Penn Soil Rc & D Council

PROVIDE THE LOCAL LEADERSHIP NECESSARY TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A PLAN THAT WILL IMPROVE THE ECONOMY, ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL-WELL BEING OF THE PEOPLE THROUGH ACCELERATED PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATURAL RESOURCES IN EIGHT NORTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA COUNTIES.

SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION: WE HOSTED SEVERAL PUBLIC EDUCATIONAL MEETINGS FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS TO HELP THEM MANAGE THEIR GRASSLANDS MORE EFFECTIVELY TO IMPROVE SOIL HEALTH AND PROFITABILITY OF THEIR FARMING OPERATIONS. WE ALSO PROVIDED CONSULTIVE ASSISTANCE WITH LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS FROM A PAID CONSULTANT AND NUMEROUS EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATIONS TO HELP PRODUCERS BETTER UNDERSTAND MANAGEMENT OF STOCK PILED GRAZING FORAGES AND MANAGEMENT OF THEIR ANIMALS. THE RESULTS OF THIS EFFORT WILL INCREASE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRIVATE LANDOWNERS TO MANAGE THEIR LANDS BETTER, PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT, IMPROVE WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT, AND INCREASE ECONOMIC RETURNS ON THEIR LANDS. WE ALSO PARTNERED WITH THE ASSOCIATION OF WARM SEASON GRASS PRODUCERS TO RAISE FUNDS AND IMPLEMENT A 3 YEAR ON-FARM FIELD RESEARCH TRIAL OF IMPROVED WARM-SEASON GRASS VARIETIES. THIS PROJECT WILL EVALUATE THE ESTABLISHMENT AND YIELD OF NEW SWITCHGRASS AND BIG BLUESTEM VARIETIES ON THREE SEPERATE FARMS

TOURISM: TO INCREASE TOURISM OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR REGION, WE CO-HOSTED AND PLANNED THE 8TH ANNUAL NATURE ART SHOWCASE AND SALE EVENT, RECRUITING 56 ARTISTS AND DISPLAY 104 ART PIECES REPRESENTING THE NATURAL AND RECREATIONAL ASSETS OF NORTHWESTERN PA, THROUGH DIVERSE MEDIA, WHICH WERE DISPLAYED AND AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO THE PUBLIC. WE ALSO DEVELOPED AND ADMINISTERED THE CREATION OF A PROJECT TO INCREASE VISITATION TO THE ALLEGHENY NATIONAL FOREST IN HONOR OF THE 100TH YEAR HISTORY SINCE THE CREATION OF THE ALLEGHENY NATIONAL FOREST IN 1923. TWENTY EIGHT INDIVIDUAL GEOCACHES WERE DEVELOPED AND PLACED AT SPECIFIC HISTORIC LOCATIONS WITHIN THE FOUR COUNTIES COMPRISING THE ALLEGHENY NATIONAL FOREST. PENN SOIL RC&D CREATED THE PASSPORT DOCUMENT AND MADE IT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC DOWNLOAD FROM OUR WEBSITE. THE EXACT LOCATIONS WERE PUBLISHED ON THE INTERNET AND GPS COORDINATES WERE USED FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEEK OUT THE GEOCACHES.GEOCACHERS WOULD BE ABLE TO FIND THE

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: WE PARTNERED WITH THE ASSOCIATION OF WARM SEASON GRASS TO CONDUCT A MARKETING CAMPAIGN THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS FROM USING PENNSYLVANIAS FARMS AND FARM COMMUMITIES. WARM SEASON GRASS PERFORMS BETTER THAN TRADITIONALLY USED MATERIALS SUCH AS BEDDING STRAW OR SAWDUST FOR EXAMPLE. THE ASSOCIATION OF WARM SEASON GRASS PRODUCERS LAUNCHED A MARKETING CAMPAIGN THROUGHOUT PENNSYLVANIAS FARMING COMMUNITY TO EDUCATE AND PROMOTE THE MANY ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS OF WARM SEASON GRASS USAGE, WILL HELP FARMERS BEGIN USING WARM SEASON GRASS IN THEIR FARMING OPERATIONS, WILL DEVELOP A CATALOGUE OF GROWERS AND SELLERS IN EACH COUNTY IN PENNSYLVANIA, AND WILL PRESENT THE PROJECTS MARKETING RESULTS AND GRASS PRODUCERS CATALOGUE THE FARM COMMUNITY. THE PROJECT WAS SO SUCCESSFUL THAT WE DEVELOPED A SECOND PHASE OF THE PROJECT TO DESIGN AND BUILD A MOBILE POULTRY BEDDING PROCESSING MACHINE THAT COULD BE DEMONSTRATED