The Center For Farm Transitions and Climate Change
A free seminar will be held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg from 10 a.m to noon, Friday, January 7 and throughout the rest of the week, in the state area of PA. This free seminar will deal with how to transition your farm out to your business. Questions on how to move your farm products to you packing house, or shipping, will be answered by industry professionals who have years of experience. The seminar is co-hosted by the PEO’s Consumer Select Board and the APHEO. Agriculture products are the focus of this two-day event.
This type of program is normally presented to small farmers before they go commercial. They often cannot afford the cost of a large packing house and so they outsource their packing and shipping need to a farm goods packing company. There are several groups of small farmers that use this method of transportation. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, or the Department of Transportation, mainly deals with highways and interstates, but does not offer rural areas much help as it relates to farm traffic. Because of this the state has been encouraging the use of railroads to bring grain and livestock to small farms.
The Center for Farm Transitions also offers classes for those in the agricultural field who would like to transition into this new industry. These include courses dealing with the use of machinery and other farm equipment, estate planning and marketing, the sale and purchase of a farm, and life in the farming industry, to name a few. There are several seminars that are scheduled in these areas each year. These seminars teach the basics of starting a farm, how the land can be better suited to grow crops, and the techniques needed to attract buyers for one’s farm products. Those in these fields who are interested in making a switch from conventional agriculture to another type of enterprise need to learn about the various techniques and strategies used in marketing their product.
In some states development rights can be granted to the farmer and/or family for the use of an area of farmland for twenty years. These rights are contingent upon several factors including the size of the farmer’s current farm, amount of produce, and amount of revenue coming in each year. In most states a resident who is looking to develop farm land must first apply for development rights by filing a form with the county clerk. If the application is approved, the farmer will then have to negotiate the purchase of the farmland from the original owner and file all legal documentation.
Another aspect of the Center for Farm Transition is the farm preservation program. This is an agricultural effort to preserve farmland through the implementation of various methods such as conservation tillage, crop rotation, pest control, irrigation systems, and improved tillage techniques. This effort is designed to help slow the rate at which the world’s agricultural land is being converted from cultivating food to storing it for future consumption. Agriculture is one of the sectors contributing to climate change and many people rely on food production so it makes sense for farmers to preserve their lands.
Climate change has been a growing concern for both the residents and the farmers who grow most of America’s food. By working together farmers and business owners can work to save their most valuable assets – land and food. Combining our resources and coordinating with one another to promote long-term sustainability is essential in the fight against climate change. Combining the experience and expertise of a Center for Farm Transitions, along with our long-standing agricultural business planning and management skills, ensures that the Center for Farm Transitions can continue to help our country move forward and stay a step ahead of the ever changing landscape of agriculture.
