Miranda Neville, Agricultural Resource Technician, BCCD
Bradford county was built on Agriculture. In the past decade the numbers of farms have steadily been decreasing. However, there is still strong desire to farm in Bradford County with a few new ones popping up now and then. To encourage farmers new and experienced, it is important to showcase the resources we have locally. For the first time, Bradford County Conservation District is hosting a Farmer Resource Expo! The event will be held on January 23, 2026 from 9am-1pm at Alparon Park, Exhibit Hall 2. We will also hear farmer testimonials in our “Ask a Farmer” panel from 12-1pm. 

The following is republished from Penn State Extension- Jennifer Latzgo, Master Watershed Steward, Lehigh Valley

What You Can Do to Reduce Road Salt Pollution at Home

Here are some steps you can take:
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• Shovel frequently so snow does not accumulate and turn to ice.
• Salt works best on a thin layer of ice; always shovel any excess snow/ice before applying it.
• Using more salt does not make snow and ice melt faster; it's not necessary to feel the crunch underfoot for the salt to be effective: one 12-ounce coffee mug of salt is sufficient for a 20-foot driveway or 10 sidewalk paving squares. The grains of salt should be about 3 inches apart.
• Only apply salt in places where it is necessary.
• After the storm, sweep up any excess salt and use it for the next time it snows.
• You can also use alternatives to rock salt, such as sand, kitty litter, or birdseed.
• If bad weather is forecast, cover small areas, such as steps, with a tarp to prevent snow accumulation.
• Remember that it only takes one teaspoon of salt to pollute five gallons of water!
• (From other articles on the same issue-)
  • use a brine, like the state does now.  It can cut the amount needed by 70%.  (Environmental Hazards of Road Salt- PSU Extension, Justin Mansberger)
  • Use a ”friendly” deicer- Calcium Chloride (which, by the way, does not include cyanide.  Yea, cyanide.  Rock salt uses it for an anti-caking agent.), Magnesium Chloride, or Calcium Magnesium Acetate.  All are less harmful, but may be more expensive.   (Watershed-friendly Deicing- PSU Extension, Justin Mansberger)
• Did you know that salt is basically ineffective below 15 degrees?  (I did not.)  Calcium Chloride is effective down to -20 degrees, and Magnesium Chloride down to -10 degrees.  (Google search, AI Overview)  Right there is reason enough to switch to a better product. 

Kevin Brown, BCCD, Ag Resource Specialist
(Spoiler Alert- I just had to get this in here, just in case I lose you before you get to the end of the next article.  Do you know that rock salt is almost completely ineffective below 15 degrees?  And it uses cyanide as an anti-caking agent.  Yee-ha) 
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I know as human beings, we want instant gratification on everything.  When shopping for something, most people would like to have it in their hands immediately.  If they can’t find it in a store, they may have to get it online, but it darn sure better be there in 2 days or we are not happy.  Snowfall.  It snows at 9:00 AM today, and the roads better be clear by the time we leave work or we are all kinds of ticked off.  “What are those state guys doing?!!”  We often do this even to the detriment of anything else.  What do I care?  I want what I want, NOW. Be damned everything else.  Salting roads is the perfect example.  We forget how to drive on snow-covered roads, and we are extremely angry when the roads/parking lots are not completely bare right after the storm.  

Glenn Bell, Ag Resource Specialist BCCD
Did you know that our state leads the nation in the number of farms and acres permanently preserved for agricultural production?  The Pennsylvania Agricultural Conservation Easement Purchase Program was created to add resilience to Pennsylvania’s agricultural economy by protecting prime farmland. Through this program, state and county governments (sometimes federal) can purchase conservation easements on farmland which prevents the land from ever being developed. Since its start in 1988, Pennsylvania has preserved roughly 6,500 farms totaling 650,000 acres. 

Dan Rhodes, Education Coordinator, BCCD
In the last couple articles I’ve written about eels, much detail has gone into explaining the importance of American Eels in the Susquehanna River as a species necessary to keep the ecosystem functioning and the water clean. Along these lines, the crucial importance of eels can’t be overstated, but there are also other qualities of eels that must not be overlooked while teaching people about their overall value. As a conservationist, the mantra of the Conservation District in general is the promotion of a ‘wise use’ approach to natural resources. Wise use, especially when dealing with scarce and valuable resources such as the American eel, can be a difficult problem to solve but not an impossible one. As fisheries biologists and conservationists work toward helping the American eel make a full comeback in our waterways, I thought it might be important to highlight for the general public why American eels were a crucially important food and income source for people and wildlife in the past, and how/why it would be incredibly beneficial for everyone if American eels were allowed to reclaim this importance in the present and future.

Kevin Brown, BCCD, Ag Resource Specialist 
I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season.  This particular one is for giving thanks, and we should do so, for so many things.  I know it is easy to get all wrapped up in the negativity that goes on in the world today.  When we turn on the news we hear about all the things that are “coming at us” in the future and they are all negative- global warming, winter storms, prices of everything, world events, and the list goes on.  I think it is good to also reflect on what we have, and what we have gained in the last couple hundred years.  We have really come a long way, but we get so entangled in the negativity coming at us that we forget.  Or, maybe some readers aren’t even old enough to remember.
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We got through The Great Depression; a couple of world wars (We thank ALL Vets for their service.  Without them we would not have all that we have.  THANK YOU!); some smaller, but no less important, wars; the Industrial Revolution, and the list goes on.

Dan Rhodes, Education Coordinator, BCCD
Over the past year, while doing educational programming around Bradford County and even up into southern NY for a special assignment, I’ve been running into Susquehanna River fishing enthusiasts all over the place asking me the same question; ‘‘I’ve been fishing this river for 40 years and never seen or caught an American eel…until now! Why eels…why now?”. Multiple anglers would go on to explain that while fishing usually at night for catfish or other sportfish over the past few months, they would very surprisingly reel in large 2’-3’ American eels. “Where are they coming from and what has changed?” they would always ask. 

Miranda Neville, Agricultural Resource Specialist, BCCD
 
It’s human nature to be weary of the unknown. Any time there is new buzzword in the media, the world seems to split on either side. The buzzword(s) this round: ChatGPT and Generative Artificial Intelligence. I’ll be honest, I’m on the more skeptical side. As for most livestock farmers, the only A.I. we typically deal with often results in a beautiful new baby calf.
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We’ve become a world of “work smarter, not harder.” That mindset has come about mainly out of necessity because the need for labor and lack of laborers is a recurrent problem. Farm labor used to be as simple as hiring the local high school kid to milk cows, stack square bales, or tend to the livestock, but not anymore. As a replacement for lack of able bodies, many farmers have turned to utilizing innovative technology. Milking robots, automatic feeders, robotic alley scrapers, and feed pushers are all examples of technology that can be programmed to make farmers’ lives easier (in theory). What if those “robots” developed their own way of thinking and responding to situations. That sounds like the making for a pretty intense sci-fi movie…one that we might not be too far from. With automation and a faced paced world, artificial intelligence (I’ll use Chat GPT as an example) is making a huge impact, but at what cost?

Republish from PennState 9/29/2025
Andy Yencha, PennState Extension - Extension Educator, Renewable Natural Resources
 
Stormwater can cause water pollution because it often contains harmful materials picked up when it washed across the land.
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What are Stormwater Pollutants?
Stormwater harms local creeks, rivers, and lakes in two major ways. It causes physical damage like flooding, streambank erosion, and loss of fish habitat when too much water drains into a creek or river too quickly, and it causes water pollution because stormwater often contains harmful materials picked up when it washed across the land. These pollutants can be grouped into five broad categories.

Kevin Brown, Ag Resource Specialist, BCCD
This is one of the hot topics right now- inflation is going wild.  Well, it seems like it is for some things, but not for farmers.  Prices for their products have NOT kept up with the times.  We, in the agricultural world, know that; but I am assuming that most people outside of that field probably don’t.  Prices fluctuate wildly in the ag world.  When I was working my last job, there were times that the price of milk, paid to farmer, was the same price they were getting back in the 80’s.  On average, over a couple years, it may not look quite that bad but imagine if your income for the next 4 months was going to be the same as the average wage for your position in, say, 1985.  Can you imagine?  How do you possibly make that work?  Even if it averaged in the next 2 years what you make now, or a little lower, can you imagine making 2025 wages one month, and then 1975 wages the next?