MILLHEIM (Centre Co.) Following the lead of most of the states along the Atlantic seaboard, Pennsylvania now has a statewide association dedicated to the ad vancement of sustainable agricul ture. In June, the Pennsylvania Asso ciation for Sustainable Agricul ture (PASA) was officially incor porated as Pennsylvania’s first such organization. In February of this year, more than 500 people attended the state’s first ever statewide confer ence on sustainable agriculture. In addition to sharing information and learning more about sustain able agricultural issues, the parti cipants of “Farming for the Fu ture” left conference organizers with a clear mandate: establish a sustainable agriculture association in Pennsylvania. With a lot of hard work and many meetings since February, the mandate has been met and the goals of the conference have come surer; Preston Boop, president: Christine Beddard, secre tary; Cass Peterson, vice president; and Timothy Bowser, executive director. FARROWING CRATES - GESTATION STALLS - PENNING - FLOOR FRAMES - SCRAPER BLADES Proven Solid Steel Rod Bow Bar Crate w/Front Arch Solid Steel Rod Gestation Stalls I - /---O Solid Steel Breeding Penning WE CAN CUSTOM FABRICATE EQUIPMENT TO MEET YOUR NEEDS - AT A PRICE YOU CAN AFFORD a <wms~®s®wmwTit // \\ CONFINEMENT SYSTEMS. INC. pn: 717-274-3488 //\ Wb SHIP mt |fBK3P^ ‘ Hour, Mon-tri / Uu It) -1 M Sul ‘7 UU lo l<?0U upb j [fiHKPBI ii^—i——■^■^—l Sustainable to fruition in the form of PASA. The formation of PASA repre sents the first time Pennsylvania has had its own farmer-oriented agriculture organization devoted to sustainable and organic agricul ture. Since the conference, PASA has opened an office in Millheim, Centre County; selected a board of directors; hired an executive director; and initiated 10 on-farm demonstration projects. In March, a volunteer advisory committee of more than 70 farm ers, consumers, environmental ists, researchers, and agency peo ple from all over the state met to discuss the priorities outlined dur ing the conference. They also or ganized committees to set out various programs, named the or ganization, and selected the initial board of directors. The newly elected PASA offi cers are Preston Boop, Briarpatch Organic Farms, Mifflinburg, pre sident; Cass Peterson, Flickerville Round Bottom Stainless Proctor Hydraulic Steel Sow Feeders Crate Prevents Crushing j . ' r ' I r jli ! Stainless Steel Feed & Water Troughs Solid Steel Nursery Penning Ag Association Forms Mountain Farm, Warfordsburg, vice president; Christine Beddard, Lady Moon Farm, Selinsgrove, secretary; and Paul Shaw, Walnut Acres, Inc., Penns Creek, treasur er. Incorporated as nonprofit and tax exempt, PASA has been estab lished to develop, support, and promote sustainable food and farming systems, now and for fu ture generations, that are econom ically viable, environmentally sound, scientifically based, and community oriented. PASA’s general mission will be to; • Provide general education and outreach to those interested in sus tainable and organic agriculture in Pennsylvania; • Establish a statewide network of individuals and organizations involved with and interested in sustainable agriculture; • Initiate on-farm demonstra tion programs to highlight profit able and sustainable agricultural practices and farming systems that are reliable, practical, and farmer driven; • Provide technical information to farmers, processors, and mar- keters; • Encourage marketing strate gies for organic and sustainable crops, livestock, and food pro ducts; • Promote sound farm policy and research which affects Penn sylvania farmers. In order to carry out this mis sion, PASA recently hired its first executive director, Timothy Bow ser of Millheim. In addition to co ordinating the start-up of the As sociation, Bowser is managing a collaborative on-farm demonstra tion program between PASA and the American Farmland Trust (AFT). This program works with Surprise Sow Feeding Systems PTM £T‘ I wwt A jfm , r i •/.ii Solid Steel Finishing Penning farmers to initiate demonstrations of sustainable techniques and sys tems on their farms. The results will be published by AFT next winter in their sustainable agricul ture series. Funding for this pro ject as well as seed monies for PASA has been provided by AFT. According to Bowser, discus ' sions about the feasibility of form ing an alternative ag association in Pennsylvania have been taking place for several years. “I think the Farming for the Fu ture Conference put to rest any doubts about whether a critical mass of interest existed,” Bowser Westfalia Remover Gives Consistent Milk-Out ELK GROVE VILLAGE, 111. Field-proven electronics for automatic takeoffs now come in a stainless steel control box. The Westfalia automatic cluster remover gives the dairy farmer consistent milk-out. The stainless steel milk flow monitor senses when milk flow has stopped. A simple diaphragm in the milk flow monitor provides vacuum shut-off to the teat end for milker removal. The reversing valve in the ACR-SS allows for a short vac uum release before the milker unit is gently removed from the cow. Gentle removal means excellent teat end health. The ACR-SS control panel is all-stainless, making it water resistant, rust resistant, and shock resistant. It’s built to hold up for years of heavy milking use. For more information, contact Westfalia Systemat, 1862 Brum mel Drive, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007. Lancaster Farming, Saturday, July 25, 1992-C9 said. “We have a very inclusive organization. A real diversity- of producers and consumers from all over Pennsylvania have gotten in volved. I think PASA has a very strong representation from the git SO.” PASA’s inaugural year will cul minate with the second “Fanning for the Future” Conference, to be held February 5 and 6,1993 on the Penn State University Park Cam pus. For more information about PASA or to request a membership brochure, contact PASA, P.O. Box 316, Millheim, PA 16854. The Westfalia automatic cluster remover gives the dairy farmer consistent milk out.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers