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Dept. of Ag Secretary Visits Cove Farm to See Apprenticeship Program in Action

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding visited Clover Creek Cheese Cellar in rural Williamsburg on Nov. 17. Secretary Redding was there to celebrate National Apprentice Week and to meet with the Rice family, who owns the farm, and their Pasa apprentice Williams Benitez. David Rice and his wife Terry operate the cheese production facility as well as a dairy farm on the site. The milk from the farm is used for their cheeses and raw milk production.

David Rice is a Master Grazier with Pasa Sustainable Agriculture. Pasa is a Pennsylvania-based sustainable agriculture association that administers two formal apprenticeship programs in Pennsylvania, one for vegetable growers and one for dairy graziers. David is qualified as a mentor in grazing.

Benitez is an intern in Pasa's Dairy Grazing program. The apprenticeship is a two-year program that pairs beginning farmers with mentor graziers to provide experience and mentorship to the beginning farmer. The Dairy Grazing Apprenticeship combines paid, on-the-job training with related coursework. The apprenticeship includes 3,600 hours of on the job training and 400 hours of related technical instruction. Two hundred of those hours are online or in-person coursework instruction. After he completes the program, Benitez will receive a Journey Dairy Grazier certification accredited by the Department of Labor.

Benitez, 22, is a native of San Salvador, El Salvador. He moved to the United States with his family in 2016. They settled in Baltimore, but eventually moved to Morrisons Cove to a small farm along Clover Creek. Benitez's mother worked on the Rice farm, and, knowing Williams' interest in farming, David asked Williams if he'd like to apply for the apprenticeship program.

"David has taught me so much – things I wouldn't have thought about. It's amazing what I've learned here," Williams said of his time on the Rice farm.

Aaron de Long, education coordinator for Pasa, said that Benitez is also part of a grant program that Pasa has with the Northeast Dairy Business Innovation Center that works to connect beginning graziers with one another for peer networking and sharing. "This farm is a joy to work with because they're tremendous mentors with tremendous effects," said de Long.

After the introductions, the Rice's treated their guests to a tour of the cheese plant and the pastures where Benitez works with the farm's herd. David and Terry's son Anthony oversees most of the cheese production while David manages the herd. Benitez has also helped with the cheese production. He said his family makes cheese as well, although on a much smaller scale.

Secretary Redding was impressed with the results of the apprenticeship on the farm and said, "The whole focus of this week is looking at these apprenticeships...it's not a new concept. They've been used for generations and they work. This shows the benefits. This shows great potential. I think we've just touched the surface."

 

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