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PA’s farmers are aging. What barriers face the next generation?
Pennsylvania is home to millions of acres of farmland. As farmers age, who will carry on the industry?
David Mazzenga, Tri-County Independent
Got something to say? Send us a letter by emailing your submission (up to 300 words) to afontones@gannett.com, or letters@poconorecord.com. Letters including inflammatory language or hate speech are not accepted. Approved submissions receive a headline from editorial staff.
Read on for the most recent letter submissions from regional Tri-County Independent and Pocono Record readers.
Last week’s letters:Northeast Pa. readers are concerned with rising costs of parking, education and more
Metzger family endorses Osterberg and Schmalze for commissioners
My family is proud to have been part of this beautiful area for many generations both as community members & previous owners of a long time established business (Apple Valley Restaurant & Village). This letter is our full endorsement of Matt Osterberg & Ron Schmalze for re-election to the Pike County Commissioner’s Office.
We have know Matt Osterberg for over 40 years. Matt’s love for Pike County, PA has never faded over the years. It has actually grown & can easily be seen through his many accomplishments that have strengthen the county.
Both Matt Osterberg & Ron Schmalze have supported & assisted Pike County families & businesses in many ways over the years, but the one thing that stands out is the relieve they provided during the COVID Pandemic. Unfortunately, during Covid most businesses struggled significant financial hardship – a struggle that did not just effect the business owners but the employees, therefore, our community members. We can contest as a previous business owner that we were truly scared on a daily basis that we might lose our family business after 55 yrs.
However, Matt and Ron showed their hard work and devotion to our business and many other businesses in Pike County by giving assistance that with no doubt kept community members on the payrolls and off of the unemployment line. Their quick reaction & effective actions to the pandemic economic hardship enabled businesses to survive in a highly tourist dependent area. Their economic plan allocated significant funds to assist our local businesses which in turn supported the Pike County, PA economy as a whole.
Matt Osterberg and Ron Schmalze our truly focused on supporting & improving Pike County, PA. We urge the people of Pike County to re-elect both of them at this upcoming election as their pride in the job & abilty to get things done for your benefit has been continually shown. Their priority is “Pike County First”!
The Metzger Family, Pike County Residents & Previous Owner of Apple Valley Restaurant & Village
Coffee, cows and crops: How a northern Poconos man makes his way as a young farmer
How much more can dairy farmers take?
Recently I traveled to the famous Pocono Mountains observing the prices of milk in stores. I wanted to see how the gallons of whole milk were moving. I am very concerned because the price of milk set by the Federal Milk Marketing Order is dropping dramatically.
Reports from Federal Order No. 1 are showing a reduction in fluid sales. Our favorite store is still Bill’s Market in Daleville. The day I stopped at Bill’s Market there were 27 rows of whole milk on display. I started my trip at a Dollar Store in the Poconos and was surprised that this small store had 40 gallons of whole milk on its shelf. A worker in the store said, “we sell whole milk, not skim milk.”
I also visited the Weiss grocery store in Tunkhannock which had at least 12 rows of whole milk.
This amount of whole milk on the shelves is good. In addition to ProAg’s efforts, there are other groups in Pennsylvania working to get more fluid milk sales. One must ask the question “If whole milk is selling this well in these stores, why is the price paid to the dairy farmers dropping dramatically?”
Maybe the reason is that the people advertising on our TVs and other venues are not promotingmilk properly.
Recently I was watching TV and right in front of my eyes I saw a big ad promoting Oat “Milk.” Two days later, I witnessed a big ad for “Silk Milk” all over my TV screen. That’s two big ads for artificial milk.
Why don’t I see an ad for real milk when our dairy farmers are having large sums of money taken from their milk checks every month for advertising? Dairy farmers expect to see the same kind of ads for real milk, especially in big cities with big populations and during kids’ shows.
I consider Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, Bloomsburg, and Williamsport big enough cities to have ads for real milk on TV. It is time that milk companies, dairy cooperatives, and everyone else illustrate how the money being taken out of the dairy farmers’ milk checks is being spent.
Dairy farmers deserve an accounting for this money. They have waited long enough.
Arden Tewksbury, Progressive Agriculture Organization, Meshoppen, Pa.
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