FarmHouse

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're speaking with Olivia Morrissey, the 2026 Pennsylvania Fair Queen. Morrissey, of the Lebanon Area Fair, was crowned state queen Jan. 24 during a competition with 64 other young women. "I was so honored to be chosen," Morrissey said. "There were a lot of qualified women there and it was great to meet all of them. It was definitely an honor." Morrissey didn't grow up farming, but she was involved with the Lebanon County 4-H Friends club, participating in a variety of projects and activities including photography and cooking. Her main project was sewing, which led her down her current path. Morrissey is studying fashion design and fiber at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. "I definitely wouldn't be interested in pursuing fashion design if I hadn't done 4-H and taken sewing," she said. Her minor in fibers was inspired by the national Make It With Wool contest. "There's a lot of misconceptions about wool," Morrissey said. "People think it's itchy, it's hot — and it can be. But there's also a glorious side of wool. It regulates temperature. You can hang it up if it gets dirty or if it smells bad and the smell will just dissipate on its own. It's so interesting and a lot of people don't know about that." Morrissey was also a member of the Little Dutchmen FFA at Annville-Cleona High School, where she served as her chapter's historian. Taking ag classes in high school inspired her to focus her royal reign on promoting agricultural education. "I want to be an advocate and teach people about what farmers do for us, and what agriculture as an industry means for our world," Morrissey said. While she is away in Georgia for part of her tenure, she will be home in Pennsylvania for the summer's busy fair season. Her goal is to visit all 65 fairs that were represented by a queen at the state contest. "I don't know if that's a reasonable number, but I would like to see all of (the contestants) again," Morrissey said. "It would be great to go to as many as I can."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're speaking with Beth Hoffman, author of "Bet the Farm." Before coming to farming, Hoffman worked as a journalist covering food systems and agriculture. She's also worked as an Associate Professor for the University of San Francisco. When she and her husband got the opportunity to move to his family's cattle farm in Iowa and begin farming, she decided to take the plunge and begin working firsthand in the agricultural systems she'd spent years writing about. "I covered a lot of farms, I'd been on a lot of farms but I'd never actually done the farming myself," said Hoffman. "There's a real mythology around farming and homesteading and it's going to be, you know, really back to the land and getting your hand in the dirt and that kind of thing." As Hoffman and her husband settled into farming, they found themselves dealing the same big issue many farmers face: the challenging finances that come with working in agriculture. "The economics of farming was something that I didn't really know much about. And I learned. We learned very quickly even before we moved out, just kind of doing spreadsheets and looking at the kind of business side of it," Hoffman said. "It's very, very difficult to make a living on a farm no matter what you do, no matter kind of farming." Hoffman realized that financial challenges were a commonality among most farmers and was inspired to write a book about her journey into agriculture. "Bet the Farm" not only covers the economics of farming, it also tackles environmental and cultural aspects of farming in the U.S.

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're speaking with Audra Mulkern, the creator of "Women's Work," a documentary about the history of women in agriculture in the U.S. "Women's Work" chronicles women's roles and contributions to American agriculture starting with Indigenous farming practices and ending in the present day. Along the way, Mulkern explores the stories of women who farmed without recognition. "Women have always farmed, but their contributions and legacies have been buried by history's plow," Mulkern says in the film. The documentary dives into the stories of several female farmers and the challenges they've had to overcome. In one story, homesteader Marge Mullen moved to Alaska with her husband in 1947, chasing the promise of cheap land. After establishing their farm, her husband's health prevented him from working and Mullen took over as the sole farmer on their property. However, due to land ownership laws at the time, Mullen's name was never on the deed despite the fact she was performing all of the physical labor on the farm. "For so many years, women were relegated to 'wife,'" said Mulkern. "They were not honoring women with the title 'farmer.' And you know what I love about the word farmer is that it has no gender. The word is not gendered at all. But somehow we all think of men when we talk about the word farmer." Mullen's story is one of many reflecting women's journey to equality — both in regard to civil rights and in farming — and Mulkern is passionate about making sure these stories get told, from enslaved women to immigrant farmers bringing new ideas to American agriculture. "Everybody knows the story about the farmer passing his farm down to his son, but when do we ever hear about the grandmother, the mother and the daughter all farming together?" Mulkern said. "Those are beautiful stories and we need to hear them." "Women's Work" can be viewed on PBS.com.

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're speaking with Megan Bogle, the owner of True North Farmstead in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. Bogle raises East Friesian/Lacuane crossbreed sheep for dairy products, meat and fiber. She and her husband started True North after moving out of Philadelphia and into the country where they developed an interest in sheep farming. Their shift toward agriculture is reflected in the name of the farm. "In order to find true north, you have to adjust yourself to the world around you," Bogle said. "It has guided us in the sense of we can make decisions based on the needs of our family, based on our needs of our community, based on our farm and our land. So, it's always this constant moving and shifting and adjusting in the world." With that philosophy guiding their way, Bogle and her husband jumped into dairy sheep farming. There was a lot to learn, from animal husbandry to the regulations involved with making and selling dairy products. While they were able to learn some of it from reading, Bogle attributes a lot of their success to the supportive community they've found. "The shepherding community and the cheese making community are awesome. I mean, everybody is very much like, ask any questions, come see, we can talk. So it never feels competitive. It just feels like, hey, let's lift each other up. We're here together."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're speaking with Lauren Sattazahn, a commercial apiarist. Sattazahn and her husband John Tittle own Tittle Apiaries in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. The apiary has about 2,000 hives and makes a variety of honey as well as beeswax products. Additionally, Tittle Apiaries offers pollination services for farmers. "When we have larger crops — when you're talking hundreds of acres — you can break it down to a science of how many hives you need per acre to really pollinate what you're trying to get," Sattazahn said. One of the apiary's biggest annual pollination jobs is taking hives to Maine to pollinate the wild blueberry fields. And the blueberry honey made from that pollination is one of the best sellers. "I feel like Maine is just the place for blueberry honey. It just comes out much better there," she said. In addition to the blueberry honey, Tittle Apiaries sells spring, summer and fall honeys, all made from flower pollination in Pennsylvania. "The bees are pollinating different things throughout each season, so that's what's going to give your variation in color and flavor," Sattazahn said. Sattazahn said one of her favorite parts of the job is offering honey tastings while selling at markets — and the reactions that come from tasting the different varieties. "They say 'honey is honey.' But once you get them to try the differences, they're blown away." Sattazahn said. With the business growing to thousands of hives, the apiary partners with landowners to serve as hive hosts throughout the year. "We've had a lot of people that we've kept bees on their land that have said that they've noticed a big difference in their home garden or their flower bed," Sattazahn said. "It's nice to know that it's benefiting both of us." The bees are overwintered in Georgia to keep the hives thriving during Pennsylvania's cold season. Tittle Apiaries sells honey wholesale, online, at an on-farm stand, and at a variety of farmers market and vendor events. "Our foundation of sales really lies on wholesale," Sattazahn said. "But I've noticed that being a part of the community, like our market sales, that seems to just help really building relationships the most."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we spoke with Lulu Redder, the owner of Feral Woman Farm in North Bend, Washington. Feral Woman Farm is a pastured pig and chicken operation located within a historic farm park. The land is publicly owned and offers trails and play areas as well as a farmstead. This means the farm gets plenty of visitors, offering Redder an opportunity to interact with and educate the public on agriculture. "We get to work in this space which has a lot of history and a lot of public interaction, so it was kind of the perfect place for us to do a community-based farming operation, which I love," said Redder. Redder takes pride in the closed production loop she's created on the farm. It's important to her that all aspects of her animals' lives are managed on the property, from birth to slaughter. To keep everything on-site, she trained as a butcher and now processes her livestock on the farm. She also offers community butchery classes to those interested in following in her footsteps. "I did a lot of exploration and learning about butchery because I felt that I came to a point in my farming career where I was like, if I am going to raise animals for me, I really need to be comfortable with that whole process from start to finish to feel good about that," Redder said. Many of the people in her classes are women, which Redder appreciates given her own journey. "I have been a woman on a professional journey and some very typically male-dominated spaces," she said. "And I think it's important as a woman in ag to be pushing for our place at the table and to break the glass ceilings that are walling women in, in certain spaces."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we spoke with Annie Hasz of Broadwing Farm. The Berks County, Pennsylvania, farm started in vegetable production but now focuses on grass-fed lamb for meat and pelts. Hasz also co-runs Rooted Home Herbalism, an annual eight-month course that teaches growing and using herbs. "We achieved our original dream and we grew loads of produce. We sold at farmers markets and through CSA and then more and more to restaurants," Hasz said. "But I had other interests developing in herbalism. So, as time moved on, things shifted." Hasz developed an interest in herbalism early in her farming journey. After being mentored by an herbalist from the Lehigh Valley, Hasz pursued clinical herbalism education in Virginia. And while the term herbalism is relatively new, Hasz said the practice goes back many years. "It's the use of, or partnering with, plants for some sort of health or enhancement of your life," Hasz said. "I really love to teach basic botany and just help people get really familiar with any plants they're going to encounter." While Broadwing Farm no longer grows produce for commercial sale, Hasz still grows vegetables along with herbs. "There's just this feeling for being with plants," Hasz said. "I think that's really the core of my whole interest in all these things is any plants, I'll be into it." Now, the main part of Broadwing Farm's business comes from sheep. Hasz raises both Texel sheep and East Friesian sheep to sell both meat and pelts. "We definitely wanted the meat to be centered, and that they would be great at thriving on grass," Hasz said. "And then just to have nice wool — to be that all-purpose animal."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we spoke with Lindsay Eshelman of Plow Farms. Eshelman grew up on the Plowville, Pennsylvania, farm that specializes in Christmas trees, and while she still does work with the farm today, she spends much of her time living in New York City. "I'm kind of the leading voice in PR and marketing, and more importantly experience," Eshelman said. "My role is to bring the experience to the farm and to create this capsule of joy and Christmas that we have." One of the biggest ways Eshelman creates joy on the farm is its annual Newfoundland Day. Each year, hundreds of Newfoundland dogs come to Plow Farms to haul Christmas trees for customers. What started as an event with a few dogs and handful of attendees has turned into a massive event with people coming from out of state to spend the whole day surrounded by huge, fluffy dogs and Christmas trees. "I took a video of it and I put it online and we got a million views on this video, which blew my mind. It was a 15-second clip of a dog walking through the snow," Eshelman said. "The Newfoundland has gone from being our pet to basically being the face of the farm." While Eshelman runs her family farm's marketing, she also works in marketing outside the farm, including previous jobs with celebrities and global food companies. These experiences led her to a lot of travel, where she's gotten to see firsthand how farming works around the world. "Seeing how other countries are fostering agriculture in a modern way but also keeping traditions is what I love to take back to the farm," Eshelman said. "One hand meets another. As I get all this global experience it makes me love my farm even more." Growing up on a farm has benefited her by teaching her the value of hard work. But her time spent living in the city has shown her how important it is to get people to visit farms. "The more things we can do to get people to the farm and to experience this agro-entertainment I think is really exciting," Eshelman said. "I want to build that as part of Plow Farms' identity and narrative."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Julia Inslee, owner of Locust Hollow Farm in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. Inslee has lived on the farm since her parents purchased the property in the late 1970s. At the time, it was home to a farmhouse, a few rundown barns and several acres of untended land. Over the next few decades, Inslee's family transformed the property. In 2010, Inslee started a dairy sheep operation and now raises East Friesians for milk and fiber. "One of the major misconceptions about sheep is that they're all the same," Inslee said. "Every single ewe has a very different personality, and when you're with them on a daily basis, that really comes out." Though Locust Hollow sells fiber from its sheep, Inslee's main focus is dairy: sheep's milk, yogurt and cheese. Inspired by childhood trips to cheese shops in Philadelphia, Inslee taught herself how to make cheese with her sheep's milk, which she saw as an opportunity for additional income. "I started experimenting and those first batches of cheese, they were terrible," Inslee said of the learning curve. "I think it took about five years to really get a good routine down and really figure out which cheeses worked for me." Inslee now makes and sells a variety of sheep's milk cheeses, including feta and a Manchego-style cheese rubbed with rosemary grown on the farm and named "Rosy Morning." Inslee sells her products at several local markets and enjoys the opportunity to educate the public about sheep's milk products. "I think we're on the cusp of the general public being a little bit more aware of sheep's milk products," she said. "People in general, customers now are looking for something other than cheddar."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Brittany Peachey, the aquaculture operations manager at Hudson Valley Fisheries in Hudson, New York. Peachey's interest in aquaculture was born from an aquatic biology class in college. After earning her master's degree in aquaculture nutrition, she came to work at Hudson Valley Fisheries, a fish farm that specializes in sustainably raised steelhead trout. Peachey was recently awarded the New York State Fair Golden Hoof Award, which is given in recognition of outstanding animal care and husbandry. She acknowledges it's unusual for a fish farm to be considered for such an award and is grateful not only for the honor but for the opportunity for fish to be included in animal welfare discussions. "Fish welfare is increasingly important in the marketplace, not just from a business point of view but from an ethical point of view as well," Peachey said. "People will argue, do fish feel pain? And to be honest, I don't think from a producer standpoint we need to think that way. Let's assume that they do and then grow them in the best way possible." Peachey works in many aspects of Hudson Valley's operations, including its recirculating aquaculture system, or RAS, which allows the facility to reuse 95% of its water. "RAS farms tend to be more efficient with water resources as compared to more traditional forms of fish farming. So, we're producing more fish with less water," said Peachey. In addition to using an RAS, Hudson Valley sends fish waste to a composting facility to be used for fertilizer, continuing its emphasis on sustainability while catering to a growing market. Peachey argues that the comparison between farmed and wild-caught fish should be put to rest, particularly given sustainable aquaculture practices and the risks of overfishing. "With fish being such a healthy protein source, we want people to eat more fish. Where's that going to come from without the price skyrocketing? It's going to be aquaculture," said Peachey.

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're ushering in the holiday season with a special seasonal episode featuring an interview with Kelly Piccioni, Penn State's Christmas tree-focused Extension educator. Piccioni comes from a family with roots in selling Christmas trees. Her great-grandfather began selling trees he bought off the Orange Car—a railway-side produce stand that opened in Reading, Pennsylvania, in the 1930s. Her grandparents continued the tradition when they bought what is now the family's Christmas tree farm, Geissler Tree Farms. "Christmas trees is pretty much where our family story really began," Piccioni said. As Pennsylvania's sole Extension educator who specializes in Christmas trees, Piccioni's work takes her all over the state as she works with growers to overcome challenges like recent droughts. "I've been out in Christmas tree fields more than I've really been in an office," Piccioni said, adding that she enjoys knowing her work contributes toward people's holiday traditions. "People are excited this year to find that joy in Christmas," she said. "And Christmas tree growers think so hard all year long about what they can add to their farm or the customer experience to make it magical." In addition to talking with Piccioni, we discuss family cookie-baking traditions, including German-inspired chocolate chip meringues and a debate over the correct thickness for sugar cookies. We'll also touch on a couple holiday traditions from around the world, so join us for the tales of the Belsnickel and St. Lucia.

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're speaking with Denise Bosworth of Rohrbach's Farm. Bosworth is part of the farm's fourth generation and runs the farm market in Columbia County, Pennsylvania. Bosworth and her husband, Dan, returned to the farm in 2013 to begin a new culinary venture, Big Dan's BBQ. In 2015, Bosworth officially took over the farm market portion of the business and her brother, Mark Rohrbach, took over the farming operation. "I like to say my brother grows the food, Dan cooks the food and I throw the party," Bosworth said. "We all definitely bring our own strengths to the table but then work together to bring it all together." Bosworth gives a lot of credit to the farm's third generation — her parents, aunt and uncle. While the transition wasn't necessarily planned and executed perfectly, she said mutual respect and conversation led to the farm's current success. In addition to running the farm market, Bosworth also does community and educational outreach. She has written two agricultural-themed children's books, "Penelope Pumpkin" and "Are They Ready Yet: A Strawberry Story From a Pennsylvania Farm." "I always say, if I could only grow two things, it would be pumpkins and strawberries," Bosworth said. Additionally, she launched a nonprofit called Seeds of the Future to provide agriculture education and farm experiences that are accessible, affordable and relevant. The organization focuses on students and people with special needs with a goal of helping the community. "I think women represent agriculture incredibly well," Bosworth said. "If we want kids to be part of agriculture now and in the future, we have to represent it well." On Nov. 1, Rohrbach's Farm was announced as one of seven recipients of Lancaster Farming's The Farmer's Choice Award. Recipients were nominated and voted on by Lancaster Farming readers. "To be acknowledged on this platform with these other people is extremely humbling to me," Bosworth said.

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Casey Wisch, co-owner of Long Stone Farm in Lovettsville, Virginia. Wisch's interest in farming began in college. After graduating, she spent time in New Zealand and Australia where she first encountered permaculture and experienced being part of an agricultural community. When she returned to the U.S., she and her now husband began working toward founding Long Stone Farm. "We wanted to start this grazing operation and we wanted to produce good clean meat for our community, and we wanted to pursue a better path forward for our own farm," said Wisch. "And so it was kind of those values and ideas that drove us to start Long Stone Farm." At Long Stone Farm, Wisch and her husband raise pastured beef, pork, poultry and eggs with a focus on sustainability. They were recently honored for their hard work with a Grand Basin Clean Water Farm Award. The award is given to Virginia farmers who have implemented conservation practices to protect water quality. "This is a lifetime achievement award for me," said Wisch. A meeting with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation further inspired Wisch to continue sustainable farming efforts. "They showed the different watersheds and we got a really clear understanding of exactly where our runoff goes and what that day-to-day work really means in terms of watershed health," Wisch said. "And it was really amazing to know that those day-to-day decisions are really impacting our overall region." When she's not focused on keeping her farm sustainable, Wisch is busy marketing the operation and raising the family's four children. She wears many hats but knows she's doing what she was meant to do. "There's multitasking happening all the time. There's things that need care and attention and details. And I think women are set up for this. We were made to do this," Wisch said.

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're honoring the voices of farmers as we celebrate our 70th anniversary. This special podcast episode will feature a variety of voices from farmers and ag industry members who stopped by our pop-up recording studio at this year's Ag Progress Days. You'll hear voices of all ages — from a recent college graduate working her first job in the ag industry to a 92-year-old retired farmer who recalls exactly how his farm community came to his aid when he lost a leg in a farm accident. You'll even hear from Pennsylvania Ag Secretary Russell Redding about how farming has changed over the last seven decades and where the industry is headed. The audio essay was inspired by a Wendell Berry quote. He says, "Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always the answer is: 'Love. They must do it for love.'" For 70 years, Lancaster Farming has worked to tell farmers' stories. In our special anniversary podcast, you can hear some of those stories from the farmers themselves.

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're returning to the haunted farmhouse for some seasonal fun and spine-tingling tales from the farm. In this episode, we'll be sharing four spooky stories that take place on farms or in rural communities because, let's face it, scary stories from the city just don't have quite the same chilling effect as those set out in the country. For our first tale, we'll travel to Robertson County, Tennessee, where the Bell family came to farm in the early 1800s. Unfortunately for the Bells, a spirit that would become known as the Bell Witch wasn't happy with them and wasn't afraid to let them — and anyone else who visited the farm — know about it, including a future president. Next, we're stopping by the Brinton Lodge in Douglassville, Pennsylvania. The lodge is currently home to the Hidden River Brewing Co., but the building has been a host to plenty of spirits long before beer. Then we'll hear a spooky parable about a stingy farmer who refuses to rebuild his dilapidated barn, despite his wife's requests. When a stranger appears and offers the farmer a deal that seems to good to be true, it's up to his wife to save the day — and potentially his soul. Finally, we're headed to Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, to hear the legend of the hounds of Colebrook Furnace. Mistreated by their cruel ironmaster owner, the hounds allegedly pursue their revenge in the afterlife. According to local lore, you can still hear them howling around the area at night.

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Katelyn Melvin, owner of Katydid Hill Farm. Melvin grows herbs and makes her own herbal tea blends in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania. Her journey into herb farming started by growing herbs in high school. She later worked on a few vegetable farms and decided to take on farming full time. The farm grows multiple acres of herbs including chamomile, peppermint, lemon balm, anise hyssop and more. The teas are made only with herbs grown on the farm. "All the tea blends come from my love of the fresh herbs," Melvin said. She has three points of focus that she tries to incorporate into the farm: soil health, farmer health and supporting the community. Melvin enjoys talking to customers about the tea blends and how they make people feel. Drinking tea can often be a calming and stress-relieving experience, which is something Melvin tries to translate into the farm work. "Are we getting the benefits that I'm hoping that our customers get from the tea? Are we getting that from farming?" Melvin said. Not only is she hoping to find benefit in farming for herself and her family, she also wants all of her farm workers to get something positive out of working at Katydid Hill Farm. "I really owe it all to the farmers who I worked for who were so generous and sharing with their knowledge," Melvin said. "That has always been important to me to give back to the people who are working for us."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking with Tonya Van Slyke, the longtime executive director of the Northeast Dairy Producers Association. Van Slyke grew up on her family's 250-cow dairy farm in New York. "I think my quest to be a leader in the industry came from my involvement in both 4-H and FFA," she said. "That's really where my desire to utilize my voice and be an advocate for the industry came from." After working at Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine as a project manager, Van Slyke joined the Northeast Dairy Producers Association as its first full-time executive director. During her tenure at NEDPA, Van Slyke helped launch the Ag Workforce Development Council and a labor roadshow, initiatives designed to strengthen farm labor education and communication. Van Slyke's work has also involved advocacy and making sure farmers have a seat at the table. A memorable event from her time partnering with the Grow New York Farms coalition involved parking a tractor on the front lawn of the New York State Capitol and welcoming hundreds of farmers to talk about the future of agriculture in the state. "Empowering people to have a seat at the table and to use their voice and be solutions-based," she said. "That's really what the success of NEDPA has been founded on." Recently, Van Slyke received the Leaving It Better Award from the New York State Fair, recognizing her lasting impact on the agricultural community. "What that award means to me is that it was a recognition of the partnerships that I've been part of throughout the last 13 years," she said. "And that is more meaningful to me than I can express in words because so many of my colleagues have become friends and we've done some really good work together, and it hasn't all been easy, but it's been meaningful."

This week on the FarmHouse, we're talking to Cathryn Pugh, a forestry educator with Penn State Extension. Pugh specializes in agroforestry, nontimber forest products and native plants. She is also the president of the Pennsylvania Native Plant Society. There are five main aspects of agroforestry: silvopasture, alley cropping, windbreaks, riparian buffers and forest farming. "Agroforestry can fit into a lot of different places," Pugh said. "It's essentially thinking about how to incorporate trees into agricultural spaces." While Pugh works with farmers to help them learn how to best incorporate trees and native plants into their land, she also works a lot with homeowners both through Extension and the Native Plant Society. "People want native plants," she said. Pugh has found that a lot of people want to add more natives to help provide for birds and pollinators. "Native plants are the foundation of your ecosystem," Pugh said. "Native plants have been here for so long, they have co-evolved with all of the native insects and birds." Another big pull for natives is that they are often easier to take care of. "Native plants are lower maintenance overall. They have evolved to be in this place," Pugh said. "It's going to save you a lot of time and energy in the long run to have native plants in your space." But while interest in natives is growing, not everyone can easily identify these plants and know which ones would work best in their landscapes. The Pennsylvania Native Plant Society is working to make finding native plants easier. "We have a program we're really proud of called the Green Seal Pledge," Pugh said. "This program encourages nurseries to sign and pledge that they will sell 50% or more of their nursery stock as native plants." Pugh also works with farmers to add nontimber forests products to their land, such as maple, ramps or ginseng. There are also native plants that can be used creatively, such as woody florals, willow for weaving and black walnut for dyes. "I'm trying to think about ways that we can really make things like riparian buffers enticing to farmers that have products that are easy enough to get into, that have markets that exist," Pugh said. "If we can make it accessible, maybe we can make a shift in this where it's a win-win situation for the environment and for the farmer." Learn More: Penn State Extension extension.psu.edu Pennsylvania Native Plant Society panativeplantsociety.org Forest Snapshot — September 2025 extension.psu.edu/forest-snapshot-september-2025 Forest Snapshot — July 2025 extension.psu.edu/forest-snapshot-july-2025 The Green Illusion extension.psu.edu/the-green-illusion Ramps (Allium tricoccum) extension.psu.edu/ramps-allium-tricoccum

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking with Aubrey Fornwalt, the founder and owner of Full Circle Bioconversion in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Full Circle uses black soldier flies to convert food waste from the surrounding community into manure and compost. Fornwalt also sells the black soldier fly larvae as feed to poultry operations. It's the first bioconversion operation of its kind in the state. Fornwalt didn't always want to be in the decomposition business. She began her career as a graphic designer, and although she was composting her own food waste, she felt she could be doing more. Fornwalt began researching permaculture and soon bought her first fly larvae. "I just looked up where to buy larvae online and the first batch came from eBay. That was in 2017, I think. And I just didn't stop. I didn't get grossed out. I thought it was pretty cool," she said. Fornwalt now collects food waste from several local restaurants and over 20 households and has become locally known for her bioconversion operation. "I do have the nickname 'The Fly Lady' around town," she joked. "And I wear that as a badge of honor." Once collected, the food waste is processed through a grinder and then fed to the fly larvae. The operation can manage between 250-300 pounds of food waste each day. While the larvae will eat any kind of food waste, Fornwalt noticed they have a preference for junk food. "The larvae themselves eat everything. They eat meat and cheese and bread, like the great American carby diet. They're not picky," Fornwalt said. "But they're more excited about the fat and the protein and the carbs. Definitely the higher fat content, they like that." Since its founding, Full Circle has successfully diverted over 200,000 pounds of food waste from landfills. While that waste would have eventually decomposed on its own, Fornwalt argues bioconversion is the better option. "I think the return on investment with the insects versus mechanical utilization, nature is so much more efficient than we are," she said. "And if we take the time to watch how it works and take cues from it and not necessarily try to outsmart it, I think we could do a lot of really cool things." You can watch the video about Full Circle Bioconversion mentioned in the interview here. 

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Heidi Reed, an agronomy educator with Penn State Extension. Reed was recently part of a crop conditions tour across the state, and this year's corn and soybean yields are looking average to below average, mainly due the dry conditions. "Unless somebody has an irrigated field, I don't think any yield records are going to be broken this year," Reed said. The dry summer came on the heels of a very wet spring, making it a tough weather year for Pennsylvania farmers. Prolonged stretches of weather are becoming more common in the state. "When I talk to farmers who have been doing this for a long time, they're seeing less predictable seasons and more extreme weather events," Reed said. "When there's a drought, it's a very bad drought. And then when we get rain, it's 6 inches all at once." One thing Reed suggests to help mitigate the weather extremes is soil conservation. "Focusing on soil health is not necessarily something that you're going to see reflected in the checkbook," she said. "But every time we increase the percent of soil organic matter, our soil is able to hold onto more of that water when we do get it and store that water so it's available to the crop when we have a drought and stay intact instead of washing away when we get extreme, pounding rainfall." Reed has recently been doing some work on seeding cover crops using drones. She said drone use has become more commonplace and affordable in agriculture over the past few years. "It's a tool in the toolbox, right?" she said. "There's a time and a place where it can really effectively be used and other times where it just doesn't make sense." Reed is incorporating some of her Extension research into Lancaster Farming's Now Is the Time column that she recently took over after longtime columnist Leon Ressler retired. "I am enjoying carrying on the tradition," Reed said. While she plans on keeping the structure of the column the same, she does hope to add some of her own narrative and personality each week.