Farm Aid 2012 - Farm Tours
As part of the Farm Aid 2012 activities coming up next week, there are two farm tours taking place on Friday, September 21. Be sure to register today!
This is a great chance for PASA members to tour these two excellent operations! All farm tours depart promptly at 12 noon from the Holiday Inn Harrisburg – East (4751 Lindle Rd, Harrisburg, PA 17111). Contact Alicia Harvie at alicia@farmaid.org with questions.
Spiral Path Farm
Loysville, PA
12 noon – 4:30pm, boxed lunch included
Join us for a special tour of Spiral Path Farm, a unique and innovative family farm that includes 80 acres of vegetable production, an extensive solar energy program and worm composting project, large greenhouses for seasonal extension, a packing facility and a CSA program serving over 2,000 shareholders. Participants will also visit Sunset Valley Farm, an Amish family farm with a grazing dairy and processing facility for its state-licensed raw milk operation. Ice cream and other delicious dairy products will be served! Discussion of direct marketing, value-added production, and food safety policy will be featured on this tour.
Rodale Institute Experimental Farm
Kutztown, PA
12 noon – 6:00pm, boxed lunch provided
Visit the birthplace of organic agriculture in the United States. Explore the Rodale Institute's Farming Systems Trial – a 30-year research study comparing organic and conventionally managed farm plots, see heritage livestock demos for small scale poultry, hog and goat production, and enjoy a wagon ride to a neighboring dairy farm that just transitioned to organic in 2012. A discussion of organic farming practices and the history of organic agriculture will be featured on this tour.
