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2019 Farmers Care Day a success

Community members donate items to local food pantry

Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the Farm Bureau Report!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who contributed to this year’s Farmers Care Food Drive! It was a great success with over $2,500 worth of goods donated to the Juniata County Food Pantry. Thank you for giving so generously to help your neighbors right around you! Usually, goods donated to this program are given to the Hershey Ronald McDonald House but, due to some renovations at that house this year, they were unable to accept a large inventory of items. It is my understanding that they are still accepting glossy paper though, and Juniata County also contributed $150 worth of donations, probably mostly through glossy paper donations throughout the year, to the Hershey Ronald McDonald House as part of Farmers Care. Glossy paper is collected year-round at the Farm Service Agency just off the Arch Rock exit or it can be given to Selina Hoffman. Speaking of Selina, it is in large part through her passionate efforts of coordinating and promoting Farmers Care that is has been such an overwhelming success in Juniata County these past several years. Thank you Selina!

The week of April 14 is recognized as Rural Roads Safety Week by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. Usually, to commemorate this, the county Farm Bureau hosts an assembly for high school students at a local farm. However, due to so many snow days this year, the event was canceled. That’s no reason to not recognize the importance of allowing safe distances between vehicles when following slow moving farm equipment on the roads and other rural road safety concerns though. Spring is an important time for farmers when they’re trying to get fields planted and may need to move their equipment from field to field using public roadways. Please be patient and cautious. They’re not trying to inconvenience you, they’re just trying to do their job!

Welcome to our new Regional Organizational Director, Kyle Kotzmoyer. Kyle comes from a dairy farm in Cumberland County. The ROD is a Pennsylvania Farm Bureau staff member who works directly with the county Farm Bureaus and serves as a sort of liaison between the local county Farm Bureau and the state Farm Bureau. The function of the ROD is to keep county Farm Bureaus informed about statewide happenings and issues, assist with membership work and to serve as a sort of cheerleader for the county Farm Bureau to realize its maximum potential in advocating for agriculture and keep the county Farm Bureau running smoothly. There are several RODs throughout the state. Kyle will be covering Juniata, Mifflin, Perry, Huntingdon, Franklin, Fulton, Cumberland and Adams counties. He replaces Rebekah Lenington, who recently got married and moved out of the area. Congratulations Kyle and Rebekah!

Recently Young Ag Professionals (formerly known as Young Farmers and Ranchers) from across the area had the opportunity to participate in an axe throwing event. This was the first of several events being planned for younger farmers, between the ages of 18 and 35, in the county and across the region to get together, network and have some fun. As we all know, farming can be stressful, especially lately, and sometimes it helps just to know that you’re not in it alone and that others are sharing the same challenges as you are. Be looking for more details on upcoming events from the Young Ag Professionals Committee or call Ethan and Lindsey Shoop at (717) 734-0129 for more information.

Did you know?

It only takes six minutes (the equivalent of waiting at two red lights) traveling at 20 miles per hour when following a tractor for two miles. Stay safe out there!

Thanks for reading and, until next time, remember to thank a farmer!

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