Workshop Description

About the Presenter

The Local Kitchen

Help to prepare the evening’s meal from locally-produced ingredients.

Jane Rittenhouse

Jane works at Laurelville as the volunteer coordinator.  Although she has been involved in various aspects of camping, she has worked part-time in the kitchen for the last 7 years, where she especially enjoys contact with the guests and working with the staff.  Jane lives in a lively household with her two teenage daughters and an exchange student from Ecuador.

Connecting to Local Food

A discussion on how farmers and consumers can work together to promote healthier eating and better environmental practices. It will include a discussion on the use of local organic food.

Kristi Bahrenberg Janzen

Kristi is a freelance journalist specializing in local and sustainable food/agriculture. She is a contributing editor at Edible Chesapeake and co-publisher of a newsletter/website www.realpeopleeatlocal.com .

Congregational Initiatives

A discussion on what congregations can do to help connect faith and food sustainability. We will discuss things such as food co-op stores, support of CSA farming, involvement in local farmer’s markets, and “community gardens.”

Sherry and Duane Schmidt/Karla Stoltzfus

Sherry and Duane of Paoli Mennonite and Karla of Benton Mennonite are members of congregations that are connecting faith with food sustainability.

Women in Farming

The Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network (PA-WAgN) is a Penn State College of Agriculture-based organization that provides educational and mentoring opportunities for women in agriculture. This workshop will discuss PA-WAgN's research into women farmers' educational needs and the program's hands-on field days. It will also seek ideas from participants about how to meet the needs of women in agriculture. 

Linda Moist

Linda is a Huntingdon County farmer. She and her husband and sons own and operate a diverse farm where they raise grassfed beef, sheep, meat goats, hogs and pastured poultry. She is also Senior Extension Associate working with the Pennsylvania Women's Agricultural Network (PA-WAgN).

Working Cooperatively

The process of forming a cooperative can be complex, but the rewards can be great. Not only can cooperating save time and money, but new opportunities can open up. Explore the advantages and obligations of working together.

Peggy & Dave Fogerty-Harnish

Peggy and her husband Dave operate Scarecrow Hill Organic farm located in Ephrata, PA, Lancaster County.

Sabbath Keeping

Nurturing the soul, the spirit and relationships takes attention to daily, weekly and seasonal respite when the demands of running a produce farm are never -ending. Sharing three meals together daily, maintaining a five day 45 hour work week and allowing time for play are essential to sustaining a healthy family, a healthy marriage and a happy staff.

Peggy & Dave Fogerty-Harnish

Peggy and her husband Dave operate Scarecrow Hill Organic farm located in Ephrata, PA, Lancaster County.

Non-Timber Forest Products

Forests are undervalued by society primarily because we look at them as places to grow timber and little else. The reality is that forests are highly diverse mosaics of species all of which have ecosystem value, and many having economic value. We will look at a number of these non-traditional products, how to grow and manage them, while keeping the forest in a healthy state.

Wayne Teel, Ph.D.

Dr. Teel is an assistant professor of Geography at James Madison University. He holds a Ph.D. in Agro- forestry and International Agriculture.

Growing Soil

Nothing is more important for any scale of agriculture than stable, healthy soil. Chemically based agriculture commonly ignores this, relating fertility to a series of additives. Truly healthy soil is a living community of organisms that can be grown if properly fed. This workshop focuses on ways to encourage soil improvement naturally and contribute to reducing atmospheric carbon at the same time by making "terra preta".

Wayne Teel, Ph.D.

Dr. Teel is an assistant professor of Geography at James Madison University. He holds a Ph.D. in Agro- forestry and International Agriculture.

Grass Finished Beef

Tim will lead a discussion about why farmers would switch to grass finished beef instead of traditional grain beef. Also included in this workshop Tim will explain the process of finishing beef with grass as well as the most important step, how to market the finished product.

Tim Kimpel

Tim has been a part-time farmer his whole life in Muskingum County , OH up until 2000 when he began farming full time. Conventional farming just wasn’t working and that is when he decided to go to all grass fed beef. Tim also opened an all natural organic grocery store 4 years ago. He and his wife have two children, and now three beautiful grand children.

The Collapsing Vision of Industrial Agriculture:

A Traditional Japanese Agriculture Perspective on Bird Flu.

Creative Marketing

A discussion on some unique opportunities farmers can use to provide service to their communities while offering a connection with our food sources.

Janet & Urbane Byler

The Bylers run an organic farm in central Pennsylvania. They provide service and hands on experiences to parents, educators, and students through things such as shelling corn, milking a cow, retrieving eggs, and care for goats.

Sustainable Eating: Food and the Health System

A discussion of the dietary and health benefits of sustainable eating. This discussion will include the connection between the health problems we see in society and their affect on the health system.

Mary Beth Lind

Mary Beth is a licensed and registered dietician and nutritional consultant, and co-editor of Simply in Season. She and her husband, Lester, operate a small fruit and vegetable farm in West Virginia.

Passing on the Farm

Based on my 27 years of estate planning which has included a large number of farm estate planning, in which farm parents would like to see the farm continued by one or more children, and the issues they run into. It will focus also on agricultural conservation easements, which is one tool that can be helpful.

Ralph Lehman

Ralph Lehman is a partner at Logee, Hostetler, Stutzman and Lehman, a Wooster, Ohio law firm. He holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Akron School of Law and is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association; American Bar Association; and a fellow with the American College of Trust and Estate Council.. He is certified in Ohio as a specialist in estate planning and trust and probate law. His practice includes estate planning, probate, small business and real estate. Ralph and his wife, Joanne, live near Apple Creek, Ohio. They are members of Kidron Mennonite Church.

Leader’s Guide to Simply in Season

The Simply in Season Leader’s Guide provides a six to 13-week curriculum based on the themes in the Simply in Season cookbook, which serves as the sessions’ “textbook.” This workshop will offer an overview of the guide. We’ll also try out some of the activities, discuss incorporating local food and farmers into the sessions, and share ideas from participants .

Rachel Miller Moreland

Rachel Miller Moreland is a freelance writer and the author of the Simply in Season Leader's Guide. She lives with her husband and two young sons near Bellefontaine , Ohio .