Hemp Field Day at Pocono Organics

Andrew Bish

COO, Bish Enterprises & President, Hemp Feed Coalition

Andrew Bish is a pioneering agricultural entrepreneur who founded BISH Enterprises and Hemp Harvest Works to design and build specialized machinery for hemp cultivation and processing. As a leading advocate for sustainable farming, he organized the Hemp Feed Coalition and secured AAFCO and FDA approvals for hemp seed meal as a commercial livestock feed. In Nebraska, he has driven legislative and industry collaboration to streamline hemp permitting and establish the state as a national leader in hemp production. Serving on AAFCO’s Ingredient Definition Committee and ASTM’s Industrial Hemp Subcommittee, Bish actively shapes the regulatory standards that underpin the hemp industry’s growth.

Dr. Arash Ghale

Research Director, Pennsylvania Campuses, Rodale Institute

Arash is an Agroecologist with interests in the field of sustainable agriculture and crop diversification. His professional goal is to promote sustainable agriculture through the implementation of cost-effective changes striving towards holistic and ecologically sound management of crop production.

The projects that Arash conducts contribute to the development of new high-value crops to encourage product diversification and strengthen financial viability of farms. Arash strongly believes that the increased farm income generated from high value crops will improve the quality and sustainability of family farms. Arash joined the Rodale Institute’s research team in 2022 to lead the specialty crops and hemp research projects in regenerative organic agroecosystems. Integrated pest management studies, agrivoltaics and precision agriculture research projects are also conducted by his team at RIPOC through colloboration with other research and education institutes and universities.

Arash has been serving as the Director of Research for Rodale Institute since July 2023. His responsibilities cover the Institute’s headquarters and Pennsylvania campuses, including the Pocono Organic Center, a Rodale Institute Regional Resource Center.

Dr. Ronald Kander

Dean, Kanbar College of Design, Engineering & Commerce

Dr. Ronald Kander was the founding Dean of the Kanbar College of Design, Engineering and Commerce at Thomas Jefferson University where currently does research in the areas of materials characterization, materials processing, materials selection, system dynamics modeling, and integrative design thinking. He received a BS in Chemical Engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University, and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware.  Dr. Kander’s recent research has focused on an integrated study of the material science, process engineering, product design, supply chain economics and sustainability of industrial and consumer products made from hemp-derived materials.

Before joining Jefferson, he was founding Director of the School of Engineering at James Madison University (JMU), Department Head of Integrated Science & Technology at JMU, and a faculty member in the Materials Science & Engineering Department at Virginia Tech (VT).  While at VT, he was also Director of the College of Engineering’s interdisciplinary “Green Engineering” program.  Before joining academia, he was employed by DuPont in Wilmington, Delaware as a Senior Engineer in the Advanced Composites Division of the Fibers Department and in the Polymer Physics Group of the Central Research Department.

Casey Lapham

Research Field Coordinator, Rodale Institute

Casey Lapham is the Field Coordinator for research experiments taking place at the Kutztown headquarters of the Rodale Institute. She has worked at Rodale for five years, primarily in trials investigating best growing practices for industrial hemp. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies from Juniata College.

Dr. Dinesh Panday

Soil Scientist, Rodale Institute

Dinesh is a Soil Scientist at Rodale Institute, Kutztown, Pennsylvania. His research focuses on various aspects of soil and environmental disciplines, including soil health, soil fertility, nutrient management, carbon and nitrogen cycling, regenerative agriculture, cropping systems, geospatial analysis, climate change, and greenhouse gases emissions. He received his doctoral degree in Soil and Water Sciences from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2020. He is one of the members of “Young Scientists Group” led by the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Food Forum in 2022-2023. He is also a co-editor of the book, “The Soils of Nepal,” published by Springer Nature in 2021. More about him:  goo.gl/V6xU4x.

Dr. Andrew Smith

Chief Scientific Officer

Dr. Andrew Smith oversees the research and farm operations at Rodale Institute and is passionate about growing the organic movement by providing science-based solutions to farmers and facilitating opportunities to expand the number of organic farmers and farmland across the globe. He has over twenty years of experience working in the organic industry as an agronomist, researcher, and farmer. While trained as an entomologist, his motive for entering the organic industry was to reduce the use of chemicals for food production that end up in our environment, food, and bodies. He now has the opportunity to support an amazing group of dedicated people working diligently on many projects to transform the food system and the way we farm to improve the lives and health of all people and the planet. He also continues to live and work on his own organic family farm.

Ashley Walsh

President & Founder, Pocono Organics

Ashley Walsh, founder of Pocono Organics, leads the world’s first Regenerative Organic Certified® (ROC®) Hemp program, pioneering innovations at the intersection of sustainability and wellness. Under her leadership, Pocono Organics launched a breakthrough Organic CBD line made with the World’s 1st ROC Hemp, developed CBD-infused socks, and introduced the world’s first ROC® hemp microgreens in both fresh and powder formats.

Pocono Organics collaborates with Rodale Institute conducting industrial hemp fiber trials and various other research projects over the last 7 years. As well as created hemp bioplastic cup prototypes in collaboration with Jefferson University. As a Global Center for Research, Education, and Innovation, Pocono Organics continues its mission to inspire people and heal the earth!