Penn Soil RC&D Events

May 21, 2008 Penn Soil RC&D Quarterly Council Meeting was held in Clarion County at the Captain Loomis Restaurant; 540 Main Street; Clarion, PA 16214. (see RC&D Coordinator report below for latest status report on projects)

August 20, 2008 Penn Soil RC&D Quarterly Council Meeting to be held in Crawford County (tentatively set to be held at the Crawford County Fair)

Tri-State Conservation Tillage Conference

The 2008 Tri-State Tillage Conference will be held January 22, 2008 at the Radisson Motel, West Middlesex, PA. Please contact Dianna Hendrick, Program Assistant (call (814)-226-8160 ext 5 or email dianna.hendrick@rcdnet.net if you would like to be added to our mailing list, receive a registration packet for future conferences, and/or are interested in participating as a vendor or sponsor at the next conference.  Click the Tri-State Conservation Conference Tillage link above for more information.

Penn Soil RC&D to Hold Two Cheese Making Courses in 2008-updated 5/12/08
Penn Soil RC&D announced that it will hold two separate 3 day cheese making classes this year. The first course is designed for novice cheese makers and will be held June 17-19th in Mercer, PA. Melanie Dietrich-Cochran of Keswick Creamery will teach participants about the milk quality, ingredients used in cheese making, processes for making a variety of cheeses, techniques and requirements for aging cheese, and how to establish a business as a farmstead or artisan cheese maker. This is a “hands-on” class, which will provide participants an opportunity to make several kinds of cheese. Melanie will also present short lectures to provide an understanding of basic milk and cheese chemistry, the art of aging cheese (affinage), and how to design and operate a cheese making business. This is a more expanded version of the successful two day course Melanie taught in Mercer during 2007.  Class space is limited to 20 people.  Call 814-226-8160 ext. 192 for more information.  For complete course details or to get the registration form, download our Basic Cheese Making Course brochure (Opens an Adobe Acrobat   PDF document File size 115KB).

Penn Soil RC&D will also bring back Peter Dixon, a well known Cheese maker from Vermont, to teach a more advanced level cheese making class in Mercer during October 30-November 1,  2008.  Complete details not available at this time-Please check back on a weekly basis for more course details.

In 2006, sixteen students from four states and Canada completed the course taught by Peter Dixon. Participants made several different kinds of cheese from start to finish and got to take home the results of their efforts.  The course was very successful.

the science of cheese	testing the pH of cheese	Making the brine to cure the cheese	Brining the cheese	Slicing the cheese

"Make $omething More from Your Milk"  Educational Video Series
An educational video series designed to help those interested in learning more about value-added dairy processing.  Series is available for purchase in VHS and DVD formats from Penn Soil RC&D.
Brochure with descriptive, price and ordering information  -  an Adobe Acrobat PDF document (file size 275K)

Penn Soil RC&D Creates Susan McCorkle Memorial Scholarship Fund

On November 15, 2006, The board of directors for the Penn Soil Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council officially established The Susan McCorkle Memorial Scholarship Fund. The purpose of the fund is to assist Penn Soil RC&D Area residents in pursuing value added education and training to make small farms more economically viable. During 2007, There were seven scholarships awarded. 

For more information about Susan McCorkle, the eligibility guidelines for a scholarship, or to learn how to make a charitable donation to the Susan McCorkle Memorial Scholarship Fund please contact the RC&D Office.  Click this link to download the Susan McCorkle Memorial Scholarship brochure (opens a 244 KB PDF document in a new window)

Photo Caption: (From Left to Right) Penn Soil RC&D Chairman Jack Preston presents $3000 ceremonial check to Ron McCorkle, husband of the late Susan McCorkle, and Ron Kerr, Chairman of Penn Soil RC&D Agriculture Committee responsible for administering the Susan McCorkle Memorial Scholarship Fund

Coordinator Reports with Project Updates

Most Recent Quarterly Report
May 21, 2008