PACD's 2013-14 Officers (Left to right): PACD 1st Vice President Glenn Seidel, Treasurer Dave Crowl, President Jack Tressler, South West Region Director Charles Duritsa, 2nd Vice President Don Koontz, and North East Region director Linda Cioppa. Photo professional courtesy of Executive Images Photography.

An election of officers took place July 16 during the PACD Executive Council meeting. Don Koontz was elected as 2nd Vice President while Ken Meck and Dave Crowl re-arranged positions as Secretary and Treasurer. 

By Jeff Leindecker

Left to right: Susanna Meyer (Grow Pittsburgh), Jeff Leindecker (Allegheny County Conservation District), Jamie Shairrick (Allegheny County Conservation District), and Marshall Hart (Grow Pittsburgh). Photo courtesy of ACCD.

Allegheny County Conservation District recently  organized two agricultural field days.  On June 24, 2013, approximately 22 attendees gathered in the North Hills to visit Eichner's Family Farm and Greenhouses, and Soergel's Orchardview Stables. 

The morning started at Eichner's, where fourth generation farmer Ron Eichner provided a tour around the diverse operation.  The farm produces eggs, roasting chickens, sausage, bacon, turkey, ham, seasonal vegetables and ornamental plants from the greenhouse. The farm's no-till and strip-till equipment were on display at the barn as the group walked up to the vegetable fields.  The vegetable fields' soil loss is less than one ton per acre, due to the use of cover crops, no-till/strip-till, and narrow contoured strips. 

After lunch, Rich and Mary Kay Soergel welcomed the group at Soergel's Orchardview Stables. Their son Warren, a sixth generation farmer and Penn State graduate, explained the equine rotational grazing system he designed for his parents' stable. The heavy-use area is close to the barn on level ground. Several hundred feet of pasture separate the heavy-use area and the spring.  Collected manure is taken to the family's organic vegetable farm a few miles down the road.

Orchardview Stables rotational grazing system. Photo courtesy of ACCD.

On July 26, five attendees walked through the one acre Braddock Farms in Braddock, PA.  The farm, which is owned and operated by Grow Pittsburgh, sits in the shadows of U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Works. Marshall Hart, manager, led a discussion on soil and water conservation, and the challenges of urban farming.  There is almost no bare soil on the farm since Marshall's team uses a variety of mulches, including a living mulch of white clover, in between crop rows.  The Pittsburgh area received 1.5" of rain the night before, and there were no signs of soil erosion at Braddock Farms. 

These field days were funded by mini-grants from the PA Agricultural Ombudsman Program, State Conservation Commission and PA Department of Agriculture.

Water Quality Month