As the summer sun goes down, the lights go on at Pennsylvania’s 108 Agricultural Fairs. Fairgoers are busy making their checklists. They want to be sure they don’t miss an opportunity to taste their favorite fair foods, try their hand at the hay bale toss, and of course, hug their favorite farm animals. If you’re looking to get up close and personal with a slice of rural America, a Pennsylvania fair is one of the best places to do so.Blog
Governor Shapiro Highlights Administration’s Plans to Expand Broadband Access Across Pennsylvania During Visit to Beaver County During a visit to the Carnegie Free Library in Beaver Falls, Governor Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) discussed the Administration’s plans to use more than $1.16 billion in federal funds the Commonwealth will receive to expand broadband and ensure every Pennsylvanian can access the internet. The funding is through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding and is part of President Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative. See More
Urban Producers, Public Invited to Attend August Meeting of Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages urban producers, innovative producers and other stakeholders to submit comments for and virtually attend a public meeting of the Federal Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (Committee) on Aug. 1, 2023. Topics for the upcoming meeting will include addressing public comments and discussing the following recommended topics:Food waste prevention and food recoverySurplus food recoveryCompostable food packing standardsRead More
Allegheny National Forest Announces Centennial GeoTrailExplore the Four Counties of the Forest to Find Geocaches The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service announces a partnered centennial geocache trail now available on the Allegheny National Forest to commemorate the Forest’s 100th year since its establishment. In partnership with the Penn Soil Resource Conservation and Development Council (Penn Soil RC&D), Allegheny National Forest presents the first official GeoTrail, encouraging the public to explore the Forest in a new way. Twenty-eight caches have been placed across the four counties of the Forest (Elk, Forest, McKean, and Warren), with descriptions available here. Participants need to register, for free, online to access cache location descriptions, along with GPS coordinates. To log your findings, fill out the Allegheny National Forest Centennial GeoTrail Passport document found here. Use this sheet to record each cache’s code word and the date found. The code words relate to the benefits and purposes of the National Forest.Read More
Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson visited the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to meet with Secretary Redding, deputy secretaries, and bureau staff about the Farm Bill. The Department shared its insight into existing Farm Bill programs and what programs might work for the Farm Bill that Congress is currently drafting.See More
PA Organic Agriculture Survey The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) is working on an “Economic Impact Analysis of PA Organic Agriculture” with E-Consult Solutions. This in-depth research will uncover some of the challenges and opportunities for organic farming (and processing) and recommendations of ways that PDA can help to support farmers and processors interested in transitioning to USDA certified organic. We have held some meetings with producers and processors to gather input but need to hear from more producers and processors. If you are a producer or processor, please consider taking this short survey. The estimated time to complete the survey is approximately 15-20 minutes. Please complete the survey by Friday, July 21.Learn More
Join Rodale Institute’s researchers and expert staff at their annual Organic Field Day to learn the latest results of our farming trials and visit nearly 20 demonstration stations on their 386-acre experimental farm.Learn More
Governor Shapiro Highlights Administration’s Plans to Expand Broadband Access Across Pennsylvania During Visit to Beaver County During a visit to the Carnegie Free Library in Beaver Falls, Governor Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) discussed the Administration’s plans to use more than $1.16 billion in federal funds the Commonwealth will receive to expand broadband and ensure every Pennsylvanian can access the internet. The funding is through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding and is part of President Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative. See More
Congressman Glenn “GT” Thompson visited the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to meet with Secretary Redding, deputy secretaries, and bureau staff about the Farm Bill. The Department shared its insight into existing Farm Bill programs and what programs might work for the Farm Bill that Congress is currently drafting.See More
Join Rodale Institute’s researchers and expert staff at their annual Organic Field Day to learn the latest results of our farming trials and visit nearly 20 demonstration stations on their 386-acre experimental farm.Learn More