An open-ended pitch by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to give millions of dollars to Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry to make it more innovative is stoking skepticism and hope among lawmakers and farmers.
Shapiro wants to use $10.3 million to create a grant program that would promote savings throughout the agriculture sector by giving companies access to better equipment, technology, and state resources. In his budget pitch, he cited a methane digester that turns waste into energy on a Juniata County farm as an example of the kinds of efforts the grants could support.
The state Department of Agriculture, which would administer the program, has yet to specify what kinds of projects could get funding, and likely won’t release details unless the proposal is included in the budget, longtime agriculture secretary Russell Redding said during legislative hearings last month.
The funding would also potentially create two new staff positions at his agency to help farmers find existing programs for conservation and innovation. The bulk of the funding would go to farmers, Redding said at an event in Lancaster County with Shapiro in early February. Shapiro is proposing $599.8 million overall to fund the agency.
Pennsylvania has roughly 49,000 farms, according to the 2022 Census of Agriculture released last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which conducts the review every five years. The most recent count reflects a 4,100 decrease since 2017.
Agriculture remains one of Pennsylvania’s top industries, though it faces challenges as Pennsylvania’s veteran farmers age and younger ones deal with financial barriers like rising supply and equipment costs. Climate change also makes it hard for farmers to plan long-term.
Pennsylvania already has grant and loan programs that support agriculture research, startup costs for young farmers, and business development. The methane digester mentioned in the governor’s budget address received funding from existing public programs.
Redding said the innovation proposal would complement those efforts.
“We have talked about having a fund such as this for a long time,” he told state senators. “We’ve got ag research funds. We’ve got DCED economic development programs and other things that we’ve done, but nothing that carries the label of innovation.”
Industry stakeholders told Spotlight PA they welcome the help.
Innovation enables farmers to “fine-tune their businesses,” said David Smith, executive director of the Pennsylvania Dairymen’s Association.
Projects and equipment that shore up farm operations and reduce waste can vary in price and resources to build.
New Morning Farm in Fulton County uses a forced air system for faster cooling and better produce storage. The system, which cost a few hundred dollars, has a blower that pulls chilled air from a refrigerated area, and it’s easy to replicate at facilities of different sizes, said Adam Mihalik, the 95-acre farm’s field manager.
The biggest challenge was finding research to design the system, he told Spotlight PA.
“I don’t need a grant for a $200 project,” Mihalik said. “I need access to the information.”
Still, Mihalik doesn’t oppose the state spending money on a program that would help farmers find ways to optimize their work, especially smaller operations. Getting access to better cooling systems for produce storage “would be an enormous aid” to farmers’ bottom lines, he said.
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Categories: Pennsylvania, Crops, Government & Policy