Hello all, my name is Vincent Krall and I am an intern with the Student Farm for the 2024 growing season. I am currently a junior majoring in Environmental Resource Management, focusing on Soil Science and minoring in Forest Ecosystems.
I grew up in Annville, Pennsylvania, a small town about 15 minutes East of Hershey. Growing up in central Pennsylvania, I was always surrounded by agriculture. Whether it was my grandfather’s farm, my neighbor’s vegetable stand, or the Mennonite farmers market I would visit in Lancaster, agriculture has simply always been present around me. This spurred an interest in it that I was able to explore in my time at Penn State. Other than school, I enjoy hiking, cooking, and playing bass guitar. One of the things I was most excited about when working on the farm is the opportunity to cook with our fresh produce. I’ve never craved a BLT more than when I think about our farm fresh tomatoes.
Once I learned about the intern position with the Student Farm, I was instantly interested. The farm’s vision of a sustainable food network aligns with ideas I have learned about in my classes and with methods I want to see implemented on more farms across the country. I have a love for soil remediation techniques and am excited to implement some in my time on the farm. Additionally, the chance to be a part of such a community driven program is very special to me. It’s been nothing but fun learning the inner workings of the farm and I’ve loved getting my hands dirty
Aside from my coursework in soil sciences, my forestry classes have introduced me to even more veins of agriculture than I thought possible. Through learning about edible herbaceous forest plants, I was introduced to the idea of agroforestry. Agroforestry is using combined methods of sustainable agriculture and forestry to grow produce and forest plants on forested soil. I also have found an interest in silvicultural regeneration of forest stands. I would be very happy if I could work with either one of them further down my career path.
After I graduate, I plan on working as a forest consultant for private landowners in Pennsylvania, helping them to sustainably manage their plots of land. I plan on working toward getting my Associate Professional Soil Scientist Certification, then branch out into working in silviculture and agroforestry.