{"id":1589,"date":"2011-02-08T14:12:47","date_gmt":"2011-02-08T19:12:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/?p=1589"},"modified":"2012-03-14T15:02:23","modified_gmt":"2012-03-14T19:02:23","slug":"college-farm-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/college-farm-update\/","title":{"rendered":"College Farm Update"},"content":{"rendered":"

College Farm Update<\/a>
\nDickinson Website
\nby MaryAlice Bitts<\/p>\n

The lazy days of summer were anything but for the students and staff at the Dickinson College Organic Farm<\/a>. At the peak of growing season, student interns and farm staff not only harvested and sold fresh produce, but also celebrated a new landmark, began new programs, welcomed\u00a0new four-legged residents to the neighborhood, hosted special events,\u00a0upgraded equipment and led educational workshops.<\/p>\n

There is much to celebrate. Just months after receiving USDA organic certification<\/a>, the farm was certified by the Food Alliance,\u00a0which evaluates quality of products, working conditions, pest-management systems, soil and water conservation, the protection of wildlife habitat and systems in place to improve practices.\u00a0\u201cThis is a huge boost to our program,\u201d said Jenn Halpin, director of the College Organic Farm. The farm also\u00a0will serve as a pilot venue for the organization\u2019s new educational program.<\/p>\n

The farm also recently received a $16,000 grant to work with the Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry to develop and implement agroforestry systems\u2014bringing woody perennials, such as trees and shrubs, to the Boiling Springs property. Its small flocks of sheep and laying hens now have new neighbors, thanks to a $13,500 grant allowing staff and student workers to turn an 18-acre section of land into a pasture for herd cattle.\u00a0And a\u00a0newly upgraded\u00a0irrigation system will keep\u00a0operations running smoothly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two kinds of growth<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The farm also was a hotbed of non-agricultural activity during the summer. It was the site of several social events, most notably an Art on the Farm dinner and art auction benefitting the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and the Carlisle Arts Learning Center.\u00a0Farm staff also led special alumni tours.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Learning at the farm\u00a0continued throughout the summer. Working with Charles A. Dana Professor of Biology John Henson, Jessica Sinchi ’14 conducted research at the farm, studying\u00a0the impact of compost extract on disease suppression and productivity in tomatoes. Summer classes and workshops included a cooking class with a food writer\/chef and a renewable-energy workshop. Local middle-schoolers spent a week learning about sustainability as part of the annual CONNECT (Coalition of Neighborhood Networks for the Enhancement of Carlisle Teens) camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And as the days heated up, farm interns continued to harvest\u00a0fresh produce, herbs and flowers for on-campus dining and for sale at the nearby weekly outdoor farmers\u2019 market, Farmers On The Square<\/a>. They also continued to feed approximately 70 local families in need by donating fresh food, through Dickinson\u2019s Sustainable Agriculture program, to Project S.H.A.R.E<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Making it fun<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

One summer highlight for intern and former seasonal-menu specialist<\/a> Katelyn Repash \u201911 was harvesting organic honey from the farm\u2019s beehives. \u201cI appreciate the hands-on way that we learn about vegetables, livestock and sustainability,\u201d said the recent grad.\u00a0And although\u00a0she admitted\u00a0that it wasn’t always easy to live in a yurt and farm organically during\u00a0a July heatwave, the rewards far outweighed the discomfort.<\/p>\n

Giovania Tiarachristie \u201913, a summer intern who harvested produce and helped create methane from cow manure and compost,\u00a0agreed. \u201cWorking at the farm is a passion-builder. … We put our hearts into [the work],\u201d\u00a0Tiarachristie said, explaining that she enjoyed\u00a0tackling issues such as the intersection of agriculture, nutrition and community in such an immediate way.<\/p>\n

Besides, she added, even in triple-digit-temperatures,\u00a0Halpin and\u00a0Asssistant Farm Manager Matt Steiman \u201cknew how to make a tough day fun.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

College Farm Update Dickinson Website by MaryAlice Bitts The lazy days of summer were anything but for the students and staff at the Dickinson College Organic Farm. At the peak of growing season, student interns and farm staff not only… Continue Reading →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1256,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44383,1],"tags":[22061,22064],"class_list":["post-1589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press","category-uncategorized","tag-dickinson-college-farm","tag-sustainable-agriculture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1256"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1589\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/farm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}