During a discussion about the issues facing the $132.5 billion agricultural industry in Pennsylvania, state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said the key to future success is the ability to adapt to change.
“We know agriculture continues to change,” he told a crowd gathered at an informational meeting Wednesday on the campus of Penn State Berks in Spring Township. “There is an expectation to keep growing in terms of environmental stewardship, consumer demands on the industry and the importance of economic development.”
Redding said that since 2017 the commonwealth has lost 200,000 acres of farmland — roughly the equivalent of the productive farmland in Berks County, and that means farmers need to get creative.
And, he said, government officials at all levels need to do what they can to help connect the food system to the environment, to the workforce, to the climate and to education.
“We are concerned about the future of agriculture, but this is also a time of tremendous opportunity,” he said. “If you look at the last five years the income on sales of agricultural products has increased at the farm level.”
Redding said his team is working to monitor trends throughout the industry to advocate for policies and investments that could help farmers capitalize on the changes that are happening.
He explained that the first step on that journey was asking what many might assume to be a pretty straightforward question: What is Pennsylvania agriculture?
“We had all kinds of answers to that question,” he said. “There are some people in the state that will never mention a cow or a mushroom. What they mention is forestry, grapes and sheep. It always amazes me how many different answers there are.”
Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, right, and State Veterinarian Dr. Alex Hamberg took questions from the audience during an informational meeting held Wednesday on the Penn State Berks University campus. The meeting was organized by state Sen. Judy Schwank. (Courtesy of Spencer Thornburg)
So in the end, Redding said, the department came up with a definition that reflected the diversity of the commonwealth.
“The reality is that agriculture is a business without walls,” he said. “The diversity that we have across the state will be an asset to us as we prepare for the future.”
With a new definition in place, Redding said the Shapiro administration has crafted an economic development strategy that puts agriculture front and center. He said that was reflected in several big items contained in the latest budget.
That included:
• $31 million to help poultry farmers impacted by the avian influenza crisis pay for testing and get reimbursed for losses to their flocks.
• $10 million in agricultural innovation to help support new solutions and technologies, including energy and conservation endeavors.
• Investments in a new state laboratory in western Pennsylvania that will provide much-needed testing capacity, helping with rapid diagnosis and mitigation of future avian flu outbreaks across the state.
The informational meeting was organized by state Sen. Judy Schwank. The Ruscombmanor Township Democrat said the focus of the event was to give members of the community a chance to discuss developments in agriculture.
Originally Published: September 4, 2024 at 3:23 p.m.
Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their original owners.
Comments are closed.