RSS feed for the OCA Pennsylvania forum http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:54:02 -0800 5 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2970 http://www.lavidalocavore.org/diary/2269/a...in-lancaster-pa

An Amazing Day in Lancaster, PA
by: Jill Richardson
Fri Aug 07, 2009 at 21:50:19 PM PDT

Wow! What a day! A little less than a year ago, I came to Lancaster for a half day to tour a few Amish farms and to learn about an Amish CSA cooperative called Lancaster Farm Fresh. If you read my book, you'll read about the CSA in chapter 5 (I think... I'm doing this from memory) because I loved it so much when I first visited. It's a scalable CSA model. Several farm families came together to form the cooperative a few years ago, and over time they've grown (both in number of farms and in number of CSA members). They sell some food to schools, they do some wholesale sales, and they are starting to get into farmers' markets too.

What I love about it most is that it's scalable... if new farms want to be part of a CSA, they don't have to do it all by themselves. Instead they can join Lancaster Farm Fresh, where they will automatically have a market for their goods and plenty of years of experience guiding them to be successful. This way, the farms can share trucks and warehouses, as well as non-farming jobs like marketing. And (my favorite part) because the cooperative is all organic with strict standards for humane treatment of animals, several farms have really shaped up the way they grow crops and raise livestock in order to join the cooperative.

What I found most impressive was the story of one farmer in particular. Last year I visited Aaron's beautiful farm when he showed a group of us foodies around. It was very clear how much he loves farming, and I loved this innovative contraption he'd come up with to harvest tomatoes. His tomatoes grew in a hoophouse, if I remember right, and he had lightweight, movable shelving hung from the ceiling that he could pull along with him as he harvested tomatoes, placing the tomatoes he picked in boxes on the shelves as he went.

The story continues this year, when blogger Anonymous Bosch took me to Reading Terminal Market. I went looking for the Lancaster Farm Fresh stand while we were there. When we found it, he looked at the heirloom tomatoes and said he thought that his wife bought these exact tomatoes recently. When we went back to his place, I saw that he did have that variety of tomatoes at home. Little did I know that Aaron - the very same man whose farm I visited last year - grew the tomatoes!!!

Today I visited Lancaster Farm Fresh again and spoke with Casey, the same person who led the tour last year. He showed us the heirloom tomatoes and commented that they were Aaron's. "Wait a second," I said, "Didn't we visit his farm last year?" Casey confirmed that yes, we (attendees of a food conference I attended who took the field trip to Lancaster, PA) did visit that farm. Wow. Talk about things coming full circle.

I was sorry to hear that Aaron shattered his leg in two places this year and he's been unable to work. However, I was thrilled to hear that in the classic Amish style (similar to a barnraising, where an entire community comes together to build an Amish family a barn all in one day), the community came together to plant Aaron's crops and they've been taking care of them and harvesting them while he's recovering from his injury. I realize that many people think that progress left the Amish in the dust, but in terms of their strong community and willingness to help one another out in their times of need, I think they are far ahead of the rest of us.

Many thanks to Lydia of SSBN and blogger Monkeybiz for hosting me while I'm here in beautiful Lancaster, and thanks to Casey of Lancaster Farm Fresh for taking time to chat with me today. This is one of the most beautiful areas in the entire country in my opinion and I'm just thrilled to have a chance to visit for the second time in a year.
Jill Richardson :: An Amazing Day in Lancaster, PA]]> Sat, 08 Aug 2009 05:45:25 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2970 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2718 Thu, 14 May 2009 05:14:09 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2718 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2673

]]> Tue, 28 Apr 2009 10:57:16 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2673 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2660
The smell. Can't explain it, but somehow the air is just much nicer.

The flowers. LOVE the flowers. It's so encouraging to see the first bulbs and even the first cheery dandelions, before I have to start weeding them.

The first vivid green. That bright yellow-green leaf bud on the the trees is so beautiful, especially teemed up with the dark sky of a just-passed thunderstorm, which brings me to...

The first thunderstorms. I love thunderstorms year round, but the ones in spring are especially encouraging.


What do you love?]]> Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:50:29 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2660 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2565
Any green folks from PA - please say hello

Much love!
Sadie from allnaturalme.com]]> Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:11:37 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2565 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2324
Fiddler]]> Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:59:47 -0800 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=2324 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=1864

http://www.reason.com/news/show/127391.html

In April police hauled off Mark Nolt in handcuffs for being a dairy deviant. Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court cited the Mennonite farmer for contempt after he ignored a 2007 injunction prohibiting him from selling raw milk and cheese.

The peddling of unorthodox dairy products is legal in Pennsylvania, but it requires a permit. Nolt let his license expire in a gesture of protest, telling the Cumberland County Sentinel that “the Constitution clearly spells out we have the right [to] do private business.”

The arresting officers were joined by several representatives of the state Department of Agriculture. The assembled forces swarmed onto the farm, loaded several trucks with contraband milk and cheese, and left with an inventory worth thousands of dollars. In addition to the loss of his stock, Nolt faces a $1,000 fine for each violation of Pennsylvania’s dairy regime.

On May 5, customers and neighbors rallied at the Nolt farm to support the right to bear farmer’s cheese. His supporters are mulling ways to change the law.

]]> Sun, 03 Aug 2008 06:44:15 -0700 http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=1864