Pennsylvania farming cooperative to offer subscription produce, meat service

A group of farmers in Pennsylvania is starting a service that will deliver fresh, organic agricultural products right to consumers' doors.

Oasis at Bird-in-Hand, which is aided by 30 Plain Sect farmers, is planning to start a subscription service that will deliver a variety of farm products to people's houses every week, according to the York Daily Record.

Reuben Stoltzfus, with Bird-in-Hand, is one of the principals behind the effort and has worked to put the cooperative together featuring young farmers from Lancaster County.

Leroy Miller is one of the farmers that is part of the cooperative that will provide the meat and produce for the subscription service. He said he is happy that so many beginning farmers are learning how to farm using traditional methods.

"Farmers younger than me are willing to learn the old ways," he said.

Consumers can also buy the fresh farm products at an Oasis in Ronks.

There are more than 63,000 farms in Pennsylvania and these operations cover about 7.8 million acres of land. Pennsylvania farmers produce more mushrooms than any other state in the union, averaging more than 440 million pounds in annual production.