Farm Bureau Hosts Wildlife Reception at Outdoor Show

By Blake Jackson

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau recently hosted its inaugural wildlife reception at the Great American Outdoor Show, bringing together over 70 attendees, including state legislators, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and representatives from the Department of Agriculture.

The reception fostered crucial dialogue between farmers and hunters, emphasizing the need for collaborative solutions to mitigate crop damage a top legislative priority for the Farm Bureau.

“We’ve had a lot of great interaction with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Hunters Sharing the Harvest, a lot of hunting groups and our farmers with the conversation centered on how we can make a difference for our farmers across Pennsylvania,” said Chris Hoffman, President of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.

“We are working together to create solutions to mitigate the issues on our farms. I’m excited about the possibilities and the future, as we think about tomorrow and being able to manage wildlife in Pennsylvania to help our farmers secure their crops to be as profitable as possible.”

To further support wildlife conservation efforts, the Farm Bureau's Wildlife and Fisheries Committee donated $5,000 each to three organizations: the Wildlife for Everyone Endowment Organization, the Wildlife Leadership Academy, and the Penn State Nittany AI Alliance.

"This is a wonderful event for us to celebrate the work we are doing with these organizations to further the wildlife knowledge of our citizens in Pennsylvania," said Andy Bater, Chairman of the PFB Wildlife and Fisheries Committee.

The Farm Bureau expressed its commitment to continued collaboration with state legislators, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, and other stakeholders to address farmers' wildlife management concerns.

“We met with several wildlife groups as well as representatives of the Pennsylvania Game Commission and had fantastic discussions on how to move legislation forward to help farmers with crop damage,” Bater said.

“Many different facets of the issue were discussed. We look forward to the legislation that was advanced last year being re-introduced this coming season, and we look forward to a positive vote on it this year so that we can start to see some improvements in regard to crop damage for your operations.”

Photo Credit: pa-farm-bureau