EBENSBURG

Tree, plant sale scheduled

The Cambria County Conservation District is sponsoring its 50th annual tree and plant sale to offer items for landscaping and gardening needs.

The district offers seedlings and bare root nursery stock to help its customers create small orchards, wildlife habitat, small fruit gardens and beautiful landscapes. The anniversary catalog includes many new varieties of fruit trees, shade and ornamental trees/shrubs, and evergreen seedlings. The berry selection includes strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and elderberries. Gardeners will also find asparagus, rhubarb and a selection of perennial flowers, peonies and ground cover. Wildlife boxes are also offered along with support items for plants.

The catalog and a fillable order form, can be accessed at www.cambriaconservationdistrict.org or on the Cambria County Conservation District Facebook Page. You can also contact the office at 814-472-2120 to request a catalog.

The deadline for orders is March 25 with payment. Orders need to be picked up on April 22 at the American Legion Cambria County Fairgrounds Agriculture Building in Ebensburg from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

TYRONE

ACES makes impact on FFA members

Seventeen students from the Tyrone Area FFA Chapter recently attended the 2022 Agricultural Conference Experience Sessions.

The conference is held three consecutive weekends to allow more than 1,500 FFA members from across the Commonwealth to partake in interactive workshops and comradery events. Members also interact with professionals from the vast agricultural industry to learn about career choices.

The ACES conference had two main learning tracks, the novices (freshman and sophomores), and the advanced (juniors and seniors). The novice track members engaged in hands-on activities to learn concepts every FFA member should learn in their first or second year within the organization.

The advanced track members were in high spirits as they took on a journey on how to prepare for the near future of graduating and career or college pathways. Key workshops addressed resume writing, interview skills, and dressing for success. All of these played a key role in the other two workshops on being a good leader and the importance of utilizing social networking and connections while staying professional.

Safety net programs available

Agricultural producers who have not yet enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs for the 2022 crop year have until March 15 to sign a contract.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers these two safety net programs to provide vital income support to farmers experiencing substantial declines in crop prices or revenues.

Producers can elect coverage and enroll in ARC-County or PLC, which are both crop-by-crop, or ARC-Individual, which is for the entire farm. Although election changes for 2022 are optional, producers must enroll through a signed contract each year. Also, if a producer has a multi-year contract on the farm and makes an election change for 2022, it will be necessary to sign a new contract.   

If an election is not submitted by the March 15 deadline, the election remains the same as the 2021 election for crops on the farm. Farm owners cannot enroll in either program unless they have a shared interest in the crop.