Penn State’s AG Progress Days continue
And Today featured appearances from prominent University and State leaders…
It’s the annual Government and Industry Day at Penn State’s AG Progress Days. Among the speakers, Penn State’s President, the Lieutenant Governor, and other elected officials, who all say that agriculture is something that brings all parties together.
Penn State’s AG Progress Days have drawn thousands of people to Centre County this week. There is an opportunity to learn about the agriculture industry and on Wednesday, farmers and others got to hear directly from some of their elected leaders, including Lieutenant Governor Austin Davis.
“Agriculture is an area that brings Democrats and Republicans together in the State Capitol, this isn’t a partisan issue, quite frankly it’s an economic issue, it’s a family sustaining jobs issue,
and we need to be doing everything we can to support this industry.”
State Representative and House Agriculture Chair Glenn Thompson spoke about the farm bill that he is the primary sponsor of The bill, which he says will help farmers who are struggling with decreasing crop prices and rising costs, still needs to be voted on by the house floor.
“I’ve met many farmers who borrow more or are forced to borrow more in a single year to deliver a crop or a herd than what the average family in this country borrows in a lifetime.”
He says the bill includes a significant investment into agricultural research and is a win-win for both farmers and consumers
“Long overdue, we include whole milk for healthy kids in the farm bill which will restore child nutrition in schools and restore a critical market for our dairy farmers.”
The discussion centered on how important land-grant universities like Penn State are for agricultural development.
“We have 300 faculty in our College Of Agricultural Sciences who are researching the best ways to serve the most important industry in Pennsylvania bar none, AG is at the heart of this commonwealth.”
AG Progress Days will finish up here at 4 PM tomorrow, but elected officials and Penn State say they will continue doing all they can to help better the agriculture industry.
