At the January 9 opening ceremonies of the Pennsylvania Farm Show, a group of farmers delivered a letter to Governor Tom Wolf urging him to protect Pennsylvania’s agricultural communities by stopping fracking. The letter, which was supported by Pennsylvanians Against Fracking, was signed by over 140 farmers and owners of food-related businesses.
Pennsylvanians Against Fracking held a rally at the farm show with over 100 attendees from around the state. Farmers’ testimonials were read by rally participants. Read them here – Farmer Statements.
Click here to view the letter in PDF format
Farmers: you can add your name to the letter by clicking here.
January 9, 2016
The Honorable Tom Wolf
Governor
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
Dear Governor Wolf,
We, the concerned farmers of Pennsylvania, begin this letter with both hope and fear. Our hopes are that you will read the following with careful consideration and that our heartfelt sentiments will reach you. Our fears are for our way of life, which many of us find to be balancing precariously in the face of destructive activities like hydraulic fracturing and the looming threat of climate change. It is hard not to feel like the odds are stacked against us -with the scale of gas development and its swiftness in encompassing our communities. Faced with big industries with deep pockets as unwelcome neighbors, moving in whether you have leased your land or not there seems to be little we can do. With that in mind we are turning to our government, again with the hope that our voices do matter, that our concerns will be taken seriously and our Governor will prove himself to be for the people.
As you well know, Pennsylvania has a long history of agriculture, one in which all Pennsylvanians take much pride. Many farms in our beautiful state have been in families for generations and there is a strong movement today among young adults to turn back to the land. Young or old, all farmers are facing new challenges in an era where climate change is not right around the corner – indeed it has arrived and is already making itself known! Many of us have taken on the challenge of organic agriculture not only to provide healthy food to our neighbors but also to help restore the soil and reduce climate-changing practices like the use of fossil fuel fertilizers, monoculture crops and barren fields.
One of the major industries contributing to climate change is also booming in our state – hydraulic fracturing. To some those two words might sound like profit, but to many farmers those same words are tantamount to a death sentence.
When you think of a Pennsylvania farm, what comes to mind? Is it rolling fields, dotted with cows contentedly grazing, rows of corn shooting towards a clear blue sky? An old house with ducks in the nearby pond and a happy farm dog sprawled in the yard? Or is it a loud, busy, filthy, explosive industrial site, a looming oil derrick, a night sky lit up with malodorous, toxic gas flaring, all stars obliterated by light pollution? The latter is a fear for many farmers, and an unfortunate reality for many others.
It’s not just a disruption of the picturesque dream that’s the problem. There is no question that people living near gas operations are being exposed to dangerous pollutants. Fracking activities have been proven to have very real and dangerous consequences for those living or working nearby.
- Air Quality – A study, An Exploratory Study of Air Quality near Natural Gas Operations , found 44 hazardous chemicals in the air, many of which cause cancer and damage to the brain, nervous system lungs, kidneys, cardiovascular system, endocrine system, genes, liver, immune system, skin, eyes and other parts of the body. The negative health effects are frightening. There is now a significant body of scientific, medical, and journalistic findings demonstrating risks and harms of fracking.
- Water Quality – For a farmer, clean water is the basic necessity. However, with the fracking we have seen known carcinogens injected through our aquifers or sitting in frack ponds. Known endocrine disruptors make up around 40% of the chemicals added to fracking fluids. Leaks, spills, and unintended releases are abundant. Due to the growing periods of drought from climate change, farmers increasingly need to irrigate our crops. Animals need abundant supplies of pure water. If a farmer can’t be sure of their water, they can’t be sure of the quality of their products or their ability to continue to farm.
- Food Safety – Our food safety is in question around fracking sites. “There are a variety of organic compounds, metals and radioactive material that are of human health concern when livestock meat or milk is ingested,” says Motoko Mukai, a veterinary toxicologist at Cornell’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Chemicals used in the fracturing process can leach into the groundwater and soil, poisoning livestock and farmer alike. When toxic components spread out, they aren’t just sitting in stasis – the plants and insects exposed to these toxins absorb them, and they slowly work their way up the food chain, accumulating in the bodies of larger animals like cows and fish faster than their natural filters can keep up with. When we eat meat from an animal that is fed on contaminated grasses and feed, we risk those toxins making their way into us.
- Business Concerns – Farmers who are certified organic face the loss of their market and their certifications when toxic industries move in next door. Customers who value the quality of their food are unwilling to take a chance on milk, meat or produce grown next to industrial sites. The pipelines, compressor stations, and traffic that go along with the natural gas industry all have their own hazards – explosions, evacuations, gas leaks, and illegal dumping are par for the course but they are not risks that we should be forced to endure. Farmers conforming to organic practices know that they cannot use chemically-treated fence posts because the chemicals will leach into the soil and become a part of the forage our animals consume. How much worse is it that tons of toxic chemicals are allowed to be emitted from fracking well sites and other infrastructure to settle on our pastures?
- Climate Change – Hydraulic fracturing is causing problems to farmers every day, but as a major contributor to climate change the natural gas industry is leading us even further into a climate crisis where the farmer will be the first to feel the effects. Our livelihoods depend on the already hard to predict whims of nature, the thought of shifting seasons, droughts paired with torrential downpours, severe storms, and other extreme weather events is beyond frightful. Irregular temperature fluctuations have increasingly cost fruit farmers their crops, and have made it harder to plan planting and harvest times. New pest problems, like the spotted wing drosophila and the massive rise in tick populations, and diseases are cropping up as our state’s climate slowly shifts. Farmers see small but significant changes like these every year, and they are becoming more numerous and obvious.
- Health impacts, present now and yet to come – Farmers living near well sites (as well as many others in rural gas fields that have sprung up around their homes) are suffering right now from health impacts almost too numerous to mention. The studies, many of them now Pennsylvania-specific, are piling up and finding again and again that people’s’ children are getting a poor start in life if they live near well pads, and that neurological and cardiovascular and dermatological problems are more prevalent and growing near fracking sites. A comprehensive health impact study is needed, and the opportunity for doing that study is ripe with 10 years of hospital and insurance data from the fracked areas already in hand, yet you refuse to order such a health impacts study. That makes many of us out on the farms next to fracking feel like we are asked to sacrifice our health and even our lives for the sake of a few large corporations profiting from fracking.
Governor Wolf – we, the farmers of Pennsylvania, are asking you to show your good judgment and commitment to the well-being of Pennsylvanian citizens and look at the facts. Stop the drilling! Bring in jobs for clean energy solutions, stop the cycle of fossil fuel consumption.
Sincerely,
Stephen Cleghorn
Paradise Gardens and Farm
Reynoldsville, PA
Meg Weidenhof
Tait Farm
State College, PA
Barbara Gerlach
Berry Fields Farm
New Albany, PA
Charles Gerlach
Berry Fields Farm
New Albany, PA
Jenny Lisak
Ladybug farm
Punxsutawny, PA
David Hopey
Tait Farm Foods
Centre Hall, PA
Janis Copenhaver
Kathtahdin Saluki Land
Reynoldsvile, PA
Ron Gulla
Gulla Farm
Cannonsburg, PA
Cynthia Myers-Long
Vultures Roost
Doylestown, PA
Laura Jackson
Narbfarms
Merion, PA
Dana Hunting
Anchor Run CSA
Newtown, PA
Derek McGeehan
Anchor Run CSA
Newtown, PA
T.Lyle Ferderber
Frankferd Farms
Valencia, PA
David Dietz
Dietz Produce
York, PA
Beth Voyles
Justa Breeze Farm
Washington, PA
Carolyn Knapp
Knapp Farm/Knapp Time Acres
Ulster, PA
Deirdre Lally
Endless Mountains Farm
Benton, PA
Carrie Hahn
Stone Soup Farm
Volant, PA
Jeanette Van Zanten Stump
Little Mill Creek
Ridgway, PA
Jim Powell
Powell farm
Washington, PA
Carol French
Tinket Farm
Ulster, PA
Nancy Chubb
Returning Home Farm
Verona, PA
Chris Brittenburg
Who Cooks For You Farm
New Bethlehem, PA
Kosta Bounos
Bountiful Earth Farm
Allison Park, PA
Maria Kretschman
Kretschman Family Farm
Rochester, PA
Barbara Jarmoska
Possibilities Retreat
Montoursville, PA
Georgann Kovacovsky
Family Farm
New Bethlehem, PA
Don Kretschmann
Kretschmann Farm
Rochester, PA
Brad Berry
Snipes Farm and Education Center
Morrisville, PA
Roz Schira
Legacy Springs
Slatington, PA
Michael Shaw
SCS
Kutztown, PA
Robyn Jasko
Homesweet Homegrown, LLC
Kutztown, PA
Virginia Phillips
Slow Food Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA
Paige Persky
Homesweet Homegrown
Kutztown, PA
Jan Akeroyd
Woodsong Hollow Farm
Boyertown, PA
Florence Rodale
Floreant Projects/the Lavender Farmette
Emmaus, PA
Bryn Ashburn
Greensgrow Farms
Philadelphia, PA
M.E. Lauver
Farm in the Hollow
Lewisburg, PA
Matt Steiman
Dickinson College Farm
Boiling Springs, PA
Susan Snipes-Wells
Snipes Farm
Morrisville, PA
Kathy Greenwood
Greenwood Farm
PA
Don and Carol Johnson
Johnson Farm
Wellsboro, PA
Claire Orner
Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living
Brookville, PA
Rusty Orner
Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of Country Living
Brookville, PA
Sherry Trunzo
Windy Hill Farm
Brockway, PA
Dale Allen
Sweetbriar Farms
Wellsboro, PA
George Miklasevich
Miklasevich Farm
Pulaski, PA
David Harder
Nature’s Way
Easton, PA
Lynn Prior
Buy Fresh Buy Local of the Greater Lehigh Valley
Easton, PA
Jim Crawford
New Morning Farm
Hustontown, PA
Lisa Miskelly
Good Work Farm
Zionsville, PA
Linda Headley
Headleys Family Farm
Smithfield, PA
David Headley
Headleys Family Farm
Smithfield, PA
Steven Kostis
The Kostis Family Jessup Farm of Montrose
Montrose, PA
Alan Hillyard
Brother Natures Place
Tidioute, PA
Ola Creston
Taproot Farm
Shoemakersville, PA
Elizabeth Donohoe
MyOwnLittleFarm
Forest Hills, PA
Tara Rockacy
Churchview Farm LLC
Pittsburgh, PA
Mary Ann Oyler
Oyler’s Organic Farms
Biglerville, PA
Dianne Burg
Healthy Alternatives
Trexlertown, PA
Terry Brett
Kimberton Whole Foods
Phoenixville, PA
william elkins
Buck Run Land & Catlle Co.
- Fallowfield, PA
Inga Jensen
Stinga Jenulli Trou Ranch
Tarentum, PA
Thomas Motta
Allegheny City Farms
Pittsburgh, PA
Patricia Haverstick
Lemon Street Market
Lancaster, PA
jonathan snipes
Snipes Farm and Education Center
Morrisville, PA
Joseph Bozzelli
Five Elements Farm
Worthington, PA
Toria Harr
Snipes Farm and Education Center
Morrisville, PA
Robin Hoy
Wrightstown Farmers Market
Wrightstown, PA
Regina Anderson
Starry Sky Farm LLC
Pittsburgh, PA
Karin Hulme
Home owner
Stroudsburg, PA
Dana Hunting
Anchor Run CSA
Newtown, PA
Brad Berry
Snipes Farm and Education Center
Morrisville, PA
Michael Podlogar
Elmdale Farms
Bechtelsville, PA
Marion menapace
Shady Creek
Catawissa, PA
Linda Quodomine
Quodomine Veterinary Services, Inc.
Bloomsburg, PA
Betty Ferderber
Frankferd Farms Foods, Inc.
Valencia, PA
Janet Niemiec
Nieniecs Farm
Winfield, PA
Jeff Giger
Givers Farm
Bloomsburg, PA
Cheryl Thomas
Cheryl Tho
Duke Center, PA
susan folk
Sons Farm
Dingmans Ferry, PA
Guy Wagner
Wagner Farms
Bethlehem, PA
Maryanne Stein
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Mercer, PA
Rex Stein
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Mercer, PA
Rachelle Marsteller
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Sandy Lake, PA
Emma Marsteller
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Sandy Lake, PA
Leigha Marsteller
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Sandy Lake, PA
Alexa Marsteller
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Sandy Lake, PA
Maggie Henry
The Farmer’s Wife. Henry Family Farms
Karthaus, PA
Roy Christman
Christman Farm
Lehighton, PA
John Walker
Family Farm
Bloomsburg, PA
Kimberly Ditzler
One Bar Farm
Sinking Spring, PA
Richard Carey
Tamanend Wine Inc.
Lancaster, PA
Melody Fleck
Hickory Haven
Pine Grove Mills, PA
Sarah Everett
EvereBreeze Orchard
Uniondale, PA
Cathie Forman
BG-CSA
Southampton, PA
Sheila Russell
Russell Sprouts Farm
Rome, PA
Bill Hahn
Stone Soup Farm
Volant, PA
Joe Bezjack
Bezjack Farm
Fayette, PA
Jane Kirk
Matheis Farm
Erie, PA
Cynthia Beck
Peace by Piece Farm on Boyd Run
Waterford, PA
Greg Boulos
Blackberry Meadows Farm
Natrona Heights, PA
Don Kretschmann
Kretschmann Farm
Rochester, PA
Emma and Gary Puskarich
Puskarich farm
Scenery Hill, PA
George Watson
Watson Farm
PA
Brion Vallone
Dilligaf Estates
Hellertown, PA
Wayne and Angel Smith
Family Farm
Clearville, PA
Pennie Christie
Cherish Creamery
Reynoldsville, PA
Ernest Mattiuz
Mattiuz Farm
Kersey, PA
Andrea Fox
Fox family
Kintnersville, PA
Melanie Douty-Snipes
Snipes Farm and Education Center
Morrisville, PA
Susan Berger
Susan Berger Health and Nutrition
Pittsburgh, PA
Leah Zerbe
Potter’s Farm
Pine Grove, PA
Randi Rubin
Golden Years Management
New Kensington, PA
Sherry Rogers-Frost
Creekside Farm
Fairfield, PA
E D
Truth’s Tranquil Acres
Newport, PA
Heather & Jeremy Sienkiewicz
H&J Ranch
Mifflinburg, PA
Chad Christopher
Woods drive farm
Bulger, PA
Helen Elkins
Buck Run Farm
Coatesville, PA
George Brittenburg
Taproot Farm
Shoemakersville, PA
Lois Krozier
Little Bear Creek Alpalca
Kane, PA
Linda Burns
Heritage Farms
Ridgeway, PA
Greg Burns
Heritage Farms
Ridgeway, PA
Winifred Flynn
Abundant Acres
East Berlin, PA
Sten Carlson
Borland Garden Cooperative
Pittsburgh, PA
Michael and sharon Bennett
Bennett Farms
Reynoldsville, PA
Susan Cindric
Cindric Farm
Rochester Mills, PA
Michael and Ann Dougherty
Dougherty Farm
Reynoldsville, PA
Stanley Hasley
Hasley Farm
Greene County, PA
Leonard Bercosky
Bercosky Farm
Marianna, PA
Kathy McGovern
Pichel’s Farms
Hellertown, PA
Michael Kiefer
Kiefer’s Nurseries
Hellertown, PA
Shaun O’Brien
Snipes Farm and Education Center
Morissville, PA
Mike Tierney
Birchwood Farms
Newtown, PA
Jeff Wolfson
The Healthy Grocer, Inc.
Camp Hill, PA
Michael Mance
Organic vegetable gardener
Export, PA
David and Lois Oleksa
Gill O’er the Ground
Durham, PA
Pam Judy
Judy Farm
Carmichael, PA
Sandy Folzer
Weavers Way Environmental Committee
Philadelphia, PA
Suzanne Matteo
Homestead
West Middlesex, PA
Jane Dugdale
Doubledale Farm
Phoenixville, PA