Field Trip Journal       

In a church parking lot in a suburb north of Pittsburgh is an incredible farmers’ market where even in early spring you’ll find a variety of locally raised and produced foods that make the trip worthwhile. Not only will you find locally raised produce, but you can get locally raised beef, pork, goat and poultry; fresh pierogies (a Pittsburgh tradition); goats milk soaps; herb and flowering plants; delicacies from the local Greek community; hand made woolens. Although not locally raised, you can also find Alaskan salmon and halibut flown in from a local family’s fisherman relatives in Alaska. On June 29^th and 30^th, the Sewickley’s arts community and farmers’ market will celebrate local farms, local artists and the beauty of southwestern Pennsylvania. For more information visit TABLE MAGAZINE or click on the image below.

Spring 2007:  Dillner Family Farm 
Don and Jane Dillner & Family

This third generation family farm actively farms half of its 250 acres just north of Pittsburgh, rotating its crops to strengthen and nurture the land.  Jane and Don Dillner and their four children offer more than 100 varities of fruits and vegetables throughout the growing season.  To make the most of their efforts, subscribe to the CSA program with drops in Mt. Lebanon, Wexford, or their farm in Gibsonia.  Their seasonal products can be found at farmers' markets throughout the city of Pittsburgh.  This is truly a family farm with all four kids working along side their parents, not only on daily the farm but at the farmers' markets as well.  If you get a chance to visit their farm, it's a treat for the entire family...and don't miss the baby pygmy goats!

In the middle of Manhattan is a small but incredible farmers' market that draws farmers, ranchers, and local food producers from a number of states around the area. Walking around on a rainy Saturday in mid-May I was like a kid in a candy store tasting (and in some cases buying) the few offerings of early spring! Fresh ramps from a father-daughter farming team, which I  took to a nearby Connecticut cheese maker's stand who promptly wrapped the fresh ramp leaves around bites of his gorgeous cheese (obviously made from the milk of very happy grass fed cows!).  There was hand made and smoked garlic pheasant sausage. Fresh duck and pheasant eggs. Fresh goat cheese (from Lynne's herd of happy goats). Fresh fish and seafood. Artisan maple products. Grass fed buffalo and lamb. Tiny spring greens (many of which I'd never known existed!). And you should have seen the potatoes!!! I couldn't get over the variety of fingerlings. It was a feast for the eyes, and since I couldn't easily keep the market's goodies fresh in my hotel room I took loads of pictures instead.

The next trip, however, revealed the unpredictability, challenges and near heartache that farming can bring. It was mid fall, harvest time, and the trees were still on fire with the season’s color. The stalks of feed corn in the fields had turned an eerie pale white and looked like ghosts rising out of an early snow that blanketed the ground. That day I walked with Kenny who has tended these fields for the past 20 years keeping the farm alive before Rick and Rita joined Kenny and Marian full time. Steady rains over the previous couple of weeks had the ground too wet for equipment, so the majority of the year’s potatoes lay concealed in the muddy ground waiting for the weather to cooperate (just a little) so the rest of the crop could be harvested. That didn’t keep us from trodding out into the field that cold autumn afternoon. With our breath visible in the cold air and pitchfork in hand we steadily dug up mounds of the starchy treasures hidden in the muddy, snow-frosted ground.

Snow and cold temperatures are critical to successful potato farming. Snow even provides insulation against the cold for tender potatoes waiting to be harvested, but not against the bitter cold that eventually took more than half of Laurel Vista’s crop this particular year, making the few bags of potatoes we took home with us that day all the more special.