August 12, 2026 · AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS · 14,894 words · 11 speakers · 100 segments
Good morning, everyone. I'd like to welcome you here to Ag Progress Days, the 50th anniversary of Ag Progress Days here at Rock Springs. So that's a big honor here this year as well. But also on behalf of the Senate and House Ag and Rural Affairs Committees, I'd like to welcome everyone. We're here this year to celebrate our country's 250th birthday. We're eager to hear from agricultural leaders and farmers and innovators who've helped shape Pennsylvania. I just want to thank Penn State for all their hard work and coordination that goes into planning and executing Ag Progress Days. and for allowing us access to use this facility. I'd also like to appreciate the opportunity to welcome my co-chair, Senator Judy Schwank, Representative Dan Mile. Representative Prasinski isn't here yet, but he'll be here shortly. He's probably stuck in traffic. I'd also just like to take a quick second to welcome our FFA leadership team who's here, and also the Fair Queens are here as well. So thank you for being here with us as well today. Appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you. So, first up here, Representative Pashinsky was supposed to speak, but he's not here right now, so we can let him talk later. But right now, Secretary Redding is up. I want to have him give us some comments and some retrospect on how he thinks agriculture is here in Pennsylvania and how it's been going and is going in the future. Secretary, go ahead.
Yeah, good morning. Good morning, everybody, and welcome. And thank you, Mr. Chairman and Chairwoman Schwenk and Mr. Pashinsky and Chairman Mao. Thank you. Just honored always to be with the members. We appreciate what you do throughout the year and the partnership that we have in the department. Thank you for that. It's an honor to be here at Ag Progress Days during sort of an extraordinary year as we celebrate America's 250th anniversary. Earlier this year, many of you joined us at the Pennsylvania Farm Show as we opened this anniversary year with the theme Growing a Nation. I've been reminded of that theme every day since. And as you walk the grounds here from the Pasto Museum to the fear of sort of innovation area, I hope that you too are reminded of that simple but powerful notion of growing a nation. Agriculture grew America, and Pennsylvania grew agriculture, and we're still growing. And as we look at 250 years, we see a commonwealth whose farms and forests and fields and waterways were not simply part of the landscape. They were part of the foundation upon which we grew a new nation as well. From the indigenous stewards of the land to the immigrant farmers who brought their tools and traditions, the farm families whose names are rooted in the hills and hollows of Pennsylvania, the dreamers, as I say, the risk-takers, and certainly the changemakers across PA, each has grown a community. They fed a nation and a revolution and ultimately help sustain this nation. And that is the remarkable thing about agriculture. It is always sort of connected to the past, as we know, but it's also preparing for the future. And our forests, of course, with Pennsylvania's name, the Penns Woods, remain a powerful reminder of that connection. We lead the nation in preserve farms, in those farmers under the age of 35. We've spent generations protecting farmland and soil and water. We've learned that stewardship is not simply about preserving what is here before us. It's about making sure that the land remains productive and available for those to come. At the same time Pennsylvania farmers have never been afraid of innovation It why we established this year the Keystone Ag Alliance Yesterday with our partners with DCED Carnegie Mellon and our innovation works in Penn State and Team Pennsylvania. This alliance is really to accelerate the ag innovation and the adoption of that and to do it in partnership with many, many others. It's why we established the only ag innovation fund in the nation. We have the first farm bill, state-level farm bill in the nation, looking at beginning farmers and organic agriculture and urban ag and certainly disaster preparedness and the next generation in many ways. Its impact, as I see in you as well, sort of all over the state. Every corner of the Commonwealth has been touched by the work that we've done in preservation and ag innovation. And 250 years ago, Pennsylvania agriculture helped feed a nation into existence. And our charge today is to make sure that Pennsylvania agriculture continues to grow that nation forward. So the first 250 years gave us the foundation. What we do together will determine what grows from it for the next 250 years. So thank you for the partnership. Thank you for the work that you do. And thank you for carrying this legacy forward. Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Secretary. I appreciate you being here. I know you're on a tight schedule, so if you need to leave, you can leave. Anybody have any questions for Secretary Redding? I know the hometown chairman and neighbor does. He's not going to let me leave the table without a question, so. All right. I was going to be quiet, but that's very unusual for me. I always have a plethora of questions. But, no, I just more of a thank you than questions for recognizing how important agriculture and innovation in agriculture is today. You know, think about where we were back, you know, a century ago when I guess it was about a century ago, and some of our armies are still living in that part where we were doing everything with horses. And when you see some of the equipment out here today, I think, just how far have we come? It's almost like telling the Wright brothers, wow, you flew a plane at Kitty Hawk and went 200 feet in the air, and now we can go coast to coast in three hours or four hours. It's amazing. Agriculture is the same way. What used to take us weeks to do, we now do in hours. So it is amazing. And I want to thank Chairman and you and everyone involved for bringing agriculture to this point because we've got more and more people to feed all the time. So this is more of a thank you than a question. But thank you.
Thank you goes both ways. I mean, I think often, you know, we have a tendency, particularly in these years, where we've got 250 years of America to celebrate, and we're honored to do that. But we think that all of this comfort that we have today existed 250 years ago. If you look back, I mean, the struggles of both a new nation, how they were going to feed themselves, what they were going to do, what the trade routes become, what the systems are, what the soil looks like. You know, we have to be reminded that this has really been an extraordinary journey. And that has been in part through science, right, through trial and error, through people who have taken great risk, but also the dreamers and the people who found a better way. The Pasto Museum is full of good ideas and new ideas at the time. And today, we look at that as a museum. But they were the great ideas of the moment So I think we just keep looking forward be positive I think we got something extraordinary in this thing called agriculture But it not going to stay here just because you and I like it It'll stay here, people see opportunity in it. And to me, that's sort of the motivator for the next 250 years. What do we do forward? You know, here's some families and people who've lived it and do it. But it's been a full partnership, so thank you. You know what else is good about agriculture? And I say this from time to time. Sitting on many different committees in the past, agriculture is so different than any other committee because all of us, no matter what, House, Senate, Republican, Democrat, we all care about agriculture. And we work well with your Department of Agriculture. We all basically hold hands. And there's not a whole lot of fighting in the agriculture community as opposed to a lot of the other committees, this one's the best. And that's why I'm proud to sit on it with these guys and we work together and work things out. Yeah, it's been done in a bipartisan way and built on the shoulders of our founding fathers in so many ways, right? You think about the historical moments of conservation and animal health and innovation and research. I'll give you a long list. There are things that came out of former chairman right over the years and folks who really had a great vision. So thank you. Thanks for the partnership. Thank you. Yeah. Thanks.
Somebody else? Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Greetings, Representative Secretary. Good to see you.
Thank you.
Yeah, good. I know it's hard to believe when we're here sort of immersed in Ag Progress Days and annual celebration, But a lot of folks are really disconnected from agriculture. They don't know where their food comes from, right? They don't think about that. They don't think about the conservation. So, you know, I look out and I see FFA members, and I know that they're across the Commonwealth. And I just think education and letting people know more about Pennsylvania agriculture. So I just wondered if you could maybe comment a little bit on some of the initiatives and some of the things that the department is doing to make sure that people know where their food comes from and how important it is to make sure that we take care of the land and the air and the water and the communities that actually support feeding us.
Yeah, no, it's an important point, right? So we, on one hand, I think are proud of the progress that we've made and should be. And on the other hand, I think we've made it incredibly easy for people not to care, right? It's there. I mean, the food is there. The systems are there. It's safe. It's abundant. It's affordable, et cetera. So on one hand, we've made it incredibly easy for people, but we have to keep them connected to us. I say often the challenge is I want people to care, right? Whether they understand exactly what I do and how we do it and how you do it is one thing. I'd love to be the case, but at least want them to care. And caring then, if you do, it's a value, right? And you protect the things that you care about. But I think we've got to keep people connected. We do that through, you know, the general messaging of the Pennsylvania Preferred, the brand of Pennsylvania. We do it through the work that we do in conservation. We certainly are working with our Ag Education Commission and making sure that, you know, the FFA program, I'd love to have every school in Pennsylvania have an Ag Education program. We've got 160, we've got 500 school districts, right? 4-H and how we support that is important. You know, the general sort of engagement through our Centers of Excellence is a part of that connectedness. So there a lot of sort of public messaging I think the work that we do in innovation and making new connections to the universities and the academic institutions So there a lot being done But it takes every one of us to have those types of conversations and draw people in, right, and remind them where those connections are, whether that's in the grocery store where everybody touches agriculture three times a day. They just do it at the refrigerator door, right? So how do we get them to think, like, how did that happen? It happened because of science and technology and innovation. And a lot of hard work.
And if I might just real quickly, the farmer's market nutrition program and other things, where people can actually meet the people locally who are producing the food. I mean, I just think that's an incredible program and something we should continue to support.
Yeah. Yeah, we're lucky. We've got the farmer's markets, a thousand of them across Pennsylvania. And every time I go there, I mean, these are the folks who are – it looks beautiful. It tastes wonderful. But there's a whole lot of work that went into bringing that to the table. So a good reminder. Thank you.
Okay. Yes. First of all, thank you, Secretary, as always, for your leadership. You know, one of the things that I've been noticing recently is the focus that you're taking and the administration, the Shapiro administration, is taking on food processing here in the Commonwealth. Most recently, a real turnaround in terms of the JBS processing, meat processing plant that was to totally close, but we've stepped up. I know that you've been in my district looking at dairy processing, and in fact, throughout the entire state. So the food processing aspect of agriculture is an important part of what we need to do. Can you talk a little bit about what you're thinking in the coming years and, you know, how will Pennsylvania position itself?
Right now, I think it's amazing. If you look at PA Preferred and all of the foods that we produce in the Commonwealth, but those are industries that need to be supported as well. Can you talk about that a little bit? Yeah, I'll try to give you a short answer. Okay. Well, to say I think there's context here. One is that we did the Ag Impact Study, and you've heard us talk about that. The impact study was really foundational because we had a working definition of what agriculture is in PA. And it was obvious that it was insufficient, right? It wasn't representative. As an example, it didn't include all of the forest products industry. One example, right? It did not have, to the full extent, all of the food processing. And now it does. So we have the definition, we recognize the size and scale of ag. I think that set the stage for the PA Farm Bill, but it also set the stage for something really critical, and that was the inclusion of ag as one of the five pillars of the state's economic development strategy, right? Along with robotics and life sciences, energy and manufacturing and agriculture. So that was an important sort of development. So it set the stage, I think, for a lot of us in the administration, from DCED to DEP and each of our partners. But we're really intentional about sort of the food processing. I love production. You need processing. And I think to me, when I look at what we have, and that's why the JBS story was really an important one, challenged by decisions that a corporate interest made, you know, that global interest, but we were able to sort of at least get the case ready, packing there and keep 400 jobs, and I think that's good for Pennsylvania. But we're focused, hyper-focused on processing. we need new processing in dairy we need reinvestment in the processing we already have in dairy we need new processing in fuel and fertilizers and Forest products, we heard it over and over. So I think this is a look forward and challenge to all of us, is finding ways, creative ways to finance and build processing of any type. And that could be on-farm processing, by the way, right? We like that, we want to see value added. The shortest chain is between production and consumption, the better. So we need to be focused on that. But keep in our minds that processing is not going to stay here unless you invest in it. There are a lot of competition around the country and around the world for others. We want to keep it here. Yeah.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Secretary. Appreciate you being here today. And I know you have a busy schedule. So thank you for your time. And we'll see you at lunch.
Great. Thanks, everybody.
Next up, we have our Congressman G.T. Thompson, who's the chairman of the House Ag Committee. Glad to have you here with us, Congressman. And tell us what's new and different in Washington, D.C. We're at with this farm bill thing.
Well, it's good to be back with you. Thank you for what all of you do, you know, serving the Commonwealth's number one industry, serving on these respective committees. It's, you know, it's an important job when you look at our number one industry and what the difference that makes, whether it's jobs, the economy, nutrition, a better environment, cleaner climate. I mean, you just go on and on and on about the benefits of agriculture. And a part of the farm team are policymakers. And it's really helpful when we have policymakers to take their job serious and lean into it. And I appreciate all of you for doing that. You know, it is – and thanks again to the chairs of both the House and the Senate, Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committees for convening this hearing, reflecting on the past, present, and future of Pennsylvania agriculture. I want to thank my fellow witnesses who have taken the time out of their busy schedules to appear before you today as well, and I look forward to hearing what each of them have to share with us this morning. Before I begin, Ag Progress Day is to truly showcase the best and the brightest innovators across the Commonwealth. It's an honor to be an alum of this great land-grant university. I like all land-grant universities, but I'm clear no matter what state I'm in, this is the best. And they usually take that pretty well, actually, when I say that. And I'm excited to be here as we celebrate half a century of Ag Progress Days. When we look back at the past 250 years of our country, there's no industry that's played a more important role in our success as a nation than agriculture. And I'm confident that this will remain true even as we look to our next 250 years. Pennsylvania's rich agriculture heritage predates the founding of America. This is a legacy I feel the weight of every day, whether in the district here at home or in Washington, D.C. Agriculture looks very different today than it did in 1776, which means policymaking also has to look different. Even so, every ag policy decision, whether on city, state, or federal level, should center around the following question. Does this support American producers, both today and in the future? That question before any other must be answered. It is impossible to predict the exact challenges our producers will face over the next 250 years In agriculture it always kind of exciting of whatever over the horizon whether it threats opportunities or whoever We can prioritize producer-first policies that grant our farmers and ranchers the agency and flexibility to weather ups and downs of the agriculture industry. Today's hearing is a great opportunity for us to hear from, for you to hear from experts and producers about lessons learned from our past along with hopes for the futures. We know that there is no shortages or challenges facing our producers in 2026. This year, Pennsylvania farmers faced a catastrophic late season freeze that has resulted in a disaster declaration across much of the Commonwealth. And that freeze, if you understand the, really look at the science of fruit trees, when the fruit's gone, all the energy goes into growing the branches, which means no revenue coming in but increased costs, labor costs, in order to cutting those branches. And the damage this freeze caused to our specialty crop industry shined a light on what many of us already knew. specialty crops need a seat at the table for federal crop insurance. And this is just another reason why I continue to champion the Farm Bill in Congress. The Farm Food and National Security Act of 2026 will make key improvements to crop insurance access for specialty crop producers in the Commonwealth and across the nation. The changes that we made within crop insurance also reduces the cost of crop insurance. We increase our support for them so it's more affordable for all farmers. It also expands to where some of these disasters, where on a federal level anyways, you had to wait months, sometimes years, you know, to get ad hoc disaster assistance. We incorporated that into modern-day crop insurance. We're not going to be able to cover everything, but I think we're going to be able to do a lot for our farmers. More predictable, they'll be able to get their assistance more quickly. Labor also continues to be a challenge for Pennsylvania producers, especially for year-round operations such as dairy, greenhouses, livestock, mushrooms, I could go on and on, where these folks really don't have access to good assistance. And they need to have it. Just to share a statistic with you, when the H-2A program, which is a non-immigrant, non-amnesty, temporary agricultural worker program was created under the guidance of Ronald Reagan, hasn't been updated since. Fast forward 10 years from there, and I think, as you all know, this is a visa program that you have to advertise these positions for American workers. And farmers and ranchers are required to hire American citizens if they apply. In 1995, they advertised 11,000 positions nationwide. And so it really just supplemented what was largely a domestic workforce. Now, a lot of farmers back then, what they said was the H-2A program saved them from bankruptcy because they were able to expand their workforce just marginally enough to make a profit. But fast forward to 2025, there were over 400,000 positions advertised for American workers. And out of those that were advertised, we had 182 Americans apply for an agriculture job. No, 182. And so it is and I not sure all of them maybe took the job I don know It is the point being that workforce is an issue In Pennsylvania, and you probably have some of these constituents, that come harvest time, they can't find the workforce, especially with specialty crops, to do the harvest. And so crops are allowed to rot. I mean, dairy's faced a lot of issues, but workforce is one of them, why dairy farms have gone out of operation. So labor continues to be a challenge for Pennsylvania producers. Food security is national security, and food security is built upon having a reliable workforce. That's why I introduced the H-2A visa reform legislation in Congress this summer and why Securing Agriculture's Workforce Act of the 2026 SOWA bill has more than 50 co-sponsors and over 550 stakeholder groups, almost all agriculture, obviously, but the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is also one of those that have embraced this bill, this modern reforms to non-immigration, non-amnesty, temporary agriculture worker visa program. We must also continue to make strides in animal health space. We know that as well as any state in Pennsylvania. I like to tell a story about how I used to, I haven't done in a couple years, I would do conservation work in Arkansas one time a year, a weekend. It would involve ducks and a shotgun. You know, if you shoot those ducks in Arkansas, they can't bring that high pathogenic avian influenza to Pennsylvania. I've never hunted in Arkansas, but I've done a lot of good conservation work. Last summer, Congress funded close to $2 billion for livestock biosecurity programs. These programs help us manage the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza. It prevents threats like the African swine fever, foot and mouth disease, from making it to our herds. And every time we turn around, there's some new animal disease that we have to prevent from impacting our animal health and our economy and our access to nutrition ultimately. So this funding is more important than ever before in the face of the New World screwworm outbreak. The geological location of Pennsylvania lends some protection from screwworm, but any detection in the United States would threaten the overall stability of the livestock industry. The USDA has done a truly remarkable work to control, track, and mitigate screwworms since the Trump administration has taken office. The construction of a domestic sterile fly production facility in South Texas is a great step towards our national protection. This is exactly why strong federal funding for animal health programs convey so much benefit at the local level. And this was all part of Farm Bill 1.0, signed into law July 4th of 2025. So this is a part of the Farm Bill that is being implemented at this point. I also want to make sure I highlight some of the bright spots for ag policy this year that I know will mean a lot to Pennsylvania agriculture. And quite frankly, I know it means a lot to the members of this committee because you all have been pulling on this same side of the rope for some time. So in January, I had the privilege of being with President Trump in the Oval Office with a bunch of dairy farmers when he signed Whole Milk for Healthy Kids into law. And I spent years advocating for this bill to Congress because I knew it was a common reform that would benefit our kids giving them access to the most nutritious beverage ever created to dairy farms and quite frankly to our farm families. USDA also recently finished implementing the historic agriculture investments in Congress made last summer through the working families tax cuts. What some people may know is the one big, beautiful bill. This means that these improvements will kick in for Pennsylvania producers October 1st. The bill delivers a host of benefits to Pennsylvania, including more than $155 million in farm safety net support, $30 million in crop insurance savings for our farmers, and more than $40 million in new conservation funding. this historic investment paged away for congress to finish the job by passing the remaining portion of the farm bill what i affectionately call farm bill 2.0 we passed it in april out of the house we're proud of that fact it's a great farm bill we formed that farm bill by listening to you listening to our farmers or ranchers the people of of uh not just rural pennsylvania but rural America, or as the Secretary reflected, anybody that picks up the tools of agriculture on a daily basis, whether it's a knife, fork, or a spoon. There are many aspects of the Farm Bill that are going to benefit Pennsylvania producers, but I'd especially like to highlight some of the provisions that will keep our producers thriving well into the next century. First, the Farm Bill invests in research and precision agriculture because there's no better return on investment for our nation than prioritizing science, technology, and innovation in agriculture. Our founding fathers were not content with the status quo, and American agriculture is built on a persistent strive for excellence. Second, the Farm Bill works to remove some of the barriers involved in entering into agriculture through the credit title. As the average age of American farmers continue to rise, it is more important than ever to give our next generation the tools that they need to carry on the torch. Third, the Farm Bill uplifts rural communities with a rural development title, which serves to make sure that our rural communities are accounted for and have the resources, quite frankly, to be successful. These programs include everything from broadband internet to wastewater facilities, and they're critical in the long-term success of the America's heartland. Now, looking back on the last 250 years of Pennsylvania agriculture, there's certainly a lot to be proud of. And in Congress, my goal is making sure that we carry this legacy forward and to produce the first policy decisions that we make. Ag Progress Days is a shining example of the innovation and success stories that make American agriculture the best in the world. And to all the farm families and agriculture pioneers here today, I applaud you for doing the hard work, but commendable work, of feeding, fueling, and clothing our nation. I am also very proud to announce that the U.S. Forest Service has selected Warren County to be the Northeastern United States Forestry Office. So out of Warren County, out of the Commonwealth, we will be serving all the national forest issues in the Northeast United States. And I'm sure they picked that location because of the highways. Those of you who have been to Warren, it's a great place. But it's hard to get there. Thanks again for giving me the time to speak alongside this incredible panel. I yield back.
Thank you, Chairman. Thank you for being here. Thank you for giving us a little bit of update on what's going on in Washington, D.C. with the Farm Bill and everything. Appreciate all the hard work you've done as well. I mean, it's been a long slog for you for the last couple of years as well, trying to get it across the finish line. And hopefully we're going to get there soon. We'll get there. Okay, very good. Senator Schwenk has a question right now. He seems to have a question.
Thank you, Senator Vogel. Well, and thank you, Chairman Thompson, for your work. I noted when we talked earlier today that I'm not that old. I'm not 250 years old yet. However, I don't know that we've ever had a majority chairman of the Agriculture Committee that came from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Yeah, so it's a big deal. So we had the very first one when the committee was first organized in 1820. Then we had one just prior to the Civil War. I don't know if they had anything to do with the Civil War. I have no idea. And I'm the first in over 170 years to serve in that capacity. And it's important, and I think all of us in this room recognize it, that, you know, in the entire United States, agriculture is very diverse. and there's, you know, I go to national meetings myself and see how, you know, there's folks from the Midwest or from California where they think they know agriculture the best. But so it's so good to have someone who understands the diversity as well of agriculture on the eastern side of the country and particularly in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
My specific question for you is, first of all, I'm glad I have a couple questions. I'm glad you recognize the importance of specialty crops, not only, though, for crop insurance, but for investment by USDA. And I am hopeful and would ask you to champion, you know, you mentioned mushrooms. We could look at nursery stock. We could look at, you know, all of our horticultural crops that are so important to our economy here in Pennsylvania. And, again, on the eastern side of the country here, too. So I would hope that would be a priority for you as well. But in the news recently, we've learned about some of the problems with a parasite in lettuce, salmonella. And generally we hear reports out of FDA, the Federal Drug Administration, or some other office, the CDC. What role does agriculture play in this? because I think we're learning, at least from some reports, that maybe irrigation water that was contaminated may have been a problem in terms of the contamination of leafy greens. This is huge in terms of how it impacts us personally, our health, but also our economy as well and the livelihood for our farmers. And not to mention what it does to Taco Bell and some of those other restaurants that are critically important, too, to the whole agribusiness system. Can you talk about what you see as some possibilities for help there?
Yeah, well, Senator, it's really, really important. Our specialty crops are very important. I've elevated that in terms of research and support. Certainly most specialty crops have never had access to crop insurance. That has changed with the new farm bill. and Pennsylvania is a huge specialty crop state Now it not massive acreage but quite frankly it high value You know that the difference between traditional commodities and specialty crops And by the way, that's why next year, and you're all invited, my agriculture summit that I do, the Monday of Ag Progress I do at a local vote tech school in Pleasant Gap, our theme is specialty crops next year. We did fuel and fiber this year. And so there are things in terms of agriculture that makes a difference. I think the investments that we do in infrastructure, whether it's irrigation systems, whether it's research and development to make those leafy greens more resilient to different diseases. I think overall we have a very healthy food supply, but it only takes one news release. And it all gets, you know, just labeled as unsafe. And it's normally one example somewhere where, you know, somebody did something that wasn't, it just wasn't good agricultural practices and something that happened in the field. But I think our support for infrastructure, our support for research and development, obviously food safety is in the realm of, in Washington, it's energy and commerce and the Food and Drug Administration. And, but it's something we need to monitor. I mean, we're very proud of the fact that in comparison we have one of the most affordable, healthiest food supplies anywhere in the world. The Americans pay a smaller percentage of their overall income than anywhere else that I can look to in the world. But we need to be vigilant. We need to be vigilant on that. And thankfully, these types of announcements, like we just saw with leafy greens, is the exception. But anything we can do to avoid those isolated incidents, we should do it.
Thank you. I hope you'll support conservation programs that look at how we use resources such as manure, biosolids, and conservation of water that will also impact specialty crops.
Well, we actually increased investments under my leadership of conservation programs by 24 percent. And that will continue for every farm bill in the future. We've done that in a very robust way. Conservation is very important to me. I work a lot on the clean water. I appreciate the leadership. I hate to name names because I leave somebody out, but I know Senator Yaw has been very involved in the Chesapeake Bay, and we're being successful as we measure the impacts, you know, reducing the nutrients going into the bay and doing that here in Pennsylvania. Although I've got to tell you, I've got a lot of constituents who couldn't tell you where the Chesapeake Bay is. It's still important. And I always say when it comes to good water conservation, if we focus locally in our communities, and ultimately everybody downstream is going to benefit from it. That is a great success story. Thanks to Senator Yaw as well and the whole team.
Thank you, Chairman. Appreciate it.
Thank you. Representative Hambridge.
Thank you. Thank you, Congressman, for your leadership on this issue and your work and appearing before the committee. I don't want to put you on the spot because I know how that feels. But I do want to ask you, as you're uniquely positioned, as we looking on how to make agriculture even better for the next 250 years you uniquely positioned to see what other states are doing As you see legislation or states that are working really well with the federal government or just programs that are working well, please don't ever hesitate to reach out to us because we want to do everything we can to support our farmers, producers, and support a Pennsylvania agriculture that is really strong. I know that we're working on trying to eradicate screw worm and prevent that it come up to Pennsylvania and do better tracking of animals and animal sales and other things. But if you see good examples from other states, let's keep the lines of communication open. I look forward to that.
I will pass that along. I've been in 43 states and one territory. I'm laying my head tonight in Minnesota.
And then on Saturday I'm in the Iowa Governor's Celebrity Steer Show. Now, I don't know if I'm the steer. I really don't have a lot of details on this, but I got my boots and my hat. I'll be ready to go.
That sounds like something you really do want to get the details on.
Yeah, probably. And I don't hesitate to share. You know, I brag on Pennsylvania. I brag that Pennsylvania is the first state ever to have a state-level farm bill. And so the information I share goes both ways, actually, because I think that's really important. that we share best practices. Thank you.
Thank you.
Yeah, definitely.
Hope you're on the right hand of the halter come show day.
I hope so.
Representative Kincaid for a quick question.
Thanks, Chairman. Thank you, Congressman. I appreciate you talking about all the benefits the Farm Bill provides to our farmers and the issues that we face when it comes to immigrant workers. I think these are really pressing issues. The Farm Bill is three years late, and I think everybody in this room probably wants to know how we're going to actually get a Farm Bill, because there are really critical programs, obviously, in that bill that are being held up because it has not been passed.
Yeah. It's been a challenge. I have, honestly, you know how important it is to have good partnerships, because you have to do things in a bipartisan way. And I will say politics has gotten away like I've never seen before with the Agriculture Committee. Now, part of it was a health issue with when I was first ranking, you know, ranking member. And, you know, a dear friend of mine, brother in the Lord, it was the chairman. I mean, his health was deteriorating. He said he's passed away. And then, unfortunately, my ranking member announced he was running for Senate. And I don't know about you, but when somebody announces they're running for something statewide, their behavior changes a little bit. So it was hard. I mean, I really had to carry the weight to do that. We did make sure that we didn't allow deadlines and expirations to occur. We always did extensions. But it is time for a new farm bill. I'm really proud of the fact that we got this passed in a bipartisan way in April out of the full House. We had a good bipartisan vote. It is sitting in the capable hands of Senator John Bozeman, who is a friend of mine. He was a mentor when I first came into the House 18 years ago. We'd sit in our offices and do Bible study together, and he's a very capable chairman. He just did a markup on the farm bill and he got a tough job because he has to thread the needle to get 60 votes in the Senate But I have complete confidence that he will do that. I thought he put a really good proposal on the table. He did a year-round E15. To me, that's good for farmers. That's good for consumers. It makes it a little cheaper to gas pump, and it's optional. It's called a blender pump. You don't have to buy it, but it should be there. It's also great for the environment because it reduces emissions. He put that in, and I thought that was really smart. He'll pick up some Midwestern states' support with year-round E15. I couldn't do that in the House because we don't have jurisdiction. That's Energy and Commerce. So it really didn't fit in our version of the Farm Bill. But I'm happy to support it as it goes forward. You know, we also work to try to provide, give states an additional year to, you know, to comply, to lower their error rates when it comes to SNAP administration. Error rates are a real problem, and quite frankly, it hurts consumers. It hurts states, too, because you all get fined if you're, you know, because of, with your error rates. And so I was great with that. I think an additional year to help states to kind of the administrations to say if they want to know how to do it, I'll be glad to spend a day with them. You know, do a root cause analysis, bring people to the table and let's let's walk through the process. And that's how we get error rates down. And so he couldn't get the votes for passage. It tied, actually. But I'm proud of the tactician, I guess it's Chairman Bozeman was. He didn't adjourn the markup. He recessed. And I can guarantee you right now he's negotiating. And they'll be back the second week in September. Senator Thune, who's the majority leader in the U.S. Senate, he's very supportive of this farm bill. He's going to give the time to get it marked up. And so we'll get it done. These to get done.
Representative Mow for a quick question, then we've got to move on.
Thank you, and I will make this pitch quick. And coming from Adams County and the fruit belt, I bet you know the pitch I'm about to make. You know, in the House, well, in the Pennsylvania legislature, in the budget, we were fortunate enough to get $10 million put in. I originally talked to the governor and said, before the budget was negotiated, we're going to need $20 million to start. $10 million is a nice start, but it is just a start. So now we're looking toward USDA, the Congress, to do whatever you can so that we can keep these fruit farmers in business. And I don't need to go into it. You know how bad it was here in Pennsylvania. So that's my pitch is please do all you can to help us out with that. I was proud to sit a roundtable with a lot of the fruit growers in Biglerville at the Penn State Research Facility there for fruit, basically. And we did pass, before we left Washington, we passed a piece of legislation, budget reconciliation bill, that included a total of $12 billion of bridge assistance, economic assistance for our farmers with all the challenges that they're facing. And I'm working hard to make sure that that is properly, when we get that done, it's sitting in the Senate, get that, you know, the specialty props is well represented with that. And I have just as a side, I'm also I'm very adamant that I need $200 million for sawmills because as our timber industry has been impacted by trade and the things that China is doing, trying to put our forestry out of business, they buy our logs, the government subsidizes the purchase, they subsidize the shipping, they subsidize the manufacturing and the furniture, and they subsidize shipping it back for sale in the United States. They're literally trying to starve our sawmills out of business. And we've lost 40% of sawmills over the past 10 years. And if we lose sawmills, we have no ability to manage the forest, right, because we can't get – there's not a reason to timber or to get that timber away to get it to market. I know that for the April, I think, 30th frost, around 29th, whatever it was, the number I've seen thrown around is $1 billion specifically for that frost because it hit multiple states. We'll see at the end of the day. I'm going to advocate for what we need here. It was absolutely devastating. Thank you.
I'm trying the real squeaky wheel for Pennsylvania fruit farmers here. That's good. Thank you. Thank you, Congressman. Thank you very much for being here today, taking your time to join us this morning. Appreciate your input. And thank you very much. We'll see you again.
Chairman, thank you so much. Always great to be with you all. I look forward to this annually. Thank you.
Thank you. Next on the agenda here this morning is Mr. Robert Smith. He's a retired dairy farmer from Lebanon County. Mr. Smith brings decades of experience and firsthand knowledge to the panel. So it's an honor to have you here today, Mr. Smith. And we'd like to have you begin with your comments.
Good morning. Thanks for the offer. It's a new adventure for me here. Good morning. I'm Robert Smith, and our farm is located in Lebanon County. And began with my grandfather 97 years ago, probably 1929. We milk cows and grew crops. My son and my grandson are now in our fourth and fifth generation operating our family farm. Growing up in the 1930s and the 40s, as a young farmer, I realized several things were quite different from today's farming. One of the big things is harvesting grain, wheat. group of neighbors would get together at a farm and somebody would own the thrashing machine and they would spend the day thrashing wheat or barley or whatever. Noontime was a big time. My mother would put extra table my mother would extend the table 10 or 15 people around the table. Next day, when we got finished on our farm, we'd go someplace else and help the next farmer. Today's method is to hire a million-dollar machine. It does the same work that once took several weeks, and that's done in a couple hours. Another thing that I remember plainly is planting corn. Corn was planted in 40 distance at that time across the road and in a row And one of the interesting things I always thought was that getting a 40-inch, we had a wire going from one end of the field to the other end of the field. So this wire would hang on the corn planter, and every 40 inches would be a knot. So this knot would trip the corn planter and drop probably two or three or four kernels of corn in a lot. Also at that farm, a number of years ago, we did some research with a seed company. So that was kind of interesting too. We would lay out the field, no corn, but put fertilizer there. and then as the corn matured and tasseled and silk come, the research people would put a plastic bag over each one and then they'd get this pollen from a certain plant of corn and take it down the field to another silk and cross-pollinate. That's probably about how, wow, hybrid seed corn started. and then in corn we had the 40 inch spacings all that was cultivated and I remember the time now when herbicides come in the scene so we could plant corn closer on the row and have better weed control. Today, prices of acres in our area were by $50,000. But years ago, it was probably at $100 age. So things have really changed. Thank goodness the Penn State Cooperative Extension, education and information they give to eliminate or change these processes is a big step to feeding our country. At our farm for a number of years, we milked guernsey cows and my father and I started dairy. we put our milk in a plastic bag this machine came from Europe probably some of you have seen it and we put ours in a plastic bag a quart size and then we put four quarts in a larger bag for the gallon so for a number of years we sold our milk in that position and in that way thank you for your call
Thank you, sir, for being here this morning. Appreciate your information there. Obviously, I remember some of the things you're talking about. I'm a little older than I look, unfortunately. But, yes, I remember the 40-inch rows and my grandfather telling lots of stories about cultivating with horses and falling asleep and taking out a few stalks of corn here and there. He's cultivating a hot afternoon with a team of horses and stuff like that. So, yes, things have changed quite a bit. Does anybody have a question for Mr. Smith? Mr. Jones, go ahead.
Thank you Mr Smith for being here and sharing with us your long experience and knowledge So how many head of cattle did you milk back in the day We were milking 70 or 80 head
Just 70 or 80 head?
Yeah.
Yeah.
And nowadays the farms are seeing hundreds, if not thousands, a head.
Big change.
Yeah.
A couple hundred, yes.
Yeah. So working together with neighboring farms, that was quite the experience, I imagine, when you had the threshing machine. How did you, like when you were cutting wheat, did they cut it by hand? How did they bring it to the thresher?
Well, no, some people had a binder, what we call a binder. It had a knife running at ground level, going back and forth, and it was probably seven or eight foot long. Then there was a reel. Get in the head there a little bit and make sure everything went in to this machine. And it pushed it to the side and tied, big bundles, maybe a foot and a half. And then it would drop along the road or drop along the field. and then the next thing would be to shot them, stand these sheaves on the stalk, cut stalk, until the weather got fit to dry it. So then it took two or three fellows in the farm. They used two pronged forks, a fork with two prongs, and probably a 76- or 7-foot-long handle. And then there would be somebody in a wagon who would stack this. So with a 7- or 8-foot wagon, you could put all these sheaves up in a wagon. So one of the amusing things that I remember is our barn was maybe in the eastern and western division, east and west, and three barn doors, The two ends were closed, east and west. And we set the thrashing machine in the barn and pulled the wagons up into the barn, and another fellow would put the sheaves in the thrashing machine. So at the other end in the barn, we had granaries, southeast end and southwest end. And so it took one or two men at that time to handle the grain coming out. So one of the fascinating things that I remember, from the middle of the floor, we'd blow the straw to the west side. And my parents always put a man in there to pack the straw with a horse. So according to the structure of the barn, there was a main beam up about 12 or 15 feet. So when this straw was packed, that would pull the horse out over the beam into the next floor on a pallet straw. So that's how we got compaction. So that's how you got the horse back down.
Yes. I remember stacking, well, then I'm young enough that I wasn't around for that, of course, but with bailing, you know, with the bail and then stacking straw or hay in the top of a barn. That's where I learned hard work. 115 degrees at the top of a hay mound. We never baleed straw in the barn, but some people did, I understand. Okay, so you literally packed it in with a horse. Yes That incredible Thank you for sharing with us today It incredible to hear how far we come with the technologies that we have How close are our rows now guys
30. 30? 30 inches?
We're on 30s. So we're running 30-inch rows, and we're doing targeted fertilization of fields. It's amazing, the technologies that we've advanced in. The technology in growing corn is what we've seen in the last 50 years. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for sharing with us. Thank you.
Thanks for your time.
Yes, sir. I'm sure Dino can tell us, but I'm thinking back in the 40s and 50s, we were doing maybe 20 or 30 bushel of corn to the acre. Now the national average is probably closer to 170 or 180 probably, maybe even more than that. So, yeah, we've come a long way in the last 50 years just growing corn alone. Yes. So it's amazing. So I guess all of you know my granddaughter. She got my hair. Yes. You have a great granddaughter, too. Yeah. Next up, we have Mr. Mike Rizkovac and his family.
I met them a couple weeks ago at the Fayette County Fair.
His wife and two sons are here with us to talk about their farming operation in Fayette County. So, Mike, whenever you're ready, go ahead.
Good morning. Thank you for this opportunity. Like you said, my name is Mike Reskovac. I have with me today my wife Sheila, my oldest son Cole, and my youngest son Caleb. Our farm is located in Uniontown, Fayette County. I am a first-generation farmer. Since I was five years old, I had a passion for agriculture. I grew up next to a dairy farm. When I was in junior high, I started working at that farm, but I would watch the tractors and the fields behind the house daily. After working there and through junior high and high school, I went on to Penn State, got my degree in Ag Systems Management. After graduating, I did a short stint in the retail world working for tractor supply. Realizing that working in retail was not in my future for long term, and I wanted to follow my dream, so I decided to jump in with both of you. I moved back home. I went back to work for my neighbors who were not too far away from retirement, and I rented my first farm. I grew 50 acres of crops my first year, and I started doing custom work for other farmers. Ten years later, I grew that business into 650 acres of crops and doing up to 2,000 acres of custom harvesting. Pretty much anyone in the county that had something that harvested, I was in the combine going there. I met Sheila, and we got married in 2012. and after having children we decided to cut the custom farming out of our farming operation and focus on our own farm. Since then we've grown to 800 acres of row crops, corn, soybeans, wheat, sunflowers. We also grow pumpkins and sweet corn. And we started to diversify into agritourism. So that's where Sheila's going to speak.
Hi, good morning. So about 10 years ago, Mike was experimenting with alternative crops for soil health crop rotation, and he planted a field of sunflowers. It was never supposed to be anything more than just that. However, at the time, nobody in the area was growing sunflowers, and when they bloomed, we got a lot of attention. They were right next to the road, so everybody was slowing down, taking pictures. So we have already grew pumpkins and we took that opportunity to edge a little further into agritourism with that. So over the next couple years we just kind of picked the sunflowers and would sell them along the road but then we started to open up a pick your own field and today we have events where you can come out and pick your flowers. We have local food trucks, local musicians, and local wineries that come out. We also started a corn maze to go along with that. This will be the fifth year for our corn maze and the first year that we actually made a design before we just kind of went in and paths, but this year we went with the 250th design to help celebrate America's birthday and also highlight some of Faheya County's history. We also offer field trips in the fall. We usually get a lot of preschool kids that come out, and we always try to teach them what we can. We want them to come out and have fun and enjoy the farm, but we want to teach them as well. And normally we only do them in the fall, but this past spring I got a call from Cole's teacher, third grade. she wanted to host their field trip at the farm. So we had 54 third graders and about 20 parents come out, and they got to work with the 4-H animals. We showed them how to use the corn planter, and they planted pumpkins, and we got a lot of good feedback. It was the best field trip they ever had. The parents commented on how much they learned, how much they didn't know. So we try to promote and teach when we can. So for us, we started the agritourism just as a way to make some extra fun money, if you will, for trips or gifts or little extras. But over the last couple years, it's become more of a lifeline with skyrocketing input costs and a couple years of droughts with low yields. Unlike Mike, I was raised on a farm. I was raised on a dairy farm in Indiana County, so I would be a fourth generation. and growing up I watched my parents have some financial struggles and Mike and I have had some of those as well but by diversifying and adapting and growing we've been able to navigate those a little easier.
Like my wife said, we experienced very low yields in 2024 and 2025, basically back-to-back droughts. Living off crop insurance two years in a row has been a struggle. with rising input costs, rising machinery costs, with the war this year in Iran, with rising nitrogen prices and fuel prices, we feel that those are burdens and struggles that we're facing today. Pair that with the devastation that the white-tailed deer do to our crops every year, along with other wildlife, and the loss of farmland to development, data centers, solar energy, houses, whatever it be, we feel that these are things that are hard to get to sustain future generations. And we feel today the future of farming and the future of our farm is sitting right here with us. It would be a great joy for us to have both of our sons stay at home and farm, but it is also a great fear. If the topics I talked about above aren't addressed, I'm not so sure how burdensome they will be for them or maybe even be barriers to prevent them from being able to return home to the farm. The last 23 years, I've grown this farm for myself. The next 20 years, I want to grow it for them. Today they have an interest in livestock, and that is one direction I never wanted to be in. I never wanted to be tied down. I didn't want to have to say, no, we can't go there because who's going to take care of the animals? But that's a direction that they like, and I like to give them each a minute to talk about the things they like in the farm Hi my name Colin Reskavack and I 10 years old
The favorite thing about the farm is probably the animals. I got a few dairy calves and a couple of lambs. and I am also interested in beef cows. Hi, I'm Caleb.
I'm eight years old, and I took chickens and ducks to the field, and one of my chickens got Grand Champion, and one of my ducks got his old Grand Champion. I have an egg business at the farm, and I'm also interested in beef cows. Ten years ago, if you'd asked me, we'd be sitting here today doing this.
I'd have told you you were crazy. I don't know where the future of our farm is heading, but we're willing to figure it out along the way. We'd like to thank you for the opportunity you've given us today to share our experiences. We'd love to answer any questions you may have.
Well, thank you very much for coming today. I appreciate it. Like I said, I met you a couple weeks ago at the Fayette County Fair. It was an honor meeting you and talking to you and your sons that night at the fair. But I guess Senator Swank has a question. Senator Yaw, who has? Go ahead, Senator Yaw, and then we'll go forward.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I don't have a question. I have a comment. And you've said about farming just ties into it. It was previously mentioned about my involvement with the Chesapeake Bay. Just let me tell you a little bit about it. I chair the Chesapeake Bay Commission. And the Chesapeake Bay Commission is basically three states. It's Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia. Fifty percent of the fresh water that goes into the Chesapeake Bay comes out of the Susquehanna watershed. And the Susquehanna watershed drains 43 of our 67 counties. It's a big deal. About 10 years ago, some of our friends in Maryland sued EPA because EPA was not being strict enough in its rules against farmers and runoff and nutrients and nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from farms in Pennsylvania. In the past 10 years, Pennsylvania has changed. I mean, we're talking about what happened the last 250 years. I have seen what's happened with farmers in the last 10 years. It's mind-boggling how farmers have stepped up to modernize what they've done, whether it's riparian buffers or grass or keep animals out of the streams or cover crops, no-till, all these things. It's been amazing. And the last report that was given about the Chesapeake Bay is the Upper Susquehanna Watershed, which is where we are. We got the highest rating that has ever been given to any of the entities in the bay. We got a B Now that after 40 years and we doing the right things and I know Secretary Redding left but he about two years ago there was an editorial in the Baltimore Sun that Pennsylvania has done this tremendous turnaround and has now become a leader in how to clean up their water supply. And he carried that around, and, you know, all of of a sudden, Pennsylvania has, not all of a sudden, with a lot of hard work coming from farmers is where it comes from. Because Pennsylvania is different than Maryland and Virginia. Maryland and Virginia is higher population. So what we talk about there is point source discharges, meaning from a sewage treatment plant. So you know where the discharge comes from.
Pennsylvania is rural. Where we are is rural. We have 150-some tributaries that drain this whole area. And where do you find what's going on? Well, we count on the landowners. And in most of the cases, those landowners are farmers. But for the farmers, adopting new procedures, new ways to, whether it's raising animals, raising crops, or whatever, We could not accomplish what we have. And, I mean, every time I think about it, and we're thinking about what's going to happen in the next 250 years, I think what's happened in the last 10 years is absolutely mind-boggling to me that the farmers have stepped up. And the message that we've tried to send through DEP and everything is, you know, hey, clean water and doing things like that is beneficial economically for every farmer in Pennsylvania. And then I don't care. Then we don't have to worry about what happens downstream. We're doing it for us. And that's exactly what's happened. And farmers, and especially young farmers that have stepped up to accept that responsibility, It really is. It's really rewarding to see things like that, that we've tried to put in place here in Pennsylvania and actually working in people actually recognizing what Pennsylvania is doing and what Pennsylvania farmers are doing. So thank you. I just wanted to make that comment. Thank you. Representative Friel for a quick question.
Yeah. Thank you, Chairman, and thank you for coming here and testifying today. And young men, you guys did a great job. So we look forward to seeing your dairy and beef herbs grow. You mentioned agritourism, and that's really interesting because, you know, I'm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and a lot of our small farms under enormous economic pressure and have looked to go to some version of agritourism, you know, whether it's seasonally with the pumpkin patches and the mazes or other more event type of things. But they're running into challenges with a lot of local ordinances and zoning, and it's dependent kind of township to township. I'm just wondering if you ran into any challenges or limitations on what you can do in agritourism, and if you had any suggestions for us, whether on the municipal planning code level or some way to make it easier for our farms to sort of add this income stream in without maybe some of the hurdles that are there, either locally at the state level?
So our farm is in an ag security zone Our farm is preserved And our township has been wonderful to work with We are in the far eastern part of our township, and we border another one. We've never had any issues. They're willing to work with us putting up signs and different things for our events. We've actually even had them shut our road down for field trips for school kids. So they've been a blessing to work with. So we haven't really had the zoning issues, like Mike said, but one of our biggest things was our insurance company dropped us when they found out we had the corn maze. So we had to go through and find new insurance. So that was, was that last year? Two years ago. So that was pretty stressful. We had stuff planned, and they sent us a letter and said that we would be dropped if we went through with the event. So we were able to work with Nationwide and got insurance through them. But that's probably the biggest obstacle we had was the insurance aspect of it.
No, thank you very much for that. I think adding the agritourism is just a tremendous, I think, opportunity. And as we said, you're under enormous pressure, margins, input costs, things like that. And as our previous testifier, Mr. Smith, was talking about, as technology changed, increasing yields and all that, it really hasn't yet kept up pace with the margin pressure. So anything that we can do to help our small farms out and provide other sources of income or other streams or lower operating costs, obviously, one of the reasons we're here in Penn State. So thank you for testifying today. Good luck with your events.
Thank you.
Last for a question, Representative Nelson.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And, Mike, it's great to see a Fayette County farmer. I'm a Westmoreland County first-generation farmer. Okay. And so my question is about the challenge of education, you know, because growing up in a small town of Jeanette that didn't have any farm and then finding yourself on a farm and your boys, you know, then bringing up animals as you have to crop. Can you touch on how you feel the Penn State extension, the role of 4-H, and how, you know, that word is being passed so that new farmers can figure out, I mean, even just fixing a piece of equipment can be a brutal experience and an expensive one, you know, so can you touch on the role of how education is critical for you guys?
Education is one thing that is constantly, we're constantly learning. No matter if it's me, my wife, my boys, we're constantly learning something. We work with the extension office, our local agronomy agent. We do different studies with them. The boys in 4-H, working with other farmers and 4-H leaders and learning through them. They started showing animals last year. My wife and I were never in 4-H. This is all new to us. learning how to show cows, learning how to clip cows. Caleb took his chickens to the fair. We didn't know you had to wash chickens before you took them to the fair. So we're constantly learning something. Having resources available is a struggle if you have nothing. I was fortunate. The dairy farm I grew up to, the two gentlemen that ran it all had daughters. Nobody wanted to take that over. I was the son they didn't have. Sheila grew up on a farm. her dad taught her, she spent time of the barn with him. But one thing I try to tell people, my cell phone is probably one of the most important tools I have in the toolbox. Having a network of people, I know other farmers all across the state. I've been on multiple boards and associations since I got involved in that when I was young, in my 20s, before I was married, before I had kids. And that helped guide me along the way. having the opinions of other people that I could respect to help mold and get ideas from. And I would call people and bounce ideas off of them. Having the extension and the research that Penn State does is vital for our farming communities, whether it be with corn, soybeans that we grow, whether it's with pumpkins or sweet corn, any of the crops, and also with the animals. And I know they do research on fruit trees and other things as well. But having information and a source and being able to access that is a resource that I don't know how we would make it today without.
I think your fair has started, right?
It ended. It ended. And we're about to have ours.
So Caleb and Cole, big controversy in Harrisburg is, has your school started? Like, I know our schools start before the fair, and it really impacts families. You know, as a mom or as kids, can you guys touch on, you know, that opportunity, the benefit for the kids being able to be at the fair versus school starting, and it just really prevents not just 4-H kids but the other kids in schools from going and learning.
Yeah. I did see that Westmoreland was starting early this year and the controversy there. We're lucky enough for fairs early enough that it doesn't interfere with school. But we have attended other ag events throughout the school year. We've taken the kids out for educational days. We've taken them last winter we went to Texas to the Commodity Classic, and they missed a week of school, but they learned a lot there. I just think any opportunity they have to learn in or out of school, any skills they can pick up, they love to learn. Nicole's going to take his cow to the Junior Dairy Show in Harrisburg in September, so he'll miss a day for that. But I'm sure he'll go back and tell all his classmates what he did and what he learned while he was there. So they work hard. When they do have to miss school, they always make it up. And like I said, we always try to teach the kids in their classrooms and stuff because we feel it is important.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you. One last quick question. Representative Collin.
Thanks. Thanks, Chair Vogel. I wanted to just give a hat tip to my chairman in the House, Chairman Eddie D. Pischinski, his last Ag Progress Days. He's just been a huge champion for our ag community. So maybe we can give him a little round of applause. Thank you. I really appreciate your testimony to your whole family. One of the things that the chairman in the House has been working on is finding ways to support farmers here in the Commonwealth. One of those things is actually a bill that our colleague, Rep. Taycac, got passed and was supported in the Senate, and they had their own version in the Senate, the Ag Innovation Grant. And I wanted to ask that is that something that you or other farmers that you aware of have been applying to Because we actually have a bill to actually double that investment from to almost million
We are aware of the Ag Innovation Grant. We did apply for it for 2026 and received an e-mail a couple weeks ago that our project was not picked. Just not because it didn't meet the requirements, but the e-mail stated there were so many to just apply again next year.
What was your project, by the way, that you were trying to get?
fund it for? So with growing the sunflowers back in 2023 we got a grant through USDA Rural Development and we did a feasibility and marketing study on making our own sunflower oil that we could sell on farm. Finding out what we needed to do to make that took several months and several calls to the Department of Agriculture and we found out we needed to get a certified USDA kitchen to crush the sunflowers in and bottle the oil. So we wrote a grant to the processing equipment and the building to have the USDA kitchen in. We were looking for another diversified stream and another stream of income that could be year-round.
Thank you. We'll be working on it in the next budget. Hopefully we can get that there. It'll be available. Funds will be available for that. Thank you.
Thank you, Chairman. Thank you. Thank you, Mike, and your family for being here today. Appreciate it. Nice meeting you folks, and enjoy the rest of Ag Progress Days. Next up, we have Dean Ott, the Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences here at Penn State. So, Dean, I know you're up against a short time frame. Sorry about that, but go ahead.
Yeah. Thank you, Chairs, Senators, Representatives. I appreciate having the opportunity to talk to you and really enjoyed the testimony of the individuals before us. So as Pennsylvania celebrates its 250 years of agricultural heritage, I'd like to focus on the last 170 years, a period during which Penn State has been proud to serve as the Commonwealth's land-grant university and a trusted partner in Pennsylvania farmers and rural communities and agricultural industries. Penn State, as you know, was founded in 1855 as a farmer's high school. Since that time, our mission has remained remarkably consistent, applying research, education, and outreach to help Pennsylvania farmers and agriculture thrive. And if you go across into Pasto Ag Museum, you will see the technological breakthroughs of decades and even centuries ago. And I can tell you that Penn State and the land-grant universities were part of that as well. Throughout our history, the challenges facing agriculture have continuously changed from improving crop yields, and we heard about that. I remember my grandfather saying they were getting around 18 to 22 bushels an acre back when he was farming, and now we're well north of 200 bushels per acre and in places breaking 400 bushels per acre. It is absolutely amazing. From improving crop yields and dairy production in the early years to addressing environmental stewardship, biosecurity and food systems, workforce development today, Penn State has evolved alongside the industry we serve. And what has never changed is our commitment to helping Pennsylvania producers solve real-world problems through science, innovation, and partnership. Today, Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is in all 67 counties using a combination of research, teaching, and extension programs to do that mission. Our experiment station includes approximately 280 faculty members researchers working across food systems animal agriculture plant sciences forestry animal resources natural resources rural communities and emerging technologies This diversity of agriculture, which we've heard so much about today, is really a strength for Pennsylvania but requires broad and responsive research portfolio. Our work supports all that broad portfolio. As we celebrate the past, we must also look to the future, and Ag Progress Days is a perfect place to highlight that. You start off at the Pasto Museum, and you see where we came from. You walk across to the college building. You see the current research that's being developed, and much of that was support from Pennsylvania and from our federal partners as well. And you go down the hill to the FIRO Robotics Village, and you see what the future holds. So it's an arc of innovation that has supported agriculture every step of the way. And Penn State is investing in that future through initiatives such as our Technology for Ag and Living Systems Initiative, an initiative we call TALIS. TALIS brings together expertise from agriculture, engineering, information sciences, robotics, data sciences, to develop technologies, to test them in real-world situations, to get them to the point where they can be deployed. As we were saying last night at the reception, we are a college at Penn State, one of 13 colleges on the main campus, but agriculture is in every college at Penn State, and we interact with every college at Penn State. It is infused across the entire university. Importantly, the technologies we're talking about have not been developed developed in isolation. They're developed with farmers. And when we come to events like this and hear about how things are happening in the farms, it's important to us. Our extensive professionals are in all 67 counties with a mission to transmit new knowledge, but also to listen and to bring that information back to the researchers in the lab so that the questions we're addressing are questions that are important and impactful. One of the unique strengths of Penn State is our ability to test and validate, demonstrate new technologies and de-risk them before they are deployed at scale. And with our unique portfolio of agriculture here in Pennsylvania, the challenges for technology are very unique. We have to right-size the technology. We have to make sure it makes economic sense here in Pennsylvania, and that is a big challenge, and we are in the center of that. Agriculture is different from many industries. Producers cannot afford to adopt technology that has not been proven in Pennsylvania fields, orchards, forests, and barns. That's why we have our experiment station, and that's why we have our research farms, our laboratories, our extension network, our industry partnerships, and, of course, the agricultural experiment station you're sitting at now. These provide the infrastructure necessary to move discoveries from the concept to field-ready solutions. A great example of this work can be found right here with the FIRA Robotics Village that I talked about earlier, and also, as Secretary mentioned, the letter of understanding we supplied for the Keystone Agricultural Technology Initiative that represents a shared commitment to building farmer-centered agricultural innovation ecosystem in Pennsylvania. We have to make sure new discoveries don't end with a publication They have to be driven to technologies We have to de them We have to have capital at the table We have to have legal at the table We have to find ways to get those technologies out so they can help farmers compete in an ever marketplace Today, Penn State is joining partners from government, industry, and economic development organizations to launch this Keystone Agritech Alliance. This will bring together Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Penn State, GOFAR, and FIRA, the Innovations Work Robotics Factory, Team Pennsylvania, DCED, and industry partners, creating stronger pathways and developing an economic engine for Pennsylvania. As we discussed Pennsylvania's agricultural past, I encourage everyone to make sure that they visit and take advantage of all the displays, the learning opportunities here at Ag Progress Days. Again, I mentioned the Pasteur Museum. I mentioned the college building and the Furo. And I think you'll find that at every step along the way, when there's been a technological invasion, you'll find Penn State was there and other land grants like us. In closing, I would like to just say that Pennsylvania's ag story spans 250 years. Since my two years as dean, I have found that people in the Pennsylvania legislature have been tremendously supportive of what we do, and we're going to need that support going forward. The pace of change in agriculture is unprecedented. The challenges facing our farms are unprecedented. When these farms go out of business, it's a permanent loss to our communities, and our rural communities really suffer when we lose a sawmill or a dairy farm or a crop farm. So we really are going to have to do more. I'm so grateful to Chairman Thompson for his work to get the Research Facilities Act funding in H.R. 1 last summer. We have a proposal in front of that panel right now to do a $100 million plant innovation complex, and we're optimistic that it will be funded and we'll be able to develop new technologies that will help Pennsylvania agriculture continue to thrive. So, again, Penn State has been part of this tradition for nearly 170 years, but if you know Nealey Bendapudi, our president, she said her job is to make sure that we're here for another 170 years helping support a vibrant agricultural economy, helping support communities across the Commonwealth. The tools that we use may look a lot different over the last 170 years, but the purpose really remains the same, serving people, serving communities and industries that make Pennsylvania agriculture one of the nation's strongest and most diverse. And I really do think with the support from the legislature, with the strong Department of Agriculture, that we are a model for the U.S. in the way that we work with agriculture to support those communities. So, again, thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to working with you into the future. I'd be happy to take any questions.
Thank you, Dean. Just time out, Senator Swank asked a question.
First, let me say I totally agree with you. We are the best land-grant institution in this country. I may be biased as a former extension educator and a Penn Stater. However, it's not by us when you're right. There you go. There you go. I'll remember that. Dean Ott, I'm looking at our future Farmers of America, our FFA members, the Reststack boys. Tell us a little bit about how we're developing the workforce of the future at Penn State in agriculture.
Yeah, and it really starts at this young level with 4-H and FFA, pipeline. These programs, I think, It's not about showing that steer, although that's what brings them there. It's about developing young leaders, the next leaders, and what they do with 4-H and the learning that they do before they get in that arena is what really brings value, the appreciation for how important farming is and how to do it correctly, how to do it ethically. And so that is one pipeline. But I can tell you we've got to do more. We have to get in places where we don't have 4-H and FFA that have that sort of impact. We have to expose students from urban and suburban areas to agriculture. We need to get more people around the table if we want to have a vibrant agricultural economy. Once they come up through that system, by the time they're seniors, they've been to Penn State several times. We've had a chance to talk to them about careers and what they can do, and so that's really important. And then after they graduate, we are now rolling out some things we'll be talking about next year for workforce development. And so as you're out in the industry and you want to re-skill, up-skill, move in a new direction, we're going to be developing learning pathways and micro-credentialing systems to help support that workforce training throughout the rest of your life.
Thank you Representative Cook for a quick question We have time for two questions We have lunch in 15 minutes Oh very good I just wanted to thank the testifiers here today Let think about this
We have almost five generations from over here to over here which started all of that. Five generations. The other thing that I was very excited about was your third graders coming to classmates to come visit you guys. Think of the experience that you all have that your classmates don't. We are talking about our number one industry in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and we all have to eat. So as we go forward, we want to continue to kind of build on that and educate people. You know, farming is a real easy occupation. You get to work half days most of the time, 265 days a year, seven to seven. So, again, Mr. Chair, committee, just really want to thank you all for what you do out there. And guys there only one place that success comes before work and that in the dictionary but you already learned that Thank you Representative Nelson quick question Thank you Mr Chair
And I appreciate your testimony.
I wanted to toss a softball question for you because one of the things I'm excited to get into more is TILVA and this AI specific for farming and Pennsylvania's farmers. Can you, as somebody who's just trying to learn, can you touch on how our farms, whether it's a young guy or an old guy like me, are going to be able to benefit from this growing database?
Yeah, I was struck when the previous presenter talked about how important the cell phone is. And what we've done with TILVA is we've taken extension science-based trusted information and we've built a tool that allows every farmer to access that immediately. 24-7. There's nothing in there that's promoted. We don't let this model wander on the World Wide Web and come back with hallucinations or somebody's opinion from South Dakota. This is the kind of stuff that extension professionals have developed over the years, and you get it 24 And it connects you quickly to one of our extension educators our extension specialists So it a way to connect farmers to the people they need when they need it They know that the information that coming through is not going to be promoted It's going to be the best information we have. And this model is building and growing. And we rolled it out at Farm Show. And right now it's answering more than about 1,500 questions a week. And we hope you'll use it. Because when you use it, it gets better and better and better. And so So this is a way we're still doing the same thing, but we're using technology to do it more efficiently, to respond to the needs of the farmers when they need the data, how they need the data. And so we're pretty excited. We're the only state in the union that has a cooperative extension information program, AI-enabled tool like this. And we've got a lot of other states calling up and saying, hey, how'd you do that and how could we do that? And that's what we like to do. We like to lead and let everyone follow. And so we're really proud of Tilva, and we think Tilva is going to get better and better and will be a real resource to farmers.
Thank you for that question. Yeah, thank you.
I want to thank everyone for coming today. Thank all our testifiers for being here. Thank you for making the trip from Fayette and Lebanon everywhere here. Appreciate everyone being here. It just wraps up our committee hearing for today. Thank you, everyone. Enjoy the rest of Ag Progress Days. Thank you. Thanks. Good job, Bill.