Arthur and I motored (with a nod to the long-departed Potter Enterprise correspondents) to State College on Saturday to attend the closing day of the PASA (PASA is the Pennsylvania Association For Sustainable Agriculture) 20th Annual Farming For The Future Conference. Wow!!! It was a valuable and fun experience and we're already excited about attending next year.
We could choose from workshops offered in three sessions and decided to split up to maximize our experience. The choices were varied.
I (Jane) sat in on Wes Jackson's presentation entitled "The Necessity For A 50-Year Farm Bill." Jackson was the keynote speaker on Friday and had the distinction of being a keynote speaker at PASA'S inaugural conference 19 years ago. My next choice was "So You Want To Be A Farmer: An In-Depth Look At Starting A Commercially Viable Produce Farm." After a break for lunch (where we enjoyed offerings such as no-egg salad sandwiches, quinoa tabouli and luscious whole wheat scones) and visiting as many of the exhibitors as we could, I enjoyed the presentation by two young representatives of AgSquared, a new software developer working on a product that is tailored to the needs of small farmers.
Arthur opted to attend two workshops offered by Michael Phillips of Lost Nation Orchards. Philllips is known across the country for helping people grow healthy apples and understand thehealing virtues of plant medicines. His third choice was "Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale: The Science and Impacts of Development" offered by Mike Arthur and Tom Murphy of Penn State.
We'll tell you more about what we learned in upcoming blog posts.
This is all part of planning for the 2011 growing season at the Metzger Heritage Farm on Crandall Hill. We appreciate those who supported our efforts in 2010. We still have beautiful potatoes from 2010 so send us an e-mail at metzgerfarm@gmail.com or call us at 814-274-8004 to place your order.
1 comment:
I there Metzger’s. I am so glad you found Farm Friend Friday. I’ve been looking over your blog. The conference sounds great. I would have really enjoyed the session on the 50 year farm bill. You have a lot to share and I am thrilled to find you as a resource for my little farm. Please join up for Farm Friend Friday any and every Friday you are able. We would love to have you. I’m going to follow your blog so I can keep up with all the goings on.
Thank you, Amy at Verde Farm
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