RC&D: "The Catalyst for Community Improvement"

                265 Holiday Inn Road, Suite 3 Clarion, PA 16214
                 (814)-226-8160 ext 5  ●  Fax: (814)-226-4521

The problem: Across the U.S. we are witnessing the decline of the small family dairy farm as more and more dairy farmers go out of business trying to sell their product in a world commodity market.  We are now losing family dairy farms at such a high rate that a Cornell University study predicts that if this trend continues, by the year 2020, only about 15,000 dairy farms will remain across the country, and we will have lost a staggering 94% of our family dairy farms nationally.  Even here in Pennsylvania, where agriculture has long been considered our number one industry, the number of dairy farms has declined from 15,096 in 1987 to just 9,100 in 2002, a loss of forty percent of these farms over a 15-year period.  Something needs to happen to save family farms!

 Reason to hope: The good news though, is that across the country consumers are rediscovering their interest in purchasing fresher, healthier, locally produced foods and are showing their willingness to pay a premium price to support local farmers producing their own farmstead products.  Our project area includes nearly a million food consumers and Northwestern PA still has a viable dairy and small farm presence to take advantage of this emerging consumer market and stabilize local farm based economies with the assistance provided by this project.  The most recent figures available reveal a total of 12,790 farms of all types encompassing 1.7 million acres of farmland within our target area.  These farms provide home to roughly 70,000 dairy cows, producing about 105 million dollars in economic benefits to the regional economy.

 A solution: In recognition of these issues and opportunities, a partnership of local and regional non-profit organizations has emerged with a plan to develop a facility which will help stabilize family farms and improve the availability of farm fresh products to consumers.  This project creates a Center of Excellence for Value Added Agriculture which would include a dairy processing facility, commercial kitchen, and local foods farm market to improve profitability and economic opportunities for farmers in northwest Pennsylvania.  The planned facility would provide access to food processing equipment, training, refrigerated product storage, and market development.  Dairy producers with small or extra amounts of milk can produce cheese, yogurt, butter or other product, package it, and market it at the Center or other markets. Similarly, vegetable and fruit growers can use the facility to produce and market value-added products such as jams, jellies, sauces, and other products. This facility would be a valuable resource for agricultural entrepreneurs who would like to add value to their farm products to improve the overall economic potential of their farming operations by engaging in direct marketing of their products to consumers. Completion of this facility will allow many regional producers the opportunity to prove that they can successfully produce and market a value added product directly to consumers without the uncertainty and heavy financial pressures normally associated with startup enterprises.  Once the producers are able to demonstrate successful production and marketing to financial advisors and to themselves, they will face an easier time as they develop their own on farm processing capabilities, their markets, and the potential of their business.

 The primary partners committed to this project are The Munnell Run Farm Foundation, The Penn Soil Conservancy Charitable Trust, and the Penn Soil Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council; however, this is a large undertaking that has begun to attract support of many other individuals, organizations, educational institutions, local, state, and federal agencies.  Penn Soil RC&D and the Munnell Run Farm Foundation initiated the development of this project in the year 2005, and are now seeking to forge additional partnerships to make this proposal a reality. A fifteen member Project Steering Committee has been formed and is working with the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP) to fully evaluate the potential of this project.  For more information, telephone Jim Mondok at (724) 662-2242 or via email at mercerccd@verizon.net or click this link to the Munnell Run Farm Creamery & Commercial Kitchen Incubator page for more detailed information about the concept of this project.

UPDATE: January 21, 2009  Munnell Run Farm Foundation was awarded a grant for $50,000 by the Pennsylvania First Industries program to initiate a comprehensive feasibility analysis and develop a business plan for this concept.  The co-sponsors of this project are now attempting to make area producers and local food entrepreneurs aware of the project, to identify potential users of such a facility, and to determine what equipment would be necessary to produce the types of products local businesses would like to produce.   If you are a market gardener, dairy farmer, cook, or baker with a special recipe or the desire to market your product or add value to your garden or dairy commodity, please take a moment to fill out this important survey. If you are not a producer but you know someone who is, please forward it to him or her.