On Wednesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro and other Pennsylvania lawmakers made an appearance at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences’s Ag Progress Days to promote the importance of Agriculture in the state.
“Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry and farmers are not only an important part of our heritage, but a key driver of our economy,” said Shapiro. “Pennsylvania is home to nearly 53,000 farms that cover 7.3 million acres and support 1 in 10 jobs across our Commonwealth.”
“If we work together and partner with our farmers, our Commonwealth can lead this country and the world as an agricultural powerhouse,” Shapiro continued. “My Administration will continue to partner with Penn State and our leaders in ag to help build the future of this industry – and we’ll start by investing in our farmers right now.”
It was an honor to be back at @penn_state‘s Ag Progress Days today — and see the innovation occurring in Pennsylvania agriculture.
I say it all the time — Pennsylvania’s farmers are not only an important part of our heritage, they are a key driver of our economy. pic.twitter.com/U4TZwbUQXL
— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) August 9, 2023
According to a press release from Shapiro’s office, his state budget includes “$1 million to create a new Organic Center of Excellence, $2 million in the Fresh Food Financing Initiative, and $31 million to help poultry farmers impacted by the hi-path avian influenza crisis, and more.”
Rep. G.T. Thompson (R-Centre), who chairs the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, was also in attendance at the annual August gathering and highlighted his work on the upcoming U.S. Farm Bill.
“It’s an investment in rural America and in the industry of agriculture,” Thompson said, according to the Centre Daily Times. “It’s $1.5 trillion over 10 years. And it’s everything from technology to nutrition and risk management, anything dealing with rural America — part of the Farm Bill.”
WPSU reports that Thompson also said on Wednesday that a short extension may be needed to pass the U.S. Farm Bill.
“I think there’s going to have to be an extension only because there’s a lot of moving parts,” Thompson said, according to WPSU.
Thompson added that he “anticipated the extension “hopefully would just be short term,” and that he’s expecting it to pass on a bipartisan basis, according to WPSU.
Sen. John Fetterman, who is a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, also spoke at the event.
WPSU reports that Fetterman said he will also be fighting for the Farm Bill.
One Response
I question how many elected officials at the state level got up and made a speech praising Agriculture but then turn around and vote to reduce funding to Penn State (and the other state related) universities.
Hopefully the ag industry, lobbyists, organizations and individual farmers recognize the hypocrisy and boo any of the bad pols off the stage.