Grade Grain Production & MarketingMary-Howell & Klaas Martens, Lakeview

Organic GrainRoom 205

With numerous weather disasters and cropshortages in 2010 severely limiting the sup-ply of organic grain worldwide, the price hasrisen past what many dairy farmers canafford. This dis-equilibrium deeply concernsfarmers who believe that sustainability andhealth is based on the financial stability andfairness for all members of the organic com-munity. Discussion will focus on where themarket is currently and what the 2012 out-look appears to be.

For Mary-Howell & Klaas Martens’ bio, see pg 17.

Scaling Up to Fill the Plate: Sizing Your Vegetable OperationChris Blanchard, Rock Springs FarmRoom 206

With pressure from every direction to scaleup market farming operations to meet thegrowing demand for local food, growers needto consider their goals, roles, capacity andskills. Join Chris Blanchard for an explorationof the challenges and opportunities inexpanding your market farm.

For Chris Blanchard’s bio, please see pg 19.

Grow Food Where You Live: Micro-Farms & How They WorkTania Slawecki, Neo Terra; Chris Uhl, Penn Sate

University; Warren Leitzel, Ecosophy Farm;Thom Marti, Broad Valley Orchard

Room 207

Four experienced farmers describe theirphilosophies, practices, results and lessonslearned from growing food on micro opera-tions. With their spouses, each has achievedastonishing complexity and diversity onfarmsteads ranging from urban lots to a fewdensely packed rural acres. Together theyshow how it is possible to realize high levelsof sustainability with their mental and phys-ical agility, using few inputs and simple tools.

Tania Slawecki is a materials scientist, and previouslydirected Penn State’s Center for Sustainability. She startedNeo-Terra to advance green technologies, food securityand overall healthy living in the context of suburbia. In theirbackyard she and her husband Gene Bazan follow JohnJeavons’ bio-intensive methods to produce 90% of theirvegetables year-round and 60% of their fruit.

Chris Uhl is an ecologist at Penn State committed tocultivating healthy, congenial relationships with fellow cit-izens and the air, soil and water that sustain each of us.

Warren Leitzel has worked at building, designing andhomesteading for the past 30 years. This experience is nowbeing applied to his family’s 13-acre small farm in CentreCounty, Pennsylvania. Fields, gardens, orchards, domesticanimals and hunting provide sustenance for their family ofthree. Solar equipment includes a dryer, oven and passivehome design.

Thom Marti and his wife Judy have operated BroadValley Orchard for the past 28 years. They are CertifiedNaturally Grown, and have sold at farm markets (includingmanaging one), operated a CSA and have written a book,Getting By — How to Turn your Farm Dream into yourDream Farm.

GFN Series: How to Salt & Dry Your Favorite Meats at Home the(Mostly) Traditional WayBrooks Miller, North Mountain PasturesRoom 208

Covering the basics of curing, drying andsafe handling, this workshop is for the new-bie looking to make bacon, ham and eventraditional deli meats like prosciutto with asimple home kitchen. Also included is a briefdiscussion of making sausage at home withinexpensive tools. Expect to leave with asolid understanding of cured meat principlesand the ability to make bacon in your homefridge.

For Brooks Miller’s bio, see pg 16.

Essex Farm StoryMark Kimball, Essex FarmExecutive Conference Suite

Participants will be introduced to the five keycomponents of Essex Farm: 1) Year Round, 2)Full Diet, 3) Free Choice, 4) Horse-Poweredand 5) Membership. They will learn how thefarm started (an understanding land owner,$18,000 and a swarm of bees) and how thecommunity (rural) has shaped the farm’sdevelopment. Mark Kimball will try to con-vince all participants to adopt the EssexFarm model (fight back!).

Mark Kimball farms 625 acres with his wife and twochildren in northeastern New York. The farm is powered by10-15 employees, nine draft horses and three tractors. Theirdiversified output includes 50 acres of corn and smallgrains, 350 acres of hay and pasture, 15 acres of vegetablesand 40 acres of cover crops. They milk 20 Jersey cows,slaughter 30 beef from a herd of 100, raise 100 pigs, 500layers and 1000 broiler chickens. Mark has farmed since1993. His wife, Kristin Kimball, is the author of The DirtyLife, a memoir about Essex Farm’s start-up year.

Gardening Like the Forest, Part 1:Home-Scale Ecological Food ProductionDave Jacke, Dynamics Ecological DesignPresidents Hall 1

Healthy forests maintain, fertilize and renewthemselves, naturally. Wouldn’t you like anabundant food-producing ecosystem likethis in your yard? Forest gardens mimic nat-ural forests while growing food, fuel, fiber,fodder, fertilizers, farmaceuticals and fun.We can meet our own needs and regeneratehealthy ecosystems at the same time! Thistalk introduces the vision of forest gardeningwith some scientific background, a fewexamples and a sampling of useful perennialedibles.

For Dave Jacke’s bio, see pg 13.

Going Bio-Extensive — Soil Building& Weed ControlAnne & Eric Nordell, Beech Grove FarmPresidents Hall 2

In this old fashioned slide show, the Nordellswill explain how and why they developedtheir land-extensive approach to small-scaleorganic production. They will also illustratehow taking land out of production makes itmuch easier to take advantage of organiccultural practices such as cover cropping,rotation, stale seed bedding and minimumtillage. Plenty of time will be set aside toanswer questions about going bio-extensive.

Anne and Eric Nordell have been farming in north cen-tral Pennsylvania for 29 years. They sell almost 90% oftheir certified organic produce through one farmers marketin nearby Williamsport. Four work horses provide all thepower and fertility for the six and a half acres under culti-vation. Despite the wet weather in 2011, weed pressurewas so low in their bio-extensive market garden that mostof the vegetables did not require hand weeding or cultiva-tion.

Chickens in the Garden: Using a Garden Flock for Tillage,Insect Control & Making CompostHarvey Ussery, TheModernHomestead.usPresidents Hall 3

In this presentation for experienced poultrykeepers and ambitious beginners, longtimehomesteader Harvey Ussery describes prac-tical, proven models for using a garden flock

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Workshops SATURDAY

of chickens for tillage of weeds and covercrops, insect control and making compost.Benefits — not provided by a power tiller —include improved soil texture and fertilityand access to natural foods superior to any-thing available from a bag.

For Harvey Ussery’s bio, please see pg 16.

GFN Series: Home Orchard Basics,Part 1Michael Phillips, Lost Nation OrchardPresidents Hall 4

Successfully growing fruit for your familybecomes straightforward when you narrowthe big picture down to getting the basicsright. Harvesting sunlight through smartpruning is what renews fruit buds. Fungaldisease becomes manageable with wisevariety choices and enhanced soil biology.Even major insect challenges can be resolvedsafely when you perceive who, what andwhen. All sorts of fruits—from apples andpears to peaches and cherries and onward toberries—make for a diverse home orchardplanting. Confidence to integrate tree fruitsinto your landscape begins with embracingbiodiversity and knowing how to build sys-tem health. These back-to-back workshopsare filled with practical information for grow-ing tree fruits right!

For Michael Phillips’ bio, see pg 12.

Harnessing NRCS Funds to SupportConservation Projects on the Farm:Dickinson College Farm’s IPM ProjectJenn Halpin & Scott Hoffman, Dickinson

College Farm; Chad Cherefko, NRCSSenate Suite

College Farm staff will discuss their evolvingrelationship with National Resource Conser-vation Service (NRCS) and how they workcooperatively to adapt NRCS conservationmeasures to relate more directly with theneeds of a Certified Organic, Food AllianceCertified production farm with strong educa-tional roots. Innovative IPM projects, hightunnels and tree barriers will be discussed indetail.

For Jenn Halpin’s bio, see pg 12.Scott Hoffman is a biology major and student worker

at the Dickinson College Farm who is conducting aresearch project involving conservation biological controlof the American toad and insects beneficial to agriculturalsystems.

Chad Cherefko has a degree in Wildlife Biology fromWest Virginia University and has been a conservationplanner with Natural Resources Conservation Service since2001. Chad has worked with federally regulated 1,000-cow dairies, vineyards, orchards, management intensivegrazers, CSAs and organic producers. He manages a fieldteam of conservation planners, biologists and engineeringtechnicians that give technical and financial assistance tofarmers.

Cut Flowers That Sell — & Last! Production, Pricing & MarketingMelanie DeVault, Pheasant Hill FarmRoom 104

What farmers market or CSA share is com-plete without the splash of color that comesfrom locally grown, seasonal flowers? Flow-ers also provide food and shelter for thehardworking beneficial insects and pollina-tors that help your crops succeed, with theadded benefit of providing beauty to yourfarm. In this session, you will learn the skillsyou will need to grow flowers ready for mar-ket and will leave knowing how to add a littlediversity to your farm for additional incomeand a little color to your landscape.

“The Flower Lady” of the Emmaus Farmers Market,Melanie DeVault has grown cut flowers in high tunnels andthe field since 1984. A long-time member of the Associa-tion of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, she has also writtenfor many Rodale gardening books and the Growing forMarket newsletter.

Treatment-Free Honey Bee StewardshipSam Comfort, Anarchy ApiariesRoom 105

Honey bees have existed in a wild state untilthe late 1800s, when efforts began to breeda “better bee” and the introduction of artifi-cial comb and swarm suppression. Now,most domesticated bees cannot survivewithout supplemental feed and medicationsfor parasites. Sam Comfort will discuss howto rehabilitate hives with stronger queenbees and natural wax combs and by follow-ing hive life cycles. Bees are resilient and arethe best guides to an alternative approach tocaring for the world.

For Sam Comfort’s bio, see pg 14.

Year-Round Market Gardening in aSolar & Wood Heated BioshelterDarrell Frey, Three Sisters BioshelterRoom 106

Bioshelter manager Darrell Frey will presenta detailed look at the production of herbs,edible flowers and salad crops in a wintergarden. This workshop will present informa-tion on management of cold frames, plantersand deep growing beds at Three Sisters Farmto produce products for sale to restaurantsand grocers from autumn through spring.

For Darrell Frey’s bio, see pg 15.

PCO Series: Organic Livestock Production & the NOP Pasture RuleLee Rinehart, PA Certified Organic; Forrest

Stricker, Spring Creek Farms

SAT 3:10PM Room 107

This session focuses on ruminant livestockcertification and production practices forcomplying with the National Organic Pro-gram regulations, including the new pasturerule and documenting dry matter intake onpasture. Lee Rinehart will cover the rules andregulations and Forrest Stricker will discussthe pasture rule from a producer’s perspec-tive.

Lee Rinehart is Director of Education at PennsylvaniaCertified Organic (PCO). He is a graduate of Texas A&MUniversity and a former NCAT-ATTRA agricultural special-ist. He is an American Forest and Grassland Council Certi-fied Grassland Professional and has worked as a cattleranch manager and university Extension educator in Texasand Montana.

Forrest Stricker owns Spring Creek Farms, a 160-coworganic dairy in Berks County that encompasses 470 acresof pasture and hay. They started grazing in 1993, whenthey began recording pasture dry matter intakes, andbecame certified organic in 1999. They recently addedbroiler and layer chickens and have ventured into retail andfarmers markets. Forrest also serves on the board of PCO.

Practical Dairy Cattle NutritionDr. Robert Patton, Nittany Dairy Nutrition, IncRoom 108

Learn what you need to maintain a healthyheard through proper nutrition.

Robert A. Patton is an international dairy nutritionconsultant. He has published scientific papers on aminoacid nutrition of the dairy cow, has developed computerprograms for balancing dairy cattle rations and has spokenat numerous dairy nutrition conferences. His researchinterests are in protein nutrition and in the effects of myco-toxins on productivity of dairy cattle.

Monitoring Water Quality in theMarcellus RegionJulie Vastine, ALLARMRoom 109

This session will cover the basic science ofMarcellus Shale as well as the role volunteerorganizations can play in assessing impactsrelated to Marcellus Shale natural gasextraction. The monitoring plan and proto-cols that the Alliance for Aquatic ResourceMonitoring (ALLARM) has developed will behighlighted. Participants will receive hands-on training on how to perform the steps nec-essary to successfully monitor the impactsof Marcellus Shale through the use of casestudies. Focus will be on permit watching,choosing site locations, chemical monitoringmethods and managing, interpreting andusing the data collected.

Julie Vastine is the director of ALLARM at DickinsonCollege. She is responsible for leadership of the ALLARMprogram, as well as providing monitoring technical assis-tance to watershed organizations. Julie has worked withvolunteer monitors for nine years.

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Workshops SATURDAY

Marketing Farmstead Cheeses: Perspectives from Philadelphia to DCMelanie Dietrich Cochran, Keswick Creamery;

Susan Miller, Birchrun Hills FarmRoom 112

Join two farmstead cheesemakers to learnhow they market their cheeses in diversemarkets. From producer-only farmers mar-kets to high end retail shops and fine diningrestaurants, find out what worked and whatdidn’t. Learn about their unique relationshipswith breweries and marketing ideas for farm-ers markets as well as the synergy and cross-marketing they do to make their cheesestands more interesting. Learn their tips forrelationship marketing on a budget.

Melanie Dietrich Cochran milks 45 registered Jerseycows on the family farm and makes 21 varieties of agedraw milk and fresh cheeses at Keswick Creamery. She sellstheir cheeses at six farmers markets and to stores andrestaurants in the Mid-Atlantic region. Susan Miller farmsBirchrun Hills with her family and produces a variety ofcheeses that are primarily direct-marketed to consumersand restaurants. Not only do Melanie and Sue make cheesefrom milk produced by their cows on their farms, they alsomarket their cheeses, balance managing businesses withfamily life, volunteer and participate in their communities.This dynamic duo also serves on the PASA board.

GFN Series: The Marvelous WildMushrooms of PennsylvaniaBill Russell, BRMushrooms.comRoom 203

This workshop introduces a wide variety ofedible and non-edible mushrooms of Penn-sylvania and neighboring states. It detailsthe identification, use and possibilities ofsmall and large-scale cultivation of choiceedible wild fungi. Emphasis is placed on thecommercial, culinary, medicinal and nutri-tional aspects of fungi. Dangerous wildmushrooms are described so that newcom-ers can approach the study of wild mush-rooms with security and confidence.

Bill Russell has been offering wild mushroom seminars,walks and talks for over 50 years. As a Penn State facultyresearch physicist, the study of mushrooms has been hisside interest since early childhood. Although he has eatenover 250 different species of wild mushrooms, he alwaysemphasizes caution and respect for wild fungi in his teach-ings. His website www.brmushrooms.com lists his wildmushroom walks, talks and seminars across Pennsylvania.

Farmer to Farmer: Making FarmingSustainable by Partnering Acrossthe WorldSpencer & Mara Welton, Half Pint Farm;

Cletus Nwakpu, Ebonyi State Fadama ProjectRoom 204

In this workshop, Mara and Spencer Weltonare joined by Cletus Nwakpu to discuss proj-ects they collaborated on in 2005 with sev-eral farm cooperatives in Nigeria.

Mara & Spencer Welton of Half Pint Farm in Burling-ton, Vermont have partnered with farmers through variousorganizations around the world: from Peace Corps(Solomon Islands), to Slow Food Terra Madre (Italy), toFarmServe Africa (Nigeria). Recently, they led severalworkshops with farmer cooperatives in Ebonyi State, Nige-ria to help develop sustainable, economically viable agri-culture for Africa.

Cletus C. Nwakpu, PhD, is the State Project Coordina-tor for the World Bank assisted Fadama III Project in Nige-ria, Ebonyi State. He assists farmers with small loans toenable participating communities and Farmers Coopera-tives to invest in projects to help generate more sustainableincomes for his local farming communities. He is also aprofessor of agricultural economics and a farmer of low-land rice.

Planning Your Plantings: SeedingSchedules for an Abundant CSAHarvestDave Ruggiero, Village Acres FarmRoom 205

CSA farmers need to have a diverse cropselection every week of the year to keep theirmembers happy, but planning that out canbe a daunting task. Join Dave Ruggiero as hetalks about succession plantings, varietyselection, the differences between summerand winter seeding and just how much faithto put in your seed catalog’s suggestion that“100 row-feet produce 100 pounds of car-rots.”

Dave Ruggiero is starting his third year as the CSAManager of Village Acres, a 200+ member CSA servingthe State College area. He has worked at Village Acres in avariety of roles, including managing greenhouses, pestsand lately all aspects of the CSA program, including yearlyseed orders and planting schedules.

Self-Sustaining FarmingMark Kimball, Essex FarmRoom 206

Bring your best ideas to help Essex Farm andyour operation eliminate off-farm inputs,optimize the use of people and draft animals,increase profitability and improve the agro-ecosystem. Starting with the business modeland focusing on management and tools, par-ticipants will gain insight and experience inhow to bring their farms into the horse-pow-ered mixed-production future.

For Mark Kimball’s bio, see pg 24.

Plant Doctor: Diagnosing Pest & Disease Problems in Crops & VegetablesBeth Gugino & Shelby Fleischer, Penn State

UniversityRoom 207

You usually see the symptoms before yousee the insect pest. Starting from there:defoliation, windowpaning, shotholes, rasp-ing, tunnels, tipburn, plant distortion, spot,blotch, stippling, slow growth.... how can you

use those clues to help diagnose what thepest is? On which crop might you expectwhich pest? What about the group of newlyinvasive species? This workshop aims toadvance your ability to diagnose your pestproblems in vegetable crops.

Shelby Fleischer is an Entomologist, working with IPMin vegetable crops for the past 20 years. His work con-tributes to understanding population and community ecol-ogy of pests, beneficials and pollinators. Recent effortshave focused on sweet corn, cucurbits, peppers and diver-sified cropping systems; past work in agroecosystemsincludes field corn, alfalfa and cotton.

For Beth Guigino’s bio, see pg 17.

Incorporating Pollinator Habitat intoOrchards & FarmsJolie Goldenetz-Dollar, Xerces SocietyDave Biddinger, Penn State UniversityRoom 208

Insect pollination is critical for many crop-ping systems and bees — the most impor-tant pollinators — are in decline. Penn StateUniversity and The Xerces Society for Inver-tebrate Conservation are investigating thebest ways to incorporate pollinator habitatinto agricultural systems. Topics in thisworkshop will include: importance of polli-nating insects, basic pollinator biology,establishment and management of farmlandpollinator habitat and an overview of federalprograms supporting pollinator habitat.

Jolie Goldenetz Dollar is a pollinator habitat restora-tion specialist for the Mid-Atlantic region. She works forThe Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and theUSDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service. Her workhas largely focused on the conservation of under-utilizedplants and habitat conservation for native pollinators.

Dr. David Biddinger is a tree fruit entomologist andbiological control specialist at the Penn State UniversityFruit Research & Extension Center. He grew up on a 2,000-acre, 125-year-old family farm in central Michigan raisingfield crops including dry beans, corn and soy. He holds aB.S. & a M.S. in Entomology from Michigan State Universi-ty. David has more than 25 years of experience in tree fruitentomology and has also worked for eight years as an R&Drepresentative for the Rohm & Haas pesticide companydeveloping reduced risk insecticides and fungicides and onresistance management worldwide.

Woodlot Pork: Using Pigs in theWoods to Develop SilvopastureJohn Hopkins, Forks FarmExecutive Conference Suite

John and Todd Hopkins have been raisingpigs in the woods in order to improve thegrazing for other species on their farm. Johnwill talk about different forestry and grazingpractices they use to “stack enterprises” ontheir farm’s woodlots. John will cover sea-sonal vs. year-round production, their expe-rience with different breeds of hogs andfarrowing heritage breeds such as Glouch-ester Old Spots, Large Blacks and Tam-worths.

For John Hopkins’ bio, see pg 19.

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27

Gardening Like the Forest, Part 2:The Ecology of Healthy Food Production Social StructureDave Jacke, Dynamics Ecological DesignPresidents Hall 1

How can you create a healthy gardenecosystem? This session will delve into howto design a healthy food web and how to cre-ate beneficial “guild” relationships betweenplants and organisms living in polycultures.The frames this workshop offers will helpyou research and observe while you designand manage your gardens.

For Dave Jacke’s bio, see pg 13.

Plant Secondary Metabolites: The Holy Grail of Plant & AnimalMedicineJerry Brunetti, Agri-Dynamics IncPresidents Hall 2

Science is increasingly quantifying theastounding benefits these compounds playin all stages of health: crop, livestock andhuman. PSMs are found in all plants and

serve as protective substances against UVradiation, insects and diseases as well ashaving medicinal, modulating properties foranimals and humans. Learn how to produceand tap into the true “alchemy of nature.”

For Jerry Brunetti’s bio, see pg 14.

Plant Doctor: Diagnosing Problemsin High Tunnels Mike Orzolek & Elsa Sánchez, Penn State

UniversityPresidents Hall 3

High tunnels are structures used to lengthenthe growing season and improve yields andquality for a variety of crops including veg-etables, small fruits, herbs and cut flowers.Because of the unique environment in hightunnels, problems different from those in thefield or greenhouse can be encountered. Thisworkshop will cover common problems inhigh tunnels, how to diagnose them and howto manage them.

For Mike Orzolek & Elsa Sánchez’ bios, see pg 13.

GFN Series: Home Orchard Basics,Part 2Michael Phillips, Lost Nation OrchardPresidents Hall 4

For a description of this two-part workshopSeries, see pg 25.

For Michael Phillips’ bio, see pg 12.

Pick-Your-Own Vegetable Market-ing: An Organic Farm’s Strategy forReducing Labor Costs & IncreasingRevenueRandy Morris, Morris FarmSenate Suite

Randy Morris will share knowledge gainedfrom 17 years of trial-and-error experiencedeveloping a pick-your-own vegetable mar-keting concept. He will cover field layout,overall planning, animal and pest control,vegetables selection, how to get customers,customer accommodations, insurance, farmvolunteer help, what to do with gleaningsand more.

For Randy Morris’s bio, see pg 21.

Workshops SATURDAY

Join PASA for the 2012 Annual Membership Meeting, to beheld on Saturday March 24th at the Wildwood ConferenceCenter in Harrisburg, PA. In this meeting, members willreview the financial position of PASA, vote on bylawchanges and new board member appointments, acknowl-edge the departing board members. There will be discus-sions of the pressing policy issues facing sustainableagriculture and PASA’s role and position. PASA will formal-ly announce its position on Marcellus Shale drilling in PA.Attend this meeting to give input on the direction of PASAand network with fellow PASA members.

Visit www.pasafarming.org for more information.

See you next year!

22ndANNUAL

Farming for the Future

Conference

FEBRUARY6 –9, 2013

Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture104 North Street • P.O. Box 419 • Millheim, PA 16854-0419 • (814) 349-9856 • fax: (814) 349-9840 • www.pasafarming.org

Sara Baldwin

Mary Barbercheck

Susan Beal

Roy Brubaker

Peter Burns

Sabine Carey

Melanie Dietrich Cochran

Jenn Halpin

T Marshall Hart

Mena Hautau

Kristin Hoy

Jeff Mattocks

Brooks Miller

Johnny Parker

Lee Rinehart

Maggie Robertson

Rebecca Robertson

Kim Seeley

Hannah Smith

Leah Smith

Charlie White

If you are interested in learning more about this committee or would like to suggest topics or speakers for future conference programs, please e-mail Kristin at kristin@pasafarming.org or call 814-349-9856 x 11.

Special thanks to Greener Partners (greenerpartners.org) for helping to coordinate the kids program.

The conference programming is put together by PASA Staff with the help of the Educational Programming Advisory Committee.

MEDIA PARTNERS

IN ADDITION TO SUPPORT FROM OUR SPONSORS, FUNDING FOR OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING WAS PROVIDED BY

Colcom

Foundation

by Agri-Services LLC

With funding from:

NIFA

Region 3

PASA-BILITIES SPONSOR PATRONS OF SUSTAINABIL ITY

GUARDIANS

FRIENDS OF THE CONFERENCEMarilyn & John Anthony • Sara & Bruce Baldwin • Mary Barbercheck • The Barnhart Family — Prairie Grass Farm • Nancy & Bob Bernhardt • Blue Rooster Farm • Jerry Brunetti • Moie & Jim

Crawford • Dancing Hen Farm — Don Hess & Joan Miller • Lisa & Duane Diefenbach • Melanie & Mark Dietrich Cochran • Pat Eagon & Jim Stafford • Four Paws Farm & Vineyard • Michele Gauger

& Kevin Spencer • Glasbern Inn • Meg Gleason • Kathy & Wes Gordon • Jenn Halpin & Matt Steiman • Kristin & Steve Hoy • Sukey & John Jamison • Mary & Aaron Kolb • Gretchen Ludders • Beth

& Ken Marshall • Cassie Marsh-Caldwell & Scott Caldwell • Matthews Family • Tracy & Jeff Mattocks • Ann McGinnis & Michael Lane • Milky Way Farms • Sue & Ken Miller • Jamie Moore • Dave

Mortensen • Holley & Brian Moyer • Jean & Ray Najjar • Patty Neiner & Lyn Garling • Northern Tier Sustainable Meat Coop • One Straw Farm • Rita Resick • Melissa & Thomas Reynolds • Stephanie

Ritchie • Louise Schorn Smith • Heidi Secord & Gary Bloss • Hannah Smith & Debra Brubaker • Lauren & Ian Smith • Leah Smith & Alberto Cirigo • Paula & Brian Snyder • Rick Stafford • Karen

Styborski • Judy Styborski • Sandie & John Walker • Lucy & Rob Wood • Wyebrook Farm • Anonymous Donor • And others who contributed after this program went to press

CHAMPION

AgChoice Farm Credit /MidAtlantic Farm Credit • Agri-Service LLC • American Pastured Poultry Producers Association • BCS America LLC •Delaware Valley College • Earth Tools Inc • East End Food Co-op • Eberly Poultry Farms • Local Food Marketplace • McGeary Organics • Mid-Atlantic Alpaca Association • Moyer’s Chicks • National Farmers Union • Northeast SARE • Southern Exposure Seed Exchange • USDA NaturalResources Conservation Service • Purple Mountain Organics • Schafer Fisheries

ALLYAlba Advisors LLC • Albert’s Organics • Center for Rural Pennsylvania • Dairy Connection Inc • Future Harvest /CASA • Green Heron Tools LLC • Harvest Market• Johnny’s Selected Seeds • King’s Agriseeds Inc • Kretschmann Farm • Lakeview Organic Grain • Longwood Gardens Inc • LP BioAg Feed & Field Inc • MarushkaFarms • Natural by Nature • The Organic Mechanics Soil Company LLC • Organic Unlimited Inc • Peace Tree Farm • Penn State Extension — Start Farming • PennState University Press • Pennsylvania College of Technology — School of Hospitality • Pennsylvania Farm Link • Pennsylvania Grazing / Forage Land ConservationCoalition • Seed Savers Exchange • Seedway LLC • SF & Company — CPAs & Business Advisors • Sierra Club, PA Chapter • Tait Farm Foods • Tierra Farm • USDANational Agricultural Statistics Service • Weston A. Price Foundation & Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund • Wild for Salmon

SUPPORTERBrushy Mountain Bee Farm • Cornerstone Farm Ventures Inc • Environmental Fund for Pennsylvania • eOrganic • Filtrexx International • Fodder Tech • Four Season Tools • Harris Seeds • High Mowing Organic Seeds • Swissland Acres • Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative • Vermont Compost Company

Foundation forPennsylvania Watersheds

2012 Farming for the Future Conference Sponsors