W-burg's Friends Farm Hosts Blair Co. Farm Bureau

"Can we capture the smells in here?" Blair County Commissioner Bruce Erb asked as attendees walked into the gathering room of Friends Farm last Wednesday morning for the annual Blair County Farm Bureau Tour.

The sights and sounds will make anyone feel at home on the 23-acre farm owned by Christine Wise. Wise, following the meeting about the updates with the Blair County Farm Bureau, talked about the history of the farm.

Wise and her late husband purchased the farm in 1992, but were unable to live on it until 1994. The farm was in poor condition. In 2015 when her husband passed away, Wise had some choices to make. The farm is now, what Wise refers to as a direct-to-consumer farm.

"We grow and produce," Wise said.

She spoke about the importance of knowing the face and place of where the goods are produced. Wise is part of a CSA (community-supported agriculture), which helps roughly 30 families get produce. The CSA lasts from the second week of May through the second week of October. In those months, members of the CSA can come in and pick up some produce such as eggplant, onions and cantaloupe. Wise joked with the crowd that sometimes those members of the CSA don't want to go pick their own produce citing "it's too hot, you pick them."

"I just have the most loyal customers," Wise said.

She wrote to her customers about a greenhouse to plant vegetables and other items in, and most of her CSA customers donated in amounts to help make her greenhouse dreams a reality.

As she is getting older, Wise said she would like to take more time to focus on the produce and more time cooking in the Friends Farm Kitchen.

Wise prides herself on using the best ingredients and "the more local ingredients, the better," she said.

Following her presentation, Wise took those interested on a walking tour of the farm. 

"The venue at Friends Farm was fantastic. Chris Wise was a great host whose blueberry scones were beyond delicious. But even more impressive was the story of Friends Farm and how she operates the farm and the store. She is a truly incredible woman: hardworking, visionary, and a realist all at the same time," Erb said.

Getting Down to Business

Farm Bureau President Andrew Bechtel welcomed the crowd to Friends Farm and for the legislative discussions. State Representative Jim Gregory (R-80th) and state Senator Judy Ward (R-30) were in attendance, as well as Blair County Commissioners Amy Webster and Erb amongst others.

"I always enjoy participating in the tour," Erb said. "I thought this year's was particularly good.  The discussions among Farm Bureau members, Sen. Ward and Rep. Gregory, and subject matter experts like those from the County Conservation District were insightful and informative. The dialogue was helpful to everyone there."

Conservation

One of the first concerns was conservation. Blair County Conservation District's Donna Fisher talked about the Chesapeake Bay watershed grant funding that Blair County recently received at a whopping $1.6 million. Fisher said she had to check the numbers twice because she didn't believe that number.

"It's a win for everyone." Fisher said that grant needs to be spent by 2026.

Meat processing

The next issue presented to the group was meat processing and the lack of meat processors. Christine Wise of Friends Farm said that her daughter on the farm raises 3-4 beef and 10 hogs throughout the year. Daren Brubaker of Precision Farming said the turn-around for getting meat processed used to "be three weeks, and now these farmers are having to schedule up to a year in advance."

According to State Representative Jim Gregory, "Penn State's program for meat processing has taken off, people are being encouraged to go into that program."

A lot of the problem stems from not being able to be funded for these small meat processing plants and the regulations from the USDA are nearly impossible to afford or complete.

Tyrone Area Ag teacher Tiffany Hoy, who was in attendance with some FFA members, talked about the inability to tour their hometown Kunzler plant. Because of insurance issues, they can't tour unless they're 18.

"It's hard to get students into these careers like that when they can't see anything," Hoy said.

Whole milk in schools

The next topic discussed was the idea of serving whole milk in schools, which has been on the Farm Bureau's radar since the Obama administration.

"Anyone who's worked with dairy knows it's screwed up," Bechtel said.

"We are getting a whole generation of non-milk drinkers," Farm Bureau Board Member Ken Brenneman said.

Breneman's brother Louis is on the Williamsburg School Board and talked about the Board President Dr. Barry England's stance on skim milk in the school system.

"When we went from whole to skim milk, grades started to slip. Brain development needs whole milk – teenagers, especially, need that fat in their diet."

Hoy echoed that same sentiment.

"We have a lot of teenagers who are addicted to caffeine and sugary drinks."

Hoy talked about the availability of those drinks next to milk in the cafeteria.

Gregory said, "We have lost a lot of educated people about the importance of whole milk."

Storm water and stream maintenance

One of the last topics, which created some heated discussion, was storm water and stream maintenance. Ken Brenneman of Brenneman Brothers farm talked about some legislation known as the Clean Streams Maintenance Package, which would create an efficient, common-sense approach to stream and waterway maintenance.

"We want to keep the nutrients on the ground," Brenneman said and not "wash away."

Brenneman talked about how another hurricane could mean disaster for this area and the Chesapeake Bay watershed, citing the 1972 Hurricane Agnes for an example.

"We are asking you guys to help us to keep streams clean if we can."