Field
KUTZTOWN (Berks Co.)
Seven Stars Dairy, Klmberton
CSA vegetable farm, and Kimbcr
ton Waldorf School are all located
within a few hundred yards of
each other in upper Chester Coun
ty.
Each composts a combination
of farm and community wastes
products and recycles them into
valuable resources for the farm
and garden. On Saturday, Sept
23, from 1 to 4:30 p.m., they will
open their doors to show how they
do it. This field day will be of in
terest to consumers, fanners, stu
dents, teachers, and municipal
leaders.
“The opportunity to show a
variety of ways that farms and
communities can work together to
recycle their organic wastes was
just too good to pass up,” said
Cary Oshins, composting special
ist for the Rodale Institute, who is
working with both of the farms.
Seven Stars Dairy, which milks
about 60 cows and produces its
own brand of yogurt, has been
composting for eight years. In
1993, David Griffiths, the farm
manager, started working with the
Borough of Phoenixville, on ar
ranging to receive all of their fall
leaves to mix with his manure for
composting. He also applied for
federal assistance to build a large
composting pad and water reten
tion pond, so the composting
would not affect the nearby
French Creek. Finally, in the fall
of 1994, Griffiths received 500
tons of leaves from the borough.
Most of the composting is done
the traditional way of using a man
ure spreader to mix the leaves and
manure, and using a bucket loader
to occasionally him the long piles,
called windrows. In 1994, Grif-
Your Invitation To
HYBRID SEED CORN
FIELD DAYS
Choo se
-phe
• Your favorite XP Hybrids in production. Sec tb« new One-up lor 1996.
• A number of new Very Early Hybrids with new outstanding Early Inbred*.
• Outstamßng comparison and observation plots of Docbler’s Hybrids.
• Several local corn Balds of Ooebler*s Hybrids entered in P«m State’s Five Acre Corn Club
with the potential now of Iso bu. plus of dry shelled corn per acre!!
• See all tlu equipment and facilities necessary to produce Class A Seed Corn.
DOEBLER’S
Day To Highlight Community Composting
fiths agreed to be one of four area
farmers to work with Oshins on a
research project funded by the
USDA to evaluate a low-tech, no
tum composting system called
PAWS, or Passively Aerated
Windrow System. The PAWS me
thod uses perforated pipes at the
base of the pile to increase air flow
through the pile. “With the tradi
tional turned composting method
there always seemed to be a por
tion of the pile at the bottom that
didn’t compost,” said Griffiths.
“With all the other chores on the
dairy, I don’t'have the time to turn
the piles more often. I wanted to
see if these pipes could be the an
swer."
The September 23 field day will
start with a basic explanation of
the composting process, and then
examine the two methods of com
posting in use at the dairy. Follow
ing that the tour will continue at
the innovative vegetable farm of
Barb and Kerry Sullivan, who will
explain how composting fits into
their operation.
The Sullivans operate their
farm as a form of Community
Supported Agriculture, or CSA. In
a CSA, families or individuals
agree to pay a share of the cost of
farming to the farmers before the
season starts. In return, they re
ceive a share of the farm’s pro
duce once or twice a week. The
Kimberton CSA is one of the old
est in the United States and sup
plies produce to about 140 fami
lies from June through December.
Last year the Kimberton CSA
started supplying its members
with special biodegradable “food
recycler” bags, so that members’
leftover kitchen scraps could be
returned to the farm. The Sulli
vans incorporate these wastes into
T. A. Doebler and Son Seed Farm
7 2 Miles West of Jersey Shore, PA. Clinton Co.
£ SATURDAY and SUNDAY, SEPT. 9& 10
Exit from Route 220 at Pine Creek interchange 1000 feet South of Intersection of Routes 220 an
COME AND SEE!
their compost piles. The Kimber
ton CSA is farmed biodynamical
ly. a form of organic agriculture in
which composting is a key com
ponent. The compost is used to en
rich the soil, thus closing the nutri
ent loop.
The final stop of the afternoon
will be at Kimberton Waldorf
School, a private school for grades
K to 12. There, school officials
will explain how they received an
educational grant from the Depart
FFA Chapters Receive
Farm Safety Awards
HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) —Three Pennsylvania FFA
chapters were recognized recently
by the Department of Agriculture
for their outstanding efforts to
promote and improve farm safety,
according to Secretary Charles C.
Brosius.
Brosius presented certificates
of achievement to members of the
Spud Growers FFA Chapter of
Potter County, Berlin Brothersval
ley FFA Chapter of Somerset
County, and Greenwood FFA
Chapter of Perry County at Ag
Progress Days. The presentations
were held in conjunction with a
meeting of the Pennsylvania Farm
Safety and Occupational Health
Advisory Board, which Brosius
chairs.
“On behalf of Gov. Tom Ridge
and the Department of Agricul
ture, I applaud your achievements
in the Statewide FFA Safety Prog
ram for 1995,” he said. “Your
10 AM -4 PM
ment of Environmental Resources
to demonstrate how cafeteria
scraps can be easily and efficient
ly composted. The school is build
ing a small composting shed, bas
ed on a design developed by the
Woods End Research Lab in
Maine. In it they plan to compost
all the food waste generated by
their cafeteria and brown bag
lunch program, which serves over
300 meals par day. The compost
ing will be managed by the lower
school students, where it will be
efforts represent a significant con
tribution towards farm safety in
Pennsylvania. I encourage more
FFA chapters to get involved in
farm safety projects during the
coming school year.”
First place was presented to
members of the Spud Growers
FFA at Coudersport Area Junior
and Senior High School, advised
by Earl Brown. They conducted
safety programs about pesticides
and other farm chemicals, seat
belts, drugs and alcohol, fires, car
diopulmonary resuscitation, trac
tors and lawn mowers, all-terrain
vehicles and tractor overturns.
The second place award went to
the Berlin Brothersvalley FFA
Chapter, advised by Doyle Paul.
Members conducted a farm rescue
course at two colleges, held a safe
ty demonstration for other FFA
and 4-H members, and distributed
safety information through the use
of videos and fact sheets.
pee
tun° n
KNOW YOUR SOURCE OF
SUPPLY. It Is more
Important with seed corn
than with any other seed
most farmers purchase!
PENNSYLVANIA
HYBRIDS
part of their curriculum.
The field day is- being jointly
sponsored by the Penn Slate, Ro
dale Institute, the Pennsylvania
Association for Sustainable Agri
culture, the Biodynamic Associa
tion and the Chester County Con
servation District The day is free
and open to all, but pre-registra
tion is recommended.
Call Kathy Koehler at (610)
683-1421. For more information
on the day’s events, call Cary
Oshins at (610) 683-1415.
Third place was awarded to the
Greenwood High School FFA
Chapter, advised by MeeCee Bak
er. FFA members provided area
farmers with information about
dangers on the farm, helped far
mers apply safety precautions, ana
educated local emergency person
nel about farm rescue procedures.
The three FFA chapters are now
vying for awards in the National
FFA Safety Program to be pre
sented during the National FFA
Convention in Kansas City in
November.
Passage of the Farm Safety and
Occupational Health (FSOH) Act
of 1994 paves the way for
increased efforts to educate the
public about farm safety and ways
to prevent fatal and disabling farm
accidents. The newly-appointed
advisory board will be drafting
guidelines for the distribution of
funds to organizations who prom
ote farrri safety.