09/11/2019
Harrisburg, PA - The Environmental Defense Fund and National Association of State Departments of Agriculture recognized Pennsylvania’s Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP) tax credit program as an innovative, state-led model for conservation funding. A joint report released by the two groups yesterday named Pennsylvania among states that support farmers by creatively financing their efforts to improve soil resources, and water quality on the farm and downstream.
09/11/2019
One of the nation’s largest dairy cattle exhibitions, the All-American Dairy Show, returns to Harrisburg this weekend, bringing five days of showring competition, youth development programs, industry networking, and a seminar on opportunities in the dairy industry to the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.
09/06/2019
Pittsburgh, PA - Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding joined more than 600 Mt. Lebanon High School students, administrators, and University of Pittsburgh officials to kick off Game Day Meals, a program providing locally-grown, nutritious meals designed to support peak performance in the classroom, on stage, and on the athletic field. Game Day Meals is a partnership of the state PA Preferred® program and University of Pittsburgh’s dining services, with support from the university’s dietary science and business programs, to offer performance-boosting meals on Fridays to 50,000 students in Pittsburgh-area schools.
09/03/2019
Harrisburg, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture today invited first- through eighth-grade students to help spread the message about the threat of the invasive Spotted Lanternfly by entering the 2019 calendar contest.
09/03/2019
Harrisburg, PA - Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) held the inaugural meeting of the Pennsylvania Dairy Future Commission. The commission, the result of Act 66, signed by the Governor in July and prime sponsored by Senator Jake Corman, is responsible for reviewing the status of Pennsylvania’s dairy industry and making recommendations to support its future.
08/27/2019
Pennsylvania Furnace, PA - Pennsylvania’s Livestock Evaluation Center hosted a $52,625 auction of 97 elite rams, ewes, bucks, and does from across the northeast with its 41st annual Performance Tested Ram Lamb and 17th Meat Goat Buck Sale.
08/23/2019
The farms protected at Thursday’s meeting of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Land Preservation Board exemplify the diversity of the state’s agriculture products and the people that grow them, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said.
08/19/2019
Today, the Wolf Administration announced the second Dairy Innovation Forum, one of several initiatives to give Pennsylvania’s dairy producers resources and opportunities they need to sustain and grow their businesses in a challenging marketplace. The forum will be held during the 2019 All-American Dairy Show, in the PA Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg on September 17, 2019 from 12:30 to 4:30 pm.
08/15/2019
Today, the Wolf Administration announced the opening of the second grant program made possible by Governor Tom Wolf’s PA Farm Bill. The Very Small Meat-Processor Grant Program will provide funding to reimburse a portion of inspection and certification requirements for businesses that meet the federal definition of “very small meat processors”.
08/13/2019
Pennsylvania Furnace, PA – Today during Ag Progress Days, Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding announced that a new registry is available for Pennsylvania producers to prevent pesticide use from affecting their land and farms.
08/01/2019
In an effort to help Pennsylvania businesses more easily navigate the permitting process, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) will offer 31 in-person Spotted Lanternfly permit classes throughout the 14-county quarantine zone. The classes will be held from August 15 through December 18, 2019.
07/26/2019
Mark your calendars to bid on the Mid-Atlantic’s best performance-tested ram lambs and meat goat bucks at the 41st annual Performance-Tested Ram Lamb and 17th annual Performance-Tested Meat Goat Buck sales scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Livestock Evaluation Center in Pennsylvania Furnace, Centre County.
07/26/2019
Today, the Wolf Administration announced the opening of the first grant program made possible by Governor Tom Wolf’s PA Farm Bill. The Urban Agriculture Infrastructure Grant Program will provide $500,000 in funding to increase market opportunities for the commonwealth’s urban agriculturalists.
07/15/2019
This spring, Pennsylvania was among 28 states where retailers received rhododendrons which may have been exposed to a plant pathogen called Phytophthora ramorum. The pathogen causes infectious disease in popular Pennsylvania plants and shrubs including rhododendron, mountain laurel, lilac, viburnum and pieris.
07/12/2019
With 107 county and community fairs across the state, there is a gateway to agriculture near you, according to Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, and an online map makes it even easier to plan trips across the county or the state.
07/08/2019
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding today urged producers to look into using the USDA’s new Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) Program as part of their risk management and financial planning.
06/17/2019
Harrisburg, PA – Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding today announced the availability of grants to conduct promotion, marketing, and research projects to increase the quality, profitability, production, and sale of malt and brewed beverages produced in Pennsylvania.
06/13/2019
Pennsylvania’s Agricultural Land Preservation Board today preserved farms from across the state, including an eight-generation dairy and a conservation award-winning beef farm.
05/30/2019
Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding today joined county officials, stakeholders, and local agribusiness owners at Elder Farms, a preserved farm in Lawrence County, to highlight how producers can receive assistance with business planning, transition, and conservation efforts under the proposed PA Farm Bill.
05/29/2019
Pennsylvania travelers can “pursue their scoops” on the newly expanded Pennsylvania Ice Cream Trail. After a popular inaugural season, the Pennsylvania Ice Cream Trail expanded from 12 creameries in Eastern and South Central PA, into three trails including a Western PA Trail, with a total of 32 stops in these regions for 2019.
05/24/2019
Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding today joined GIANT Food Stores and Troegs Independent Brewing to tour Caputo Brothers Creamery in Spring Grove, a Dairy Investment Program grant recipient, highlighting how the PA Farm Bill would help dairy producers diversify and expand their operations.
05/13/2019
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding today named Dr. Kevin Brightbill as Pennsylvania’s State Veterinarian. Brightbill will spearhead efforts to protect animal health by directing the work of the department’s Bureau of Animal Health and Diagnostic Services. He will also oversee the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory and lead several public-private industry and interdisciplinary partnerships, including the Pennsylvania One Health Task Force – all of which serve to safeguard the health of animal agriculture, and the state, nation, and world’s food supply.
05/10/2019
The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture today notified consumers that laboratory testing has shown “Triple Action Neem Oil Broad Spectrum Fungicide, Insecticide, and Miticide” contains pesticide active ingredients not listed on the product label. During testing, the presence of malathion, chlorpyrifos, and permethrin were confirmed.
05/09/2019
Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding today joined beef producers, promoters, and purveyors to celebrate that segment of the agriculture industry and share how it would benefit from targeted investments in local meat processing under Governor Tom Wolf’s proposed PA Farm Bill.
05/08/2019
On the heels of the first Spotted Lanternfly hatch of the season, Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding was joined by representatives from USDA and Penn State. Officials outlined how the proposed PA Rapid Response Disaster Readiness Account in the PA Farm Bill will expand efforts to contain the destructive pest. They also toured Lancaster-based Central Penn Transportation and Lancaster County Central Park for a demonstration of control methods.
04/22/2019
Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding today celebrated Earth Day during a visit to Ernst Conservation Seeds in Meadville, where he highlighted the connections to conservation under the proposed PA Farm Bill.
04/19/2019
Harrisburg, PA - The Department of Agriculture announced today that state dog wardens will conduct dog license and rabies vaccination checks in 23 counties from today through June. This program aims to raise awareness of the importance of up-to-date dog licenses, and rabies vaccinations for dogs and cats to the health and safety of Pennsylvania communities.