FarmFest Brings Outstanding Speakers, Education
Agriculture, Homesteading, and Soil Health
Centre Hall, PA: For four years Pennsylvania Organic FarmFest has been bringing innovative speakers to the stage for free educational workshops for farmers, gardeners, and landowners. August 7 and 8th saw a record crowd of 4700 at FarmFest, and among the offerings were educational sessions to teach, inspire, and motivate.
“FarmFest has become an integral part of central Pennsylvania, bringing farmers, organizations, and families together to celebrate organic agriculture and learn new ideas,” says Lee Rinehart, PCO’s Director of Education. “This year’s event was no exception, with an outstanding lineup of topics and presenters.”
Sponsored by Spring Creek Homesteading, Saturday’s sessions saw demonstrations on Food Preservation Without Canning with Penn State’s Joshua Lambert, Home Mushroom Production with Garrett Morrison, Permaculture as an Approach to Homestead-Level Food Production with Jacki Bonomo, and a special talk on Organic Meat Processing with Jay Young of Spring Mill’s Rising Spring Meats, a PCO-certified organic meat processor. Spring Creek Homesteading has partnered with PCO to put on educational workshops at FarmFest since it’s inception in 2012.
Our Special Presentation on Saturday by Penn State’s Eva Pendleton highlighted Preparing Pastured Poultry Farms for High Path Avian Influenza, where she provided information on HPAI and its implications for small flocks and the consumption of poultry products.
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Job Openings at PCO- Come Join Our Team!
Materials Program Manager
Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO) announces a job opening for Materials Program Manager. This position will oversee PCO’s material review program, including the publication of PCO Materials Lists, developing policies relevant to material review under the organic regulations, and will actively perform material review. The ideal candidate will have education and experience in the following areas: knowledge of materials used in organic production and processing, familiarity with regulatory compliance and organic certification, knowledge of organic standards. We are looking for a well-organized and self-motivated person to join our team-oriented environment in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania; telecommuting will be considered. The planned start date for this position is Dec 2015.
This is a full-time, exempt position.
Salary range: $45,000 – 55,000, depending on experience.
To view a job description, visit our
website.
Benefits: health, dental, vision, disability and life insurance; Simple IRA, generous holiday, vacation and paid time off.
Position will remain open until filled. Please send resume and cover letter to
lia@paorganic.org.
Certification Program Manager
Pennsylvania Certified Organic (PCO) announces a job opening for Certification Program Manager. This position will oversee PCO’s certification programs, including compliance and enforcement. This position will also be responsible for maintaining policies to be consistent with federal regulatory requirements. The ideal candidate will have education and experience in the following areas: familiarity with regulatory compliance and organic certification, knowledge of organic standards. We are looking for a well-organized and self-motivated person to join our team-oriented environment in Spring Mills, Pennsylvania (on-site preferred; telecommuting considered). The planned start date for this position is Dec 2015.
This is a full-time, exempt position.
Salary range: $45,000 – 55,000, depending on experience.
To view a job description, visit our
website.
Benefits: health, dental, vision, disability and life insurance; Simple IRA, generous holiday, vacation and paid time off.
Position will remain open until filled. Please send resume and cover letter to
lia@paorganic.org.