FarmHouse

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're joined by Heidi Secord.

Secord is the first woman to serve as Pennsylvania's executive director of the USDA's Farm Service Agency.

Additionally, Secord and her husband own and operate the Josie Porter Farm, a diversified vegetable operation in Monroe County, Pennsylvania.

The farm operates a CSA, which began with 45 members and has grown to 200.

They also have a farm stand that serves as a community food hub, offering agricultural products from other local farms.

"It's benefiting them. It benefits us. It benefits the community," Secord said. "It's that real triple win that we're all looking for."

Now Secord has almost 30 years of agricultural experience, but her journey into the industry was a bit unexpected, and certainly unique.

"I really didn't know I wanted to be in agriculture until I spent time in West Africa. I was in the Peace Corps and working with women and agriculture there, and really understanding what subsistence agriculture looks like," Secord said. "So it was really that experience that drove me into that space when I got back."

Secord served for two years in Mali, and while she was there she said she got to experience the spirit of women and community, and with that a lot of joy.

When she returned to the U.S. after her service, Secord said she felt a bit of culture shock, and didn't think a job outside of agriculture would make her feel fulfilled.

"It felt like coming here and growing food for my community was a place that just meant a lot," Secord said. "Not just for me, but for my community."

While at FSA, Secord is focusing on making sure farmers' voices are able to be heard, regardless of age, background or farm type.

"Our priorities have really been around making sure that all sectors of agriculture have a place at the table," she said.

Secord is a past president of the Pennsylvania Farmers Union and is a member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.

She said farm organizations, along with the USDA, are the best ways for farmers to get a seat at the table in order to share their stories, in turn leading to policy changes.

"Policy is driven by farmers," Secord said. "If there are changes that people want to see, then it needs to come from that local, agricultural space."

You can find more information on the Lancaster Farming story discussed in the beginning of this episode here:

Third-Generation Dairy Farm Offers Sunflower Maze and Farm Tours

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Emmalea Ernest, a fruit and vegetable specialist with University of Delaware Extension.

Ernest's areas of expertise include lima bean breeding and production, and heat stress tolerance.

"Delaware is one of the few places in the United States where we have a lot of lima bean production," Ernest said.

Ernest, along with other researchers, focus a lot of attention on lima beans because it's such an important crop for the state, and there isn't much research being done elsewhere.

When Ernest asked growers about a decade ago, heat stress was a top concern for the crop because it reduces yields.

Since getting that response, Ernest has been working to breed varieties of beans that can tolerate heat better than previous commercial varieties.

"A new variety is one of the easiest technologies for a grower to implement," Ernest said. "We can't do a lot to change the weather. So what we need to do is change the varieties that we're growing."

With Delaware being such a small state, Ernest said Extension specialists get to know the growers well, which she said is one of her favorite parts of her job.

"Those relationships are what make the job rewarding," she said.

In addition to her role with Extension, Ernest and her husband own Ernest Fruit Farm in Sussex County, where they grow blueberries, strawberries and, yes, lima beans.

Ernest always knew that she wanted to work with plants, and a career in agriculture flowed nicely into that dream.

She got experience working in greenhouses in high school before going on to study horticulture and plant breeding.

Now Ernest welcomes a handful of young people into the research program each summer to help the next generation get into agriculture.

"Find yourself a job doing something in agriculture as soon as you can so you get some experience and you know what it's like," Ernest said. "Any way that you can to get hands-on experience, that's probably my best advice."

You can find more information on the Lancaster Farming story discussed in the beginning of this episode here:

Dog Breeders Can Get Support From New Penn State Educator

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Ashley Asdal, owner of Riamede Farms, a pick-your-own apple orchard in Chester, New Jersey.

Riamede has been in operation since the 1930s and opened its pick-your-own business in 1974, making it one of the first pick-your-own orchards in the state.

Many of Riamede's fruiting trees were planted during the farm's early days, making them nearly 100 years old. It's part of what makes the operation special, says Asdal, noting that most apple trees stop producing fruit after about 50 years.

"For these trees to have been planted in the late 1930s and still be bearing fruit for us nearly a hundred years later, I think it's really remarkable," Asdal said. "And it gives the orchard this totally different kind of step back in time feel that I think our customers really appreciate."

Aside from apple picking, Riamede's customers can also pick their own pumpkins, squash and sunflowers.

Asdal has also found success in hosting entertainment and events on the farm. The Saturday night line dancing series has become a popular draw and the farm's annual farm-to-table dinners featuring local ingredients sell out in a matter of days.

"I think I have people who care about this farm and support it," Asdal said of what brings people to Riamede to celebrate local fare. "They like the feel of it. I think they like that it's fresh and it's local, and they know where the food is coming from."

Before coming to Riamede, Asdal had no plans to pursue agriculture. She graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and planned for a career in the Navy.

But life had other plans, and in 2019 when a family acquaintance asked if Asdal would like to run a farm, Asdal decided to dive in.

Though she had no agricultural background, Asdal believes the skills she developed over 15 years spent in the military helped prepare her for the transition to farming.

"You learn a lot of discipline. You learn to wake up early in the morning, to have a long day, to lift heavy things. To make decisions. To think about risk and quantifying risk in clear ways, both to yourself and to the people who work with you. You learn to lead. I mean, all of those are really important farming skills," Asdal said.

Farming may not have been what Asdal initially envisioned for herself, but she's happy where she is and encourages more women to think about pursuing agriculture.

"I just think there's a lot of room for women to lead here and to have their own voice and also a different perspective," said Asdal. "I think that the perspective that women bring to the agriculture field, it's kind of sorely needed."

You can find more information on Lancaster Farming story discussed in the beginning of this episode here:

Lebanon Area Fair Makes History With Meishan Pigs

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Sophie Brauns.

She coordinates Maryland Market Money, a program run by the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission and the Maryland Department of Agriculture that provides a dollar-for-dollar match, up to $30, for purchases made using federal nutrition benefits at farmers markets and farm stands throughout the state.

About 70 markets currently accept Maryland Market Money.

"When I came on board two years ago, we had 30," Brauns said. "So we've over doubled our access points, which is insane."

The program is a win-win for farmers and consumers.

"It's really wonderful for supporting our farmers," Brauns said. "It's a way for people to engage with their community. When you build that relationship with the farmer, that becomes like your go-to farm, like your go-to market. I think that breeds health. Not only like cellular, like bodily health, but also relational health."

Brauns, who is from Maryland's Calvert County, developed a passion for agriculture and food access while working in Houston, Texas. Now back in her home state, she is focused on connecting people to nutritious fresh food.

"A third of Marylanders are facing food insecurity. That is absurd, but that's real," Brauns said. "When you think about your health, when you think about the community's health, when you think about the future of our children, if they're not getting baseline nutritious food, I don't know how we can really expect anything much better moving forward."

In addition to the Maryland Market Money program, Brauns has also been working with local farmers and churches to establish free fridges where community members can pick up free, fresh produce and other farm products.

According to Feeding America, about 750,000 people in Maryland are food insecure, but with the taxing job of farming, Brauns said many farmers are often unaware of this insecurity right in their own backyards.

Her job with Maryland Market Money is to bridge that gap between farmers and consumers in need. She said once farmers are aware of the lack of food access, they often want to be part of the solution.

"It's innate in farmers to care about your community. Farmers are some of the most intelligent, caring individuals that I have ever met," Brauns said. "I think that once they're told about the food insecurity, they can't help themselves but wanting to figure out how they can be involved in it."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking to Annaliese Wegner of Modern Day Farm Chick, an online platform Wegner uses to connect with other women in ag and to educate consumers about farming.

Wegner grew up on a farm and now runs a dairy with her husband where they milk 600 cows.

For a time, Wegner worked side by side with her husband and felt satisfied in her role as an equal partner in the operation. However, that feeling changed when she gave birth to their twins and had to adapt to a new role on the farm.

As she adjusted to spending more time at home, Wegner turned to social media was a way to connect to others, especially other women living on farms.

"You're wanting someone to talk to, and talk to somebody who gets it," she said of the community she found online. "And when you live in a rural area, you don't get that same contact or those same kind of friends. So I'm very thankful for the community I've built, the friends I've made."

Wegner soon saw social media as an opportunity to do more than just connect. She'd started sharing articles about agvocating and decided to try writing her own, which she began posting on a Facebook page she'd created called "Modern Day Farm Chick."

Wegner's stories about her own farming experiences and the importance of agriculture quickly gained a following, which encouraged her to keep going. Wegner now writes a blog in addition to sharing content about her life and farming on social media.

"The reason I do it is because I want to share my farm life with people, and I want to help bridge the gap from farm to table," Wegner said.

Now she's continuing to spread her message through podcasting. She and farmer Courtney Feigl, who she met through her online community, host Ag's Most Okayest Farm Girls, a podcast about the realities of working in ag.

"Our whole message is, we are not perfect. We are not the best at what we do. Nobody is. It's okay to just be okay. You're doing great," Wegner said.

When it comes to connecting with others and agvocating, Wegner stressed the importance of being real and being yourself.

"That's how you're going to find common ground with someone and connect with them," she explained. "And then when you do talk about agriculture or talk about a product you're selling, they're going to be much more apt to hear what you have to say and want to buy it from you, because they feel like they know you."

You can find Annaliese Wagner online at her website, on Facebook and on Instagram.

You can listen to Ag's Most Okayest Farm Girls here or wherever you usually listen to podcasts.

You can find more information on the two Lancaster Farming stories discussed in the beginning of this episode here:

Elle St. Pierre

Orpha Rose Longenecker

The FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, is back this week and keeping it in the family.

This week's episode features Melissa Harrop, our markets editor here at Lancaster Farming.

Harrop and her husband farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania. She is also active in the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and is an Army veteran.

After serving in the Army for four years, Harrop was medically discharged. However, a transition back to civilian life wasn't an easy task. That is until she discovered farming.

"Farming was something that kind of saved me," Harrop said. "Agriculture and production farming was kind of my lifeline in a lot of ways."

For Harrop, working in agriculture required a lot of the same skill sets needed in the Army, so transitioning to working on a farm was a natural fit.

"The Army, or the military in general, is that same type of discipline," Harrop said. "It doesn't matter what's going on in the world around you, this is your job and it still needs to get done."

Having military discipline certainly came in handy when Harrop and her family had to unexpectedly leave the farmland her husband's family had been farming for decades. Last summer, the owners sold the land to be developed into warehouses.

Harrop and her husband did find other land to farm in Chester County, which has become a bit of a rarity.

"Chester County has some of the best soil on the East Coast," Harrop said. "All of that is being taken over in order to put developments and warehouses and shopping malls."

In addition to farming, Harrop compiles all the market reports in the Lancaster Farming newspaper and online. She also is active in her local Farm Bureau and serves as the vice chair of the ag promotion committee for the state Farm Bureau.

Harrop also enjoys being a fair mom and helping her 11-year-old daughter show market goats.

"Being a woman in ag means that I'm giving opportunities to other women, and to my daughter, especially, to be able to help her community, to be able to feed the world to be independent, to have a place where she can put down roots, both figuratively and physically, so that she has the best future imaginable and that can be whatever she wants it to be," Harrop said.

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we welcomed in royalty.

Pennsylvania Dairy Princess Alexis "Lexi" Butler and state alternate dairy princesses Emily Wright and Mackenzie Thomas joined us on the podcast to celebrate June Dairy Month.

"We have a great message to get out, and that message is milk is good for you and drinking milk supports the awesome people in the dairy industry," Mackenzie said.

To become a dairy princess at the state level in Pennsylvania, you have to be between the ages of 16-24 and first win at a county level.

Lexi, who grew up on a crop farm in Schuylkill County, turned 17 not long before the state pageant, and used her skit of singing a parody of "Don't Stop Believing" as her own personal mantra throughout the competition, and even now during her reign.

"I really tried to hone into the fact to not stop believing in yourself," Lexi said. "My biggest piece of advice to any person that might be listening is do not let your age define you."

Lexi initially got into dairy promotion at a young age, but then took a break from the program until she was 15. She didn't quite expect her journey in dairy promotion to lead to a state title.

"It definitely led to the greatest year of my life," Lexi said. "I never really planned on really running for a state title. I just kind of put 'yes' on the paper and thought, you know, if it's the plan for me to be on the team, that's the plan. I just did my best and here we are."

For Mackenzie, who works on a dairy farm in Lebanon County, promoting dairy has been a passion of hers for a few years now.

The state alternate dairy princess title has certainly helped grow her confidence in representing the industry, and has also led to plenty of interesting conversations about dairy.

"I'll even approach someone in the dairy case," Mackenzie said. "I think just engaging people at the local level and having a friendly conversation with them is huge."

Emily, a current college student, grew up on a dairy farm in Crawford County. While the farm no longer milks cows, she still shows dairy cattle and got involved in the princess program to keep a hand in the dairy industry.

She finds her dairy princess training coming out in all aspects of her life, especially her education.

"I had a public speaking class, for example, and I wrote a speech about why drinking real milk is good for you," Emily said. "It was just a great way for me to spread the word. I really like to do that on my campus more than anything. I just feel like college students, they're our future, so we need to hit that spot the hardest."

Emily is studying education, and while she isn't planning on working directly in agriculture after college, she said being a dairy princess and being a teacher go hand in hand.

"We're always educating," Emily said. "That's the skills I've learned — to better educate — through my school studies and through dairy princess."

Being a state dairy princess means these three young women serve as the face of the Pennsylvania dairy industry, a responsibility that each of them take seriously.

"I just feel like the impact that women have in agriculture is becoming so great as time goes on," Lexi said. "And to think that I have the wonderful opportunity to be one of those, it's just honor, the word I would use for it."

You can find the recipes recommended by each of the dairy princesses here.

This week on FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're speaking with Emily Schaapman, founder of Dairy Girl Fitness, an online coaching service dedicated to boosting women's health and confidence.

Dairy Girl Fitness focuses on empowering women to prioritize their well-being in ways that are both effective and fun.

"It's really fun watching women feel more comfortable in their bodies and learning to prioritize their health to maybe achieve a specific physique goal, but also just do because it helps them physically feel better and mentally feel better," said Schaapman.

Schaapman grew up in the dairy industry, and her agricultural roots continue to inform and inspire her approach to fitness. Part of Dairy Girl Fitness' unique approach to health includes advocating for animal agriculture as a way to empower women to make informed dietary choices.

"I don't think a lot of ladies, or just people in general, realize just how nutrient-packed milk is," Schaapman said while discussing misconceptions about dairy and nutrition. "That's why I really try to showcase the protein side of dairy products, because a lot of dairy products like milk, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt and whey protein are really awesome protein sources."

Schaapman frequently uses social media, where she has over 43,000 followers on Instagram, to share fitness tips and to agvocate. While her post have gained popularity over the last few years, she's had to learn to deal with detractors as well.

Instead of responding defensively to negative or ill-informed comments, Schaapman views these interactions as opportunities for education and growth.

"You don't know who's necessarily behind the screen," Schaapman explained. "And that could be their first experience with agriculture. And so you want to make sure that it can be a good experience."

Dairy Girl Fitness is 100% women run, which Schaapman says creates an environment where her clients can feel safe and supported.

She recognizes many women often feel they are inadequate or aren't doing enough, but she tries to change this mindset in her clients by reminding them they deserve to feel good about themselves and live a fulfilled life.

"We're starting to realize more that (women) do have a unique perspective, and we do have unique skill set with our emotions and everything, and it's not a bad thing," Schaapman said. "I think it's awesome that we're starting to realize these are all assets and it's all valuable in its own different way."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're talking all things floral with Liza Goetz, owner of Wildly Native Flower Farm in Kent County, Maryland.

Wildly Native is both a flower farm and florist. Goetz takes on the growing of the flowers, while her daughter Lizzie handles the flower arranging.

And if it weren't for Lizzie, the flower farm may not have ever taken off.

Goetz, a former ag teacher, had been growing flowers as a hobby. When a past student asked her to do wedding flowers, Lizzie, who happened to be with her mom at the time, answered yes for her.

Now Goetz, who has always wanted to work the land at her family's farm, feels like she is doing what she was meant to do all along.

"This is where I belong. This is my place," Goetz said. "I only have some much time on this earth to be a steward of the earth. How can I do it and make a change for the next generations that are behind me?"

Weddings are now a big part of what Wildly Native does. Goetz sees local flowers starting to gain popularity.

"Flowers I feel like are one of the last frontiers," Goetz said. "When it comes to flowers, I feel like we are on the edge of the revolution of awareness."

Goetz has a wholesale license to get flowers that she might not be able to grow herself. But she likes educating her customers about local, native flowers they might not be familiar with.

Goetz always encourages her customers, especially her wedding clientele, to visit the flower farm.

"Come to the farm," Goetz said. "Come out, walk the rows, smell the flowers, taste them if they're edible, feel them. Get a sense of what actually grows."

And if growing the flowers isn't enough work, Goetz also likes to make her flower deliveries personally. She loves being able to see the reactions of her customers.

"People's expressions change, and they're happy," she said. "That just feeds my soul."

And while Goetz loves farming flowers — she calls them "sunshine in physical form" — she wants to clear up the misconception that it's an easy, always fun job.

"It is not peaches and rosebuds and flowers all day long," Goetz said. "It's sweat and bugs and mud and tears. It's true ag."

Much of the flower work is done by hand, like seeding, transplanting and cutting. But Goetz is often busy on a tractor, a sight she said is rare in her local area.

"I feel like being a woman in ag is still looked upon as unusual," she said. "It's still, to this day, odd for people to see, at least in our area, to see a woman on a tractor. I love that we are setting an example of how to do things differently."

This week on the FarmHouse, a podcast by Lancaster Farming, we're welcoming in Jayne Sebright.

Sebright is the executive director of the Center for Dairy Excellence and the Dairy Excellence Foundation, two Pennsylvania-based organizations dedicated to supporting dairy farms.

"The center is focused on today. We focus on resources, programming and grants that can help our farmers and our industry today, where our Dairy Excellence Foundation is focused on tomorrow," Sebright said, explaining the difference between the two. "It's a 501(c)(3) entirely privately funded through donations and grants to bring scholarships, curriculum, internships, programming to that next generation of dairy."

While working with the center and the foundation, Sebright helped found the Adopt a Cow program, which connects students to local farmers and promotes dairy education in elementary schools.

The program started in 2011, with about 100 classrooms participating in the first five years. Since then, Adopt a Cow has grown quickly, with 70,000 classrooms now participating, and is supported by 14 dairy checkoffs across the country.

"The Adopt a Cow program has such an impact on our next generation, because they're learning firsthand about the care and stewardship that goes into producing the milk that they drink and the dairy products that they eat," Sebright said.

While farming is often thought of a being an "old school" job, Sebright was quick to point out that the dairy industry is always innovating.

"We have a lot of farms that are adopting robotic technology, whether it's rotary parlors that are used, robotic technology to prep cows, or whether it's cows with activity monitors," Sebright said. "Anything you can automate through robotics or automation is really beneficial on a farm. And there's a lot of cool things going on in that area right now."

Sebright also spoke on bovine influenza A and praised Pennsylvania dairy farmers for taking proactive biosecurity steps to keeping their herds safe.

"They've ramped up their monitoring of who's coming in and out of their farm and they've ramped up their awareness around how cattle are moving in and out of their farm," she said. "If they are moving cattle in the farm, they're making sure they know where those cattle are coming from. They're making sure that they're healthy."

Addressing consumers who may be concerned, she stressed that dairy products are still safe.

"The biggest thing to know is that milk and dairy products are safe, as long as they're pasteurized," she said.

She added that anyone buying raw milk should also be safe if they're buying from a licensed seller, but reminded consumers, "Make sure you're buying from a farm that has biosecurity protocols in place."