AlB-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 30, 1993
Farming Future Conference To Feature Diverse Workshops
STATE COLLEGE (Centre
Co.) The Pennsylvania Asso
ciation for Sustainable Agricul
ture (PASA) will present the sec
ond annual Fanning for the Future
Conference on Feb. 5-6 at the Nit
tany Lion Inn on the campus of
Penn State University.
Keynote speaker for the event
will be Marty Strange, program
director and co-founder of the
Center for Rural Affairs (CRA),
an independent nonprofit organi
zation dedicated to research, edu
cation, and action for rural Ameri
cans.
The CRA is located in Walthill
and Hartington, Neb. and has been
a driving force for change in
American agriculture for the past
20 years. *,
Strange is the author of “Family
Farming: A New Economic Vis
ion,” published in 1988 and hailed
as a landmark work in the areas of
agricultural analysis and econom
ics.
This year’s conference will fea
ture |i number of speakers on rota
tional grazing and pasture sys
tems. Roger Wentling, a consult
ant who has helped more than 150
farmers set up grazing systems,
will discuss grazing in Pennsylva-
nia and show slides of sustainable
practices in use throughout the
state. Allan Nation, editor of the
monthly “Stockman Grass Farm-
er,” will talk about grassland
fanning on a national and interna-
tional scale.
Roman Stoltzfoos operates a
100-cow dairy and markets
50,000 certified organic chickens
and turkeys per year from his Lan
caster County farm. He utilizes
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composting, rotational grazing, ducer in New York state, will be
and a number of other sustainable featured in a workshop on Sus
practices. Garry and Linda Van- tainable Vegetable Production
DeWeert are Bradford County Systems,
dairy fanners noted for their effec- A panel of commercial vegeta
tive use of rotational grazing and ble growers will discuss “Altema
various other cost-cutting prac- live Vegetable Field Management
tices. Both will describe their Systems,” comparing tillage,
operations in detail. green manures, and permanent
Jodi and Ron Snyder have a beds and offering their evaluations
70-sow operation on pasture, pro- of methods they have tried,
ducing specialty pork products for “Building Soil Through Tillage”
the organic market. They also is another workshop topic with
raise sheep, poultry, vegetables, fallows, rotation of tillage prac
and fruit. They will talk specifical- tices and fields, and green man
ly about their free-range feeding ures to be discussed by farmers
systems, fencing, and marketing utilizing those practices.
Forest land owners will be in
terested in learning about Pennsyl
vania’s Forest Stewardship Pro
gram, a new program designed to
_ . protect and enhance Pennsylvania
Row crop and vegetable pro- wooC Uands. The program offers
ducers will be interested in leam- cos j share funds to woodland
ing about weed control using cul- owners w ho institute various prac
tivation from farmers Melvin Gel- tices to improve the quality of,
singer (300 acres of grain) and th e j r woods.
David Moore (commercial vege- Several workshops will deal
table producer). The use of rye as w composting, including
a living mulch in tomatoes will be one composting basics,
presented by Tom Jurchak ahd one on alternative systems for
weed control using systems and making on-farm compost,-and one
steel as practiced by David Stem, • oh farm utilization t»f orgaftic ma
a long-time organic vegetable pro- terials.
of livestock products. Several
other farmers who use rotational
grazing will speak on other panels
as well.
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REDUCE EGG ACCIDENTS
DRAG AUGER * \
FEEDING SCHEpULE?
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A workshop on sustainable fruit
production will address a variety
of alternatives for reducing chemi
cal use in strawberries, raspber
ries, and blueberries. In addition,
organic fruit tree production will
be discussed by a grower from
New York.
A number of on-farm demon
strations were undertaken last
summer by PASA with funding
from the American Farmland
Trust There will be a presentation
of observations and results from
these trials, which include two ex
periments in controlling blight in
tomatoes, two experiments in re-
ducing starter fertilizer rates in
com, two rotational grazing re
search projects, and several other
on-farm experiments.
Cover cropping will be address
ed by Dr. Marianne Sarrantonio of
the Rodale Institute, author of two
books on the subject. She'Will talk
about the 1 use of cover crops to
serve multiple functions in various
farming systems. In addition, Ron
.Gargasz will discus* l|fe use of
cover crops in small grain produc
tion as a way to build soils.
Policy issues affecting sustain
able agriculture will be addressed
in several workshops: “Organic
this competition is damaged eggs... from feet, toes and collisions.
Big Dutchman chain feeders can feed your flock by running as
few as three or four times a day, with little competition for feed, a
calmer flock and fewer cracks and checks
IF YOU ARE...
FORGED TO FEED
more than four times a day or during peak laying periods,
call 911 for your egg casualties or. . . call (717) 393-5807
for information on how our chain feeder pampers your
product. . . from cage to carton
Biq Putdimaiu
Foods Production Act and Certifi
cation” and likely impacts on
Pennsylvania producers, “Farm
land Preservation” through the use
of easements and/or zoning, and
“Policy Issues for Organic and
Sustainable Agriculture.” In this
latter workshop, Marty Strange
will present a national outlook on
the importance of the 199 S Farm
Bill, Cheryl Cook of the Pennsyl
vania Farmers Union will present
a Pennsylvania perspective, and
Lamonte Garber of the Chesa
peake Bay Foundation will dis
cuss pending legislation in the
area of nutrient management.
Closing keynote speaker will be
Cornelia Flora Butler, a rural so
ciologist, professor and head of
the department of sociology at
Virginia Tech. She has worked in
the areas of farming systems re
search, rural economic develop
ment, rural women’s issues, and
the links between the health of
communities and sustainable agri
culture.
For further information about
PASA and/or conference registra
tion, contact PASA, P.O. Box 316,
Millheim, PA 16854 (814)
349-9856.