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
Jenny Lisak
Ladybug farm
Punxsutawny, PA
Meg Weidenhof
Tait Farm
State College, PA
David Hopey
Tait Farm Foods
Centre Hall, PA
Barbara Gerlach
Berry Fields Farm
New Albany, PA
Janis Copenhaver
Kathtahdin Saluki Land
Reynoldsvile, PA
Charles Gerlach
Berry Fields Farm
New Albany, PA
Ron Gulla
Gulla Farm
Cannonsburg, PA
Cynthia Myers-Long
Vultures Roost
Doylestown, PA
Jim Powell
Powell farm
Washington, PA
Laura Jackson
Narbfarms
Merion, PA
Carol French
Tinket Farm
Ulster, PA
Dana Hunting
Anchor Run CSA
Newtown, PA
Nancy Chubb
Returning Home Farm
Verona, PA
Derek McGeehan
Anchor Run CSA
Newtown, PA
Chris Brittenburg
Who Cooks For You Farm
New Bethlehem, PA
T.Lyle Ferderber
Frankferd Farms
Valencia, PA
Kosta Bounos
Bountiful Earth Farm
Allison Park, PA
David Dietz
Dietz Produce
York, PA
Maria Kretschman
Kretschman Family Farm
Rochester, PA
Beth Voyles
Justa Breeze Farm
Washington, PA
Barbara Jarmoska
Possibilities Retreat
Montoursville, PA
Carolyn Knapp
Knapp Farm/Knapp Time Acres
Ulster, PA
Georgann Kovacovsky
Family Farm
New Bethlehem, PA
Deirdre Lally
Endless Mountains Farm
Benton, PA
Don Kretschmann
Kretschmann Farm
Rochester, PA
Carrie Hahn
Stone Soup Farm
Volant, PA
Brad Berry
Snipes Farm and Education Center
Morrisville, PA
Jeanette Van Zanten Stump
Little Mill Creek
Ridgway, PA
Roz Schira
Legacy Springs
Slatington, PA
Michael Shaw
SCS
Kutztown, PA
Don and Carol Johnson
Johnson Farm
Wellsboro, PA
Robyn Jasko
Homesweet Homegrown, LLC
Kutztown, PA
Claire Orner
Quiet Creek Herb Farm & School of
Country Living
Brookville, 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
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
Inga Jensen
Stinga Jenulli Trou Ranch
tarentum, PA
David Headley
Headleys Family Farm
Smithfield, PA
Thomas Motta
Allegheny City Farms
Pittsburgh, PA
Steven Kostis
The Kostis Family Jessup Farm of
Montrose
Montrose, PA
Patricia Haverstick
Lemon Street Market
Lancaster, 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.
E. Fallowfield, 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
Rachelle Marsteller
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Sandy Lake, PA
Marion menapace
Shady Creek
Catawissa, PA
Emma Marsteller
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Sandy Lake, PA
Linda Quodomine
Quodomine Veterinary Services, Inc.
Bloomsburg, PA
Leigha Marsteller
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Sandy Lake, PA
Betty Ferderber
Frankferd Farms Foods, Inc.
Valencia, PA
Alexa Marsteller
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Sandy Lake, PA
Janet Niemiec
Nieniecs Farm
Winfield, PA
Maggie Henry
The Farmer's Wife. Henry Family Farms
Karthaus, PA
Jeff Giger
Givers Farm
Bloomsburg, PA
Roy Christman
Christman Farm
Lehighton, PA
Cheryl Thomas
Cheryl Tho
Duke Center, PA
John Walker
Family Farm
Bloomsburg, PA
susan folk
Sons Farm
Dingmans Ferry, PA
Kimberly Ditzler
One Bar Farm
Sinking Spring, PA
Guy Wagner
Wagner Farms
Bethlehem, PA
Richard Carey
Tamanend Wine Inc.
Lancaster, PA
Maryanne Stein
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Mercer, PA
Melody Fleck
Hickory Haven
Pine Grove Mills, PA
Rex Stein
AbsolutelyAlpacas & Llamas
Mercer, PA
Sarah Everett
EvereBreeze Orchard
Uniondale, PA
Cathie Forman
BG-CSA
Southampton, PA
Wayne and Angel Smith
Family Farm
Clearville, PA
Sheila Russell
Russell Sprouts Farm
Rome, PA
Pennie Christie
Cherish Creamery
Reynoldsville, PA
Bill Hahn
Stone Soup Farm
Volant, PA
Ernest Mattiuz
Mattiuz Farm
Kersey, PA
Joe Bezjack
Bezjack Farm
Fayette, PA
Andrea Fox
Fox family
Kintnersville, PA
Jane Kirk
Matheis Farm
Erie, PA
Melanie Douty-Snipes
Snipes Farm and Education Center
Morrisville, PA
Cynthia Beck
Peace by Piece Farm on Boyd Run
Waterford, PA
Susan Berger
Susan Berger Health and Nutrition
Pittsburgh, PA
Greg Boulos
Blackberry Meadows Farm
Natrona Heights, PA
Leah Zerbe
Potter's Farm
Pine Grove, PA
Don Kretschmann
Kretschmann Farm
Rochester, PA
Randi Rubin
Golden Years Management
New Kensington, PA
Emma and Gary Puskarich
Puskarich farm
Scenery Hill, PA
Sherry Rogers-Frost
Creekside Farm
Fairfield, PA
George Watson
Watson Farm
PA
ED
Truth's Tranquil Acres
Newport, PA
Brion Vallone
Dilligaf Estates
Hellertown, PA
Heather & Jeremy Sienkiewicz
H&J Ranch
Mifflinburg, PA
Chad Christopher
Woods drive farm
Bulger, PA
Stanley Hasley
Hasley Farm
Greene County, PA
Helen Elkins
Buck Run Farm
Coatesville, PA
Leonard Bercosky
Bercosky Farm
Marianna, PA
George Brittenburg
Taproot Farm
Shoemakersville, PA
Kathy McGovern
Pichel's Farms
Hellertown, PA
Lois Krozier
Little Bear Creek Alpalca
Kane, PA
Michael Kiefer
Kiefer's Nurseries
Hellertown, PA
Linda Burns
Heritage Farms
Ridgeway, PA
Shaun O'Brien
Snipes Farm and Education Center
Morissville, PA
Greg Burns
Heritage Farms
Ridgeway, PA
Mike Tierney
Birchwood Farms
Newtown, PA
Winifred Flynn
Abundant Acres
East Berlin, PA
Jeff Wolfson
The Healthy Grocer, Inc.
Camp Hill, PA
Sten Carlson
Borland Garden Cooperative
Pittsburgh, PA
Michael Mance
Organic vegetable gardener
Export, PA
Michael and sharon Bennett
Bennett Farms
Reynoldsville, PA
David and Lois Oleksa
Gill O'er the Ground
Durham, PA
Susan Cindric
Cindric Farm
Rochester Mills, PA
Pam Judy
Judy Farm
Carmichael, PA
Michael and Ann Dougherty
Dougherty Farm
Reynoldsville, PA
Sandy Folzer
Weavers Way Environmental Committee
Philadelphia, PA
Suzanne Matteo
Homestead
West Middlesex, PA
Jane Dugdale
Doubledale Farm
Phoenixville, PA