In recent surveys, points out Mortensen, Pennsylvania consumers have said that their number-one concern in buying food is that it is grown locally. “There is a huge opportunity for producers in this state to give them what they want,” he says. “But it may be a question of education to get consumers to make the connection between locally grown foods and health and quality.”

More Pennsylvania producers should focus on marketing their agricultural products as locally produced to compete with big-industry agriculture, contends Mary Barbercheck, an entomologist who studies natural pest controls to enhance organic production. “Growers can emphasize local production and creating economic opportunities for our neighbors,” she says.

“For those who are interested in doing it, organic production offers great economic opportunities. We have a broad diversity of people and production practices in Pennsylvania agriculture. I think it is possible for conventional, sustainable, and organic farming to coexist here. Organic provides an opportunity for farmers to stay in business and preserve our rural landscape and farming infrastructure, so the diversity should be welcomed by the larger agricultural community.

“Although there has been some friction— to say the least—between practitioners of different farming practices, I think they are learning to respect each other,” she adds. “If only because the realization has dawned that organic growers buy tractors and all the same tools as conventional growers. Companies have begun catering to organic and sustainable producers. They may play a significant role in the state's agricultural future.”