DlO-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, April 24,1903
BURLINGTON, Vt. The
Northeast Region Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Educa
tion Program has awarded
$19,714 in grants to six Pennsyl
vania farmers to test innovative
farming techniques and share
what they learn with other
producers.
The farmers, whose projects
range from testing alternatives to
fungicides for strawberries to
demonstrating stewardship fore
stry for farms, will receive the
grants through the Northeast Reg
ion SARE program’s new Farmer/
Grower Grant program. In total,
$96,447 was awarded to 3d far
mers in the 12-state region.
While scores of farmers have
participated in the SARE prog
ram’s larger, interdisciplinary
research and education proejets,
this year’s Farmer/Grower Grant
program marks the first time the
region has allocated funds specifi
cally for farmer-initialed projects.
Northeast Region SARE Coor
dinator Fred Magdoff said the
goal is to stimulate interest in
alternative practices that could
lead to a more sustainable agricul
ture, and to help farmers test inno
vauve ideas.
“Wc know there is a tremend
ous reservoir of knowledge and
initiative in the farmers and grow
ers in the region,” Magdoff said.
“Farmers have a lot of good ideas,
but sometimes they can’t afford to
take the risk of giving them a try.
We hope that what these farmers
are doing will be helpful not only
for them and their neighbors, but
that we may also learn things that
can be used in other places.”
The Pennsylvania farmers
selected for funding are:
Farmers Awarded Grants To Test Practices
• Dwight Mickey, of Cham
bersburg, who will receive $1,839
to evaluate the effectiveness of
reduced chemical measures in a
commercial peach and apple
orchards. The project will use
mating disruption and pheromone
traps for insect control, and will
compare conventional chemical
fumigation with using canola oil
to control dagger nematodes. Dis
eases will be monitored and the
participants will make predictions
for pears and applies with a leaf
wetness recorder.
• Ellen Reker, of new Tripoli,
who will receive $5,000 to
demonstrate the use of cashmere
producing goats to reclaim a
13-acre abandoned pasture.
Reker’s goal is to show that the
goats can be used as a cost
effective alternative to chemical
week and brush control, as well as
to characterize the types of weeds
and brush goats can control.
• Derek and B.C. Dickson, of
Franklin, who will receive $5,000
to build threes constructed wet
land on their farm to improve
water quality and wildlife habitat
and educate other farmers. By tak
ing selected areas of the farm out
of production, the Dicksons arc
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• George W. Freeman, of Knox,
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of Kutztown, who will receive
$2,155 to compare the effective
ness of releasing parasitic wasps
and insecticidal baits in reducing
fly populations in hog and cattle
housing.
• James Perkins, of Bath, who
will receive $1,830 to experiment
with the use of peracetic acid to
control soft fruit rots in strawber
ries and raspberries. The project’s
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