Organic Producers Gather At Annual Meeting DAVE LEFEVER Lancaster Farming Staff MILLERSTOWN (Perry Co.) Going organic is a good move ior farmers, according to Cheryl Cook, deputy secretary with the Pennsylvania Department of Ag riculture. “Getting certified is a very smart business step,” Cook told quests at the recent annual meet ing of Pennsylvania Certified Or ganic (PCO), the state’s main cer tifying agency. The Dec. 10 meeting and ban quet took place at Perry Valley Grange Hall, Millerstown. Cook joined PDA this year as deputy secretary for marketing, promotions, and program serv ices. In her previous job, she served as executive director of the Keystone Development Cen ter, a nonprofit organization fo Outstanding organic farmers are, from left, Mike Brownback, Tim and Anne Bock, and Randy and Chris Treichier. Joining them is Leslie Zuck, PCO executive director, right. cused on building cooperatives to address challenges in rural areas of the state. She has also served as Pennsylvania director for USDA’s economic and commu nity development programs. Organic acreage in Pennsylva nia increased threefold from 1997-2001, according to Cook. Although that amount of land is still relatively small, the growth reflects the U.S. as a whole, where annual organic sales rose from $3.5 billion to $7 billion during the same period. Cook wants to see the state’s farmland preservation program revamped so that land is put to its most productive use. One of her goals is to help increase the number of working farms, in part by dividing larger plots of land not being used for intensive pro duction and turning them into small farm operations. Even cities have great potential for production agriculture, Cook said, giving the example of a half-acre plot in Philadelphia which produced $26,000 worth of organic crops in a year. Cook said she will promote a “carbon credit” system in which farmers would be rewarded for practices that help reduce green house gases in the atmosphere with funds coming from the state’s major polluters. According to research conducted and re cently published by Rodale Insti tute, Kutztown, organic farming methods help reduce global warming. A carbon credit system would provide “another source of in come for what you’re already doing,” Cook said, noting that it would also be “another quiver in the arrow of farmland preserva tion.” r |f 1 jp* p - S- Holiday special! 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Sii»ie 1 iiK fd U"prou OvAgf Acceptance LU, Vtm (.if n ij iterpiet inof or cjnrellh » i tioic« jt jbliflji on JERMEER smj Vsineer logcure reo l letej ifjoemjrk jt erm»f( Mindj Iji g(, ntr e i mo i otfie turn if J OR3 >rr ic i Vjruihclunng C( A.I RighK Rf mM Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 20, 2003-A33 Cook is also working on in state marketing initiatives, in cluding talking to public institu tions about buying Pennsylvania grown food and developing a “Pennsylvania Preferred” food branding program. Cook said she first learned the meaning of food security from her grandmother. “She grew her own food,” Cook said. “She had food securi ty.” During the meeting, PCO pres ented awards to outstanding or ganic farmers. They included Tim and Anne Bock, Wills Daal Farm, Kutztown, best record keeping; Randy and Chris Treichler of Star Hollow Farm, Three Springs, neatest farm plan and field records; and Mike and Terra Brownback of Spiral Path Farm, Loysville, for sharing knowledge and expertise. Bob Vernon and Tom Carey received outstanding volunteer awards, along with about 35 other volunteers who were recog nized for their help throughout the year. Tim Hihn and David Griffiths were honored for completing five years as PCO directors/officers. On hand at the meeting were PCO Executive Director Leslie Zuck and PCO inspectors to an swer farmer questions about or ganic standards. To a question about the re quired buffer width between or ganic fields and neighbor’s con ventional fields to protect against chemical drift onto organic crops, certification inspector Brian Ma garo said that the right buffer width depends on the situation. For example, he noted that a thick, 10-foot-wide hedgerow is a more effective buffer than 50 feet Deputy Secretary of Ag riculture Cheryl Cook, left, receives a bag full of Penn sylvania certified organic products as a gesture of appreciation from Leslie Zuck, PCO executive direc tor. ot open field. Spray drift from neighbors also needs to be moni tored to help make the decision. “There is no set rule,” Magaro said. “It's what is needed to pro tect the organic integrity.” A certified organic dair> farm er interested in marketing organ ic calves asked it he needed to update his certification to do so. Penny Sandoval, PCO certifica tion director, said he would need to file a request to add the calves, but at no extra cost. The group discussed a number of other topics, including com post standards, organic seed re quirements, the use of chlorine as a sanitizing agent, regulations for buying used trailers to haul grain, and the availability of untreated fenceposfs. For more information about organic certification, contact PCO at (814) 364-1344. Vermeer www. vermeerag. com Vermeer Manufacturing Co. Pella, IA 50312 800-370-3659 lent Products! AT TIME TO BUY! u purchase before 12/31/03 ly also be qualified to WO% (or up to $lOO 000 of moot purchased in 2003 <)' edon Section 179 Depreciation vance detailed m the Ta \ Relief incihwon Act of 200 J
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