Backyard Beekeeping with Rodney Morgan
June 15, 2013 2:00-4:00 PM
Registration now open!
What is all the buzz about beekeeping? Come and find out! Rodney Morgan will share his experiences as a local beekeeper and what it takes to raise a hive of your own. This workshop will cover the basics of hive management, “bee”havior, making a nucleus colony and the seasonal needs of honey bees.
May 18th, 2:00-4:00pm
Stalking Wild Edibles
Register
Back by popular demand, local forager Dawn Toutkaldjian joins Dickinson College Farm to impart her wisdom and enthusiasm for foraging wild edibles. This meandering workshop will take place in and amongst the fields at the College Farm. Participants will learn how to identify medicinal and nourishing edibles otherwise mistaken as weeds!
Dickinson College Farm, 553 Park Dr., Boiling Springs, PA
Fee: $6 PASA or DC Farm CSA member/$8 non-member
Our 2013 Sustainability School series features monthly workshops through November! Find out more on our Sustainability School webpage.
NEWS RELEASE
Contact name: Rebecca Robertson
Phone number: 814-349-9856
E-mail address: rebecca at pasafarming.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 29, 2013
Field Day for Small Ruminant Producers Offered in Boiling Springs
Event Focuses on Healthier Sheep & Goats with Parasite Management Training & FAMACHA Certification
MILLHEIM, PA. [April 29, 2013] The Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) is teaming up with Dickinson College Farm in Carlisle, PA to offer a Field Day for small ruminant farmers. This educational workshop “Hands-on Small Ruminant Health: FAMACHA & Parasite Management” will be held at the Dickinson College Farm on Saturday, May 11, 2013 from 10am – 4pm in Boiling Springs (near Carlisle).
Parasite control and management can be a major challenge for sheep and goat producers. Integrated pest management (IPM) approaches are most successful by coupling nutrition, pasture and grazing management with selection for parasite resilient genetics. Along with regular animal assessments including FAMACHA testing (a non-invasive method of assessing potential parasite loads), producers can better manage their animals for overall health.
This Field Day will combine classroom time with hands on activities. Participants will gain skills in body condition assessment, certification in the FAMACHA method and experience in microscopic analysis of manure samples for parasite eggs. Discussions will cover the life cycles of worms, action thresholds, treatment options, and long-term management strategies. Farmers are encouraged to bring samples of sheep or goat manure for analysis.
Dr. Susan Beal is the Agricultural Science Advisor for PASA. Dr. Beal brings over 25 years experience in holistic veterinary practice, ranging from mixed practice through emergency medicine, equine and companion animal practices. Before joining the team at PASA, Dr. Beal was employed by Big Run Healing Arts, a veterinary practice dedicated to providing holistic care for animals and the environment.
This event is open to the public and includes lunch. Pre-registration is required. For more info about these events and others, call 814.349.9856 or visit www.pasafarming.org/farmbasededucation.
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About PASA
With 6,000 members, the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) is one of the largest and most active sustainable agriculture organizations in the U.S. Through business support and regional marketing assistance for farmers, advocacy, and public education, PASA seeks to promote profitable farms that produce healthy food for all people while respecting the natural environment. PASA’s hallmark event, the Farming for the Future conference, draws thousands of participants from more than 30 states and six countries each February. For more information, visit www.pasafarming.org.
May 11th, 10am-4pm
FAMACHA Certification & Parasite Management in Small Ruminants
Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Field Day
Dickinson College Farm, 553 Park Dr., Boiling Springs, PA
More details or to register: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5634767742?ref=ebtn
Parasite control and management can be a major challenge for small ruminant producers. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies that couple nutrition, pasture and grazing management with selection for parasite resilient genetics are most successful. Join PASA and Dickinson College Farm to learn how to assess your sheep and goats for parasite resilience, discuss possible treatment and explore management options.
This day will be a combination of classroom time, more casual discussion and hands-on work with stock and fecal samples. Participants will:
About the Host & Prensenters.
Presenter Susan Beal, DVM is PASA’s Agricultural Science Advisor. Dr. Beal brings over 25 years of experience in holistic veterinary parctice, ranging from mixed practice through emergency medicine, equine and companion animal practices. Before joining the team at PASA, Dr. Beal worked for Big Run Healing Arts, a veterinary practice dedicated to providing holistic care for animals and the environment.
Better Than Sliced Bread: Gluten-Free Sourdough Baking
April 13th, 2013, 2:00-4:00pm
Register
Dickinson Students: Register by emailing garden@dickinson.edu (limited spots available)
More people are discovering that they feel better when they avoid foods that contain gluten, a protein commonly found in wheat and other grains. In this workshop, participants will learn how to use time-tested sourdough bread baking techniques and a variety of flours, such as teff, buckwheat, and rice flour, to create naturally-leavened breads that have complex taste, natural sponginess and excellent crust. Attendees will take home multiple recipes sure to please gluten-sensitive palates.
Email farm@dickinson.edu or call 717-245-1969 with any questions!
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Each Sustainability School Workshop will start at 2:00pm at the Dickinson College Farm, located at 553 Park Drive, Boiling Springs, PA 17007. The two-hour workshops offer homesteaders of all skill levels tips and strategies to maximize production and enjoyment from home and community food production. Offered in partnership with PASA’s Good Food Neighborhood project!
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The Dickinson College Farm is a 50-acre living laboratory that is USDA Certified Organic and Food Alliance Certified. Located just six miles from campus, the farm has more than 15 acres of vegetable production ground and 18 acres of animal pasture. The farm supports the academic interests of students and faculty, promotes renewable energy through solar applications and builds a greater awareness about how food is generated using techniques that help sustain natural ecosystems.
Photo: http://freshginger.org/ “Sourdough Boule with Parmesan and Rosemary”
Happy cows at Keswick Creamery in Newburg, PA in Spring 2012.
Saturday, March 23rd, 2013
Dickinson College Holland Union Building (HUB)
Farmers’ Market: 2pm to 6pm in HUB Lobby (FREE & OPEN TO PUBLIC!)
Dinner will be served at 6:30pm in HUB Social Hall
For more information on this event, go to: http://blogs.dickinson.edu/farm/localfooddinner/
This year, author and seed-saver Janisse Ray will be the keynote for the event. For more information on Janisse please go to: http://janisseray.weebly.com/
Preceding the dinner event, the public is invited to an indoor farmers’ market showcasing the diversity of agriculture products within the Cumberland Valley and surrounding areas!
Although this event tends to sell out quickly, any unsold tickets will be available for purchase on campus in the Holland Union Building at 28 N. College St (corner of College and Louther St.) on: Monday-Friday March 18th-22nd 4:30-6:30pm.
We recommend that you call ahead to confirm tickets are still on sale. 717-245-1969.
100% of event proceeds benefit the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Arias M. Brownback Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Update 3/11/13: Tickets for the Local Food Dinner sold out in record time! Thank you for your interest in this event. Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for updates about other events and workshops!
The Local Food Dinner is an event centered on celebrating food, farmers and community. In addition to enjoying a wonderful meal made from ingredients sourced close to home, the Local Food Dinner hosts a farmers’ market and inspirational speaker.
This year, Janisse Ray, author of The Seed Underground will be our dinner keynote. In addition to writing, Janisse is a naturalist and activist whose passion for seeds and their preservation echoes across the United States.
Preceding the dinner event, the public is invited to an indoor farmers’ market showcasing the diversity of agriculture products and hand-crafted art within the Cumberland Valley and surrounding areas!
Saturday, March 23rd, 2013
Farmers’ Market: 2pm to 6pm in HUB Lobby (FREE & OPEN TO PUBLIC!)
Dinner will be served at 6:30pm.
Where: Dickinson College Holland Union Building (HUB), 28 N. College Street, Carlisle, PA
Keynote Speaker: Janisse Ray, author of The Seed Underground
Tickets for Community Members and Dickinson faculty/staff: $20 each
Tickets go on sale on March 9th at 12:00pm through Brown Paper Tickets!
“If I get to feeling a little blue about our prospects, I’m liable to reach down one of Janisse Ray’s books just so I can hear her calm, wise, strong voice. This one’s my new favorite; a world with her in it is going to do the right thing, I think.”
—Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org
Our 10th annual Local Food Dinner will please the palette and have you coming back for seconds!
Menu
Goat Cheese & Beet Salad
Pear Salad
Carrot & Butternut Squash Soup
Mushroom & Farro Dish
Chicken Pot Pie
Beef
Roasted Veggies
Apple Crisp
Cheese Platter
How to Purchase Tickets
Dickinson College students are offered the chance to purchase discounted tickets via a pre-sale organized by Students Interested in Sustainable Agriculture (SISA). Student pre-sale tickets are sold out. Contact SISA at garden at dickinson.edu if you are a Dickinson student who has questions about the Local Food Dinner.
Starting on March 9th at 12:00pm, tickets can be purchased online through Brown Paper Tickets. Tickets are $20 each.
Although this event tends to sell out quickly, any unsold tickets will be available for purchase on campus in the Holland Union Building at 28 N. College St (corner of College and Louther St.): Monday-Friday, March 18th-22nd 4:30-6:30pm. We recommend that you call ahead to confirm tickets are still on sale. 717-245-1969.
This year’s dinner will be a fundraiser for the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) Arias M. Brownback Memorial Scholarship Fund, an “endowment designed to help youth and other developing farmers attend PASA’s Farming for the Future Conference.” This annual conference draws a crowd of over 2000 and provides new and aspiring farmers with opportunities for further education, networking and deeper connections with the Pennsylvania sustainable agriculture movement.
Getting to the Local Food Dinner
Map of Dickinson Campus – Holland Union Building is #16.
The Holland Union Building’s street address is 28 N. College Street, Carlisle, PA, 17013.
Directions to Dickinson
Parking is available on the street and in campus lots.
Carpooling is encouraged!
About the Keynote Speaker
Writer, naturalist and activist Janisse Ray is author of four books of literary nonfiction and a collection of nature poetry. She is on the faculty of Chatham University’s low-residency MFA program and is a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow.
She holds an MFA from the University of Montana, and in 2007 was awarded an honorary doctorate from Unity College in Maine.
Ray has won a Southern Booksellers Award for Poetry 2011, Southeastern Booksellers Award for Nonfiction 1999, an American Book Award 2000, the Southern Environmental Law Center 2000 Award for Outstanding Writing, and a Southern Book Critics Circle Award 2000. Ecology of a Cracker Childhood was a New York Times Notable Book and was chosen as the Book All Georgians Should Read.
Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, a memoir about growing up on a junkyard in the ruined longleaf pine ecosystem of the Southeast, was published by Milkweed Editions in 1999. Besides being a plea to protect and restore the glorious pine flatwoods of the South, the book looks hard at family, mental illness, poverty, and fundamentalist religion. Essayist Wendell Berry called the book “well done and deeply moving.” Anne Raver of The New York Times said of Janisse Ray, “The forests of the South find their Rachel Carson.”Janisse Ray (Credit: Raven Waters)Ray’s second book, Wild Card Quilt: Taking a Chance on Home, about rural community, was published by Milkweed Editions in early 2003. The third, Pinhook: Finding Wholeness in a Fragmented Land, the story of a 750,000-acre wildland corridor between south Georgia and north Florida, was published by Chelsea Green in 2005. Drifting into Darien, a personal and natural history of the Altamaha River, was released in fall 2011. Her latest is a nonfiction books on open-pollinated seeds, The Seed Underground (Chelsea Green.)Her first book of poetry, A House of Branches, came out in 2010 from Wind Publication. Ray is also editor of In One Place and Moody Forest, and co-editor of UnspOILed and Between Two Rivers. She is anthologized widely.
She has been visiting professor at Coastal Carolina University, scholar-in-residence at Florida Gulf Coast University, and writer-in-residence at Keene State College and Green Mountain College. She was the John & Renee Grisham writer-in-residence 2003-04 at the University of Mississippi.
Ray attempts to live a simple, sustainable life on a farm in southern Georgia with her husband, Raven Waters. Ray is an organic gardener, seedsaver, tender of farm animals, and slow-food cook.
She lectures widely on nature, community, agriculture, wildness, sustainability and the politics of wholeness.
About the Local Food Dinner
What better way to expose our students and local community to the vast array of resources that exist in the Cumberland Valley than to create a dinner made almost exclusively with local ingredients?
Since 2004, the farm has collaborated with student organization SISA to help organize our region’s local food celebration. By contacting local farmers and working with the College’s Dining Services to develop a seasonally appropriate menu, we have succeeded in drawing a crowd of 250 each year for a feast that is one of a kind.
We have been fortunate to have leaders like Ben Hewitt, author of “The Town that Food Saved” and “Making Supper Safe”; Anna Lappe, co-founder of Small Planet Institute and a widely respected author and educator, renowned for her work as a sustainable food advocate; Kim Tait, owner of Tait Farms food activist, and agricultural entrepreneur; Nina Planck, Farmers’ Market organizer, food activist, and author; Kim Seeley, PA Dairy Farmer, President of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA); Anthony Flaccavento, founder and executive director of Appalachian Sustainable Development as keynote speakers.
Our Local Food Dinner is held on campus in the Holland Union Building (HUB) Social Hall every spring.
Past Speakers
March 24th, 2012: Keynote Speaker, Ben Hewitt was born and raised in northern Vermont, where he currently runs a small-scale, diversified farm with his family. He lives with his wife and two sons in a self-built home that is powered by a windmill and solar photovoltaic panels. To help offset his renewable energy footprint, Ben drives a really big truck. His work has appeared in numerous national periodicals, including the New York Times Magazine, Wired, Gourmet, Discover, Skiing, Eating Well, Yankee Magazine, Powder, Men’s Journal, National Geographic Adventure, and Outside. His latest book is Making Supper Safe: One Man’s Quest to Learn the Truth about Food Safety.
Listen to an interview with Ben Hewitt on NPR’s Think Radio with Krys Boyd: “Is Our Food Really Safe?”
LA Times: “Frontlines of a Food Revolution”
Ben Hewitt’s Website
April 9, 2011: Keynote Speaker: Anna Lappe, daughter of Frances Moore Lappe and international advocate on issues relating to “sustainability, food politics, globalization, and social change”.Anna Lappe founded the Small Planet Institute.
March 27, 2010: Keynote Speaker: Tim Stark, farmer and author of “Heirloom”, a memoir of over fifteen years of growing heirloom vegetables on Eckerton Hill Farm.
The Examiner: “Successful Tomato Farmer Tim Stark Details the Ironies of his Job”
Dickinson News and Events: 2010 Local Food Dinner
April 4, 2009: Keynote Speaker: Lyle Estill, author of “Small is Possible: Life in a Local Economy”; “Biodiesel Power; the Passion, People, and Politics of the Next Renewable Fuel”; and “Industrial Evolution; Local Solutions for a Low Carbon Future”.
“Local Food Dinner to Feature Heirloom Tomato Guru Tim Stark”
The first sustainability workshop of the season is sold out! Information about future workshops can be found on our Sustainability School page.
February 23rd, 2:00-4:00pm
Soap from Scratch
Join Kevin Harper-McCombs, Dickinson College Farm’s “Jack of all Trades” for a hands-on workshop on how to transform all-natural ingredients into soap! Years’ worth of dabbling and experimentation will be distilled into a fun and informative session for aspiring soap makers.
Registration for everyone other than students: http://soapfromscratch.brownpapertickets.com/
Students attend all workshops for free. Transportation via shuttle will be provided for students every month! (Thank you, Students Interested in Sustainable Agriculture!) If you are a student, please email farm at dickinson.edu to register.
Our 2013 Sustainability Schools schedule is now posted! Registration is open for our first workshop, “Soap from Scratch”, which will take place on Saturday, Feb. 23rd from 2:00-4:00pm. Registration is $6 for Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture (PASA) members and $8 for non-members.
Students attend all workshops for free. Transportation via shuttle will be provided for students every month! (Thank you, Students Interested in Sustainable Agriculture!) If you are a student, please email farm at dickinson.edu to register.
The Dickinson College Farm is one of several Pennsylvania locations hosting the workshops through PASA’s Sustainability Schools program, which centers on homesteading, homemaking and backyard conservation workshops for consumers interested in living more sustainably. Other locations include Greener Partners (Collegeville, PA), the Spring Creek Homesteading Fund (State College, PA), and The Home Grown Institute (Philadelphia, PA).
“We are excited for this partnership and look forward to empowering and inspiring others to grow food and help build a foundation for community-based education,” says Jenn Halpin, Dickinson College Farm director. “Farm-based educational programs provide hands-on learning and a means to exchange information that will benefit gardeners and food lovers alike,” she says.
A link to register for sustainability schools will be posted approximately 1 month ahead of each workshop’s date! Follow us on Facebook or Twitter to receive alerts when registration opens for each workshop.
See you at the farm!
Farm Aid 2012 Press Conference: Dave Matthews, Jack Johnson, Jenn Halpin of Dickinson College Farm and Donna Perry of Perrydell Family Farm. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm Aid 2012 Press Conference: Jack Johnson addresses the crowd. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm Aid 2012: Neil Young reads a letter from a farmer. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm Aid 2012 Press Conference: Willie Nelson speaks to the crowd. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm Aid Press Conference 2012: Dave Matthews addresses the crowd. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm Aid 2012 Press Conference: Willie Nelson has some nice kicks! (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm Aid 2012 Press Conference: Dave Matthews speaks about the Food Hub he and his wife helped create in Charlottesville, VA. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm Aid 2012 Press Conference: Jenn Halpin, Farm Manager and Director of the Dickinson College Farm, speaks about the importance of giving young people first-hand knowledge of where their food comes from. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Right Reserved.)
Farm Aid 2012: Neil Young reads a letter from a farmer. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm 2012 Press Conference: Brian Snyder, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture, speaks. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm Aid 2012 Press Conference: Neil Young speaks to the crowd. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm Aid 2012 Press Conference: Donna Perry of Perrydell Family Dairy Farm in York, PA speaks. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Farm Aid 2012: Brian Snyder of the Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture, Carolyn Mugar of Farm Aid, Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young, Dave Matthew, Jack Johnson, Jenn Halpin of Dickinson College Farm in Carlisle, PA and Donna and Tom Perry of Perrydell Family Farm in York, PA. (Photo: Carl Socolow, Dickinson College. All Rights Reserved.)
Patriot News
Farm Aid 2012: Musicians vow not to quit
By David N. Dunkle
September 23, 2012
Excerpts:
Before taking the stage to perform on Saturday, Farm Aid icons Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Neil Young and Dave Matthews gathered at noon in a former ice skating rink outside Hersheypark Stadium to talk about the plight of America’s family farmers — and to pledge their continued support for the cause.
…Young drew the loudest applause after an impassioned plea for family farmers to get more organized.
“Farmers out there have got to get together, even more than they have so far, so that all farmers have a big voice,” he said, then called for young people to get involved in farming. “Be a rebel,” he said, “become a farmer. It’s a mission from God. We need young blood on the farm.”
“You heard it here first,” said Brian Snyder, executive director of the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and a longtime Farm Aid supporter. “This is a mission from God. I don’t see how we can top that.”
…A trio of local farmers also participated in the news conference, which featured a lot of wild cheering by a clearly partisan crowd of bloggers, farmers and Farm Aid volunteers.
Among the locals was Jenn Halpin, who manages a farm for Carlisle’s Dickinson College. Halpin was named a farm hero by Farm Aid in the run-up to today’s event.
“I’m trying to educate the next generation of farmers,” Halpin said. “It’s important to show them that while it is hard work, it is work of integrity.”
Read the full article at Pennlive.com.
Dickinson College Media
Farm Aid’s “Work of Integrity”
By MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
Photos by Carl Socolow
September 25, 2012
Excerpt:
Hope prevails
Halpin and her fellow panelists spoke passionately about the need to support the legacy of family farming.
Nelson, the president of Farm Aid Inc., struck a somber tone when he told the roomful of journalists and volunteers that the problems family farmers face in the wake of the rise of corporate farming “should have been solved many years ago.” But, he added pointedly, “We’re not going to stop until every family farmer thrives and everyone has access to good food from family farms.”
Matthews, who owns a farm in Virginia, encouraged attendees to buy local food whenever possible and lamented the political sway that he said the wealthiest Americans have over current farming policy. “It’s the opposite of where most of us want to be,” he said, adding that America was built on democratic ideals. “If everyone’s doing better, we’re all doing better.”
Young drew thunderous applause when he declared the virtues of a farming career and stressed the need to organize, “so farmers have a big voice.” He said that education is paramount to securing the future of local farming.
Halpin agreed, and offered hope for the future. “My goal is to help grow the next generation of farmers,” she said. “I work with the students and show them that [farming] is hard work, but it is work of integrity.”
Read the full article on Dickinson’s website.