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FIELD NOTES
Join Rodale Institute’s researchers and staff to learn the latest results
of our research projects and visit demonstration stations across our
333-acre experimental farm. Participants will have the opportunity to
interact one-on-one with Rodale Institute experts and learn about a wide
variety of organic research and demonstration projects.
DEMONSTRATION STATIONS
ANNUAL
FIELD DAY
JULY 15, 8:30AM–3:30PM
* Farming Systems Trial (FST)
and Oat Nutrition
* Vegetable Systems Trial (VST)
* High Tunnels and Grafted
Tomatoes
* Organic Vegetables Cropping
* Composting
* Pest Management - Bats
* Soil Microbiology - Soil Pit
* No-Till Management
* Pastured Swine Production
* Integrated Crops and
Livestock Systems
* Water Purification Eco-Center
(WPEC)
* Honey Bee Conservancy
* Agriculture Supported
Communities (ASC)
Register online at RodaleInstitute.org. Tuition: $35/person includes lunch and handout materials.
For more information, call Maria Pop at 610-683-1481 or [email protected].
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
611 Siegfriedale Road,
Kutztown, PA 19530
PAID
Kutztown, PA
Permit No. 92
SPRING 2016
healthy soil, healthy food, healthy people ®
from
one farm
TO ANOTHER
Farming has a rhythm to it. A cycle of the seasons. And at Rodale Institute, our entire organization feels the tempo that accompanies nature’s changes. In the spring, we’re bustling. Seeds are
germinating, greenhouses are full, we’re transplanting, livestock
are breeding, and the entire farm has the great energy and renewal that spring brings. We’re working hard and investing for the
bounty of harvest.
Systems Trial- the produce companion to our 35-year Farming
Systems Trail- comparing conventional versus organic agriculture.
Our veterans training is robust- expanding with a second, flexible
training option this summer. We’ve partnered with Organic Farming
Research Foundation to expand our “Your 2 Cents” grantmaking
program. Our research is growing and expanding- we’re currently
working on 20 unique projects, including new work on bats. We’re
training the next generation of organic farmers, with close to 20
interns on site this season. And, we continue to educate farmers
and agricultural professionals about our mission; traveling around
the world, and hosting workshops right in our own backyard, to
advocate that healthy soil=healthy food=healthy people™.
Organic is gaining momentum. Recently, the USDA announced a 12%
increase in organic farms in the United States from 2014 to 2015. But
we know we can do more. Plant a seed with us. Invest with us. Let’s
look forward to the bountiful harvest we can create together.
After clearing 20 inches of snow in January, we were fortunate to
have an early spring. The farm is green and growing, and our programs are getting into full swing. We’ve started our new Vegetable
Jeff Moyer
Executive Director
NEW VETERAN FARMER
TRAINING PROGRAM
Please join Rodale
Institute for our
6th ANNUAL
During this special evening we honor a scientist, farmer
and business who are known pioneers in the organic
food and agriculture movement.
The evening kicks off with a sunset
tractor ride into our fields and a
champagne toast. Then we feast
on an abundant, organic farm-totable dinner fresh from our fields.
Organic cocktails, music, engaging
speakers and awards round
out the evening.
All proceeds from the event support Rodale
Institute’s important work in organic
Saturday, SEPTEMBER 10
agriculture research, education and outreach.
REGISTER TODAY!
NEW for 2016
In 2013, Rodale Institute cemented our commitment to training
veterans for careers in organic agriculture with the launch of our
Organic Farming Training Certificate in partnership with Delaware
Valley University. This certificate is a one year, 36-credit program.
However, we realized we weren’t meeting the needs of veterans
looking for a more flexible, short-term program. So this year, we’re
proud to announce a brand new Veteran Farmer Training program,
providing 2-4 month training opportunities for vets in livestock,
orchard management, vegetable growing and gardening. Through
both programs, we’ll have more than 16 veterans training with us
this summer!
Veterans (and sisters!) Jessika and Kristen Greendeer
are completing their Organic
Farming Certification this
summer. The sisters will return
to Baraboo, WI with a full
knowledge of organic farming
in the hopes to open their own
farm and share their knowledge with the community.
For those who have more
time, we’re offering a full-day
program, including a tour of
the farm, lunch and a cooking demonstration with Maria
Rodale, and a look at our
cutting-edge research with
our team of scientists.
RODALE INSTITUTE EXPANDS
“YOUR 2 CENTS” BY
PARTNERING WITH OFRF
Your 2 Cents goes bi-coastal! This year, Rodale Institute expanded our
Your 2 Cents program by partnering with California-based Organic
Farming Research Foundation. Companies commit to donating 2
cents per case good of their product or agreed upon amount, and
Rodale Institute, through OFRF’s grantmaking program, helps fund
farmers, ranchers, graduate students, veterans and researchers
studying the most pressing challenges in organic agriculture. This
year, our partnership has funded projects like soil health for water
management, new organic farmers training, organic livestock
production, and small grain production.
Space is limited.
Learn more at RodaleInstitute.org
or contact Hallie Guiseppe at 610-683-1489.
Inside this issue:
ON THE FARM
page 2
OFF THE FARM
page 2
RODALE IS
GETTING BATTY!
page 3
ON THE FARM
IN OUR RESEARCH
RODALE INSTITUTE
IS GETTING BATTY!
Hands-on training includes seed starting,
greenhouse
production,
transplanting,
pest & weed management, soil health,
large equipment, harvesting, processing,
marketing, customer relations, and working
with community partners. Additionally,
interns work with MBA students at Lehigh
University to formulate a business plan for
their own future organic enterprise.
Training the Next Generation
of Organic Farmers
Rodale Institute is committed to transitioning
more farms, acres and farmers to organic.
Part of that commitment includes training
the next generation of organic farmers.
Interns have arrived on the farm from all
over the country for our renowned training
programs. Pictured are four of our new
interns, who will participate in an eightmonth program for our ASC (Agriculture
Supported Communities) farm share.
St. Luke’s Rodale Institute
Organic Farm Turns 3!
St. Luke’s Rodale Institute Organic Farm is in
year three! This year the farm will produce
more than 73,000 pounds of fresh, organic
produce for the staff and patients of St. Luke’s
University Health Network. Additionally, the
farm is partnering with The Children’s Home
of Easton, a nonprofit providing longterm
care to children in need, to train teen
apprentices for careers in organic agriculture
and the Kellyn Foundation, to start a “Mobile
Food Market,” bringing organic food to
neighborhoods in need.
This spring our research team began using acoustic
monitoring equipment and bat boxes to assess bat
populations for a better understanding of how farmers
can attract the animals for pest management. Bats, whose
populations are being decimated by white-nose syndrome,
can provide an economic service to farmers by freeing time
and money with pest management, while reducing the need
for environmental pollutants and supporting ecosystems.
New Visitor Center
This spring Rodale Institute is proud to
unveil a brand new Visitor Center to enhance
education and outreach on the farm. The
Visitor Center, generously constructed with
funds from The Wyncote Foundation, was
created by enclosing a pavilion located next
to our Garden Store. The Visitor Center
includes a theater screen and sound system,
allowing us to showcase educational content,
host films and speakers, and to engage the
public with the history and mission of Rodale
Institute.
INSTALLING AMERICAN
KESTREL NEST BOXES
In partnership with Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association,
we installed new American Kestrel nest boxes at the farm.
In the past, our land has been successful at attracting
breeding pairs of Kestrels so this year we added an
additional location on the farm. The American Kestrel is our
smallest falcon and utilizes farmland. This bird is in decline
in the Northeast and these boxes will be monitored and
as part of research on the birds. We’re happy to support
farmland raptor conservation!
OFF THE FARM
Executive Director Jeff Moyer recently
visited the White House to advocate for
organic farmers. Jeff had great meetings
w i t h t h e U . S . I n t e r n a t i o n a l Tr a d e
Commission, a team from the White House
Counsel on Environmental Quality, and with
company representatives from Honest Tea,
Applegate, Organic Valley, Elevation Burger
a n d m o re. O u r g o a l ? To f o s t e r a n
environment that supports organic farmers,
companies and consumers, and encourages
more farms to transition.
An Organic China
Spring 2016 | 2
Chief Scientist Kris Nichols has been busy
getting the word out that organic farming has
the power to reverse climate change through
carbon sequestration. This spring Kris spoke
at the National Press Club in Washington,
D.C. with Regeneration International and
in San Francisco with the Sustainable Food
Trust about how healthy soil means healthy
people AND a healthy planet.
FN 10 15
Jeff Moyer and our Chief Scientist Kris
Nichols recently traveled to China to expand
organic agriculture in the most populated
country in the world. They joined 160 organic
farmers, policymakers, educators, and
agribusiness professionals in the opening of
Organic Food and Development Certification
Center Training Workshop in Haungshaun,
visited a local organic rice farm, toured
a 6,000 member CSA and met with staff
A Message on Climate
Change
Maria Rodale, Co-Chairman
Chairman & CEO
Rodale Inc.
Paul McGinley, Co-Chairman
Gross McGinley
Drew Becher
Elizabeth Kucinich
Corby Kummer
Journalist
The Atlantic
Roberta Lang
General Counsel and Global Vice
President of Legal Affairs for
Whole Foods Market, Inc.
Grant Lundberg
CEO
Lundberg Family Farms
Dr. Andrew Smith recently joined Rodale Institute as the
Director of our new Vegetable Systems Trial (VST). Andrew
has a Bachelor’s Degree in Agronomy and Crop Science
from Cornell University, Master’s Degree in Entomology
from the University of Maryland, and recently, a Ph.D in
Molecular Ecology from Drexel University. Andrew has also
studied Integrated Pest Management in Guatemala with the
Peace Corps as well as managed a fruit and vegetable farm
for more than nine years.
from the Organic Food and Development
Certification Center and Nanjing Institute of
Environmental Sciences (NIES).
Board of Directors
Kim Larson
Community Advocate
INTRODUCING
Dr. DREW SMITH
AND VST
Rodale Institute Visits the
White House!
Our Mission
Through organic
leadership we improve
the health and well-being
of people and the planet.
Rodale Institute’s new VST is a side-by-side comparison of
organic and conventional vegetable production systems. As
Director of VST, Andrew oversees the project, measuring
soil quality, economic profit, insect damage and weed
tolerance, and nutritional quality (quantity of nutrients
and other components) in organic versus conventional
vegetables. Vegetables to be studied include produce that
are widely grown, common for pesticide use, and are of
the root, leaf, and fruit families, such as potatoes, lettuce,
broccoli, and squash.
Spring 2016 | 3
Helen Piszek Nelson
Copernicus Society of America
Maya Rodale
Author
Jeff Moyer
Executive Director
Rodale Institute
Louise Schorn Smith, CPA
President
Countryside Consulting, Inc
611 Siegfriedale Road,
Kutztown, PA 19530
610-683-1400
[email protected]