Latest news with #AgriculturalInnovationGrantProgram
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PA ag secretary visits Schuylkill dairy farm
Milking cows is far from a 9 to 5 job, says Kent Heffner, owner of Jersey Acres Farm in Wayne Township. Cows needed to be milked early in the morning and late every day, even on weekends and holidays, and days when the weather is lousy, he said. 'It's not a job that too many people want to do anymore,' he said. So Heffner is in the process of buying a robotic milking machine which will make his 230-cow dairy operation much more efficient and will be a boon to the family-owned business, he said. The machine should be in place by the end of 2026. 'This is what we need to keep going,' he said. 'It'll help a great deal.' But that purchase would not have been possible without a $100,000 grant last year from Pennsylvania's new Agricultural Innovation Grant Program, which the state touts as the first program of its kind. On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding visited Jersey Acres to speak about how state grants are assisting farms across the state thrive by helping them pay for planning and robotic technology. Redding announced a doubling of the grant amounts now available to farmers for planning and spoke about how Gov. Josh Shapiro's 2025-26 budget plan proposes a $13 million hike to the historic Agriculture Innovation Grant program through which Heffner bought the robotic milker. Jersey Acres is one of 6,530 preserved farms across Pennsylvania that will stay farms forever as part of the nation's leading state Farmland Preservation program. In addition to its dairy, Jersey Acres also grows fruit and vegetables, makes wine and has a roadside farm stand. The dairy received a Farm Vitality Grant of $1,312 in 2024 to help pass the farm down within the Heffner family, and in 2025 won the $100,000 innovation grant for the milkers. Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding, left, speaks with Jersey Acres Farm owner Kent Heffner during a tour of the family's Wayne Township dairy on May 27, COURTESY OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE) The planning grant allowed Heffner to set up a succession plan for the farm, which has been in his family since 1911. He is the fourth generation of the family to operate the dairy, and his children will be the fifth. Farm Vitality Planning Grants of up to $15,000 can be combined with other Pennsylvania Farm Bill grants, low-interest loans, and tax incentives to help plan and finance farm transitions. The previous maximum for those grants was $7,500. 'Farm Vitality Grants are helping farmers across Pennsylvania get the market analysis, financial planning, risk management, and other expertise they need to realize their vision for their farm's future, whether that's expanding their operations or protecting their family's farming legacy,' Redding said. 'The Shapiro Administration recognizes that investing in the future success of farm families is investing in all Pennsylvanians, because when farms thrive, we all thrive together.' Since the grants were created under the Pennsylvania Farm Bill in 2019, they have supported $2.8 million in project planning, and financial and technical expertise to support growth opportunities for 401 Pennsylvania farms. Sixty percent of the grants have helped families planning to transition ownership of their farm to keep it in the family or pass it to new owners who will carry on their farming legacy. This includes 148 owners of preserved farms, including Heffner, who are protecting their prime farmland from future residential or commercial development. Fourth-graders from Blue Mountain Elementary West accompanied Redding during Tuesday's tour of the farm along Panther Valley Road. The Heffner family has made the farm a tourism and educational destination, where young people can learn first-hand how a modern dairy operates and how cutting-edge technology makes the dairy products that they enjoy safe and healthy, Redding said. Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding tours Jersey Acres Farm in Wayne Township with students and teachers from Blue Mountain Elementary West on May 27, 2025. PHOTO COURTESY OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE) Other available agricultural programs from the state include: * Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program, which provides tax credits as an incentive to those who sell or rent agricultural assets to beginning farmers. * Beginning Farmer Realty Transfer Tax Exemptions, through which beginning farmers purchasing preserved farms have been given tax exemptions. * Next Generation Farmer Loan Program, which uses federal tax-exempt financing to reduce a farmer's interest rate for capital purchases in order to help young families fund farm expansions and purchases. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is also now partnering with the Penn State Extension and PA Farm Link on the first Farm Progression Survey in the state in 20 years. Data gathered from the brief survey will help Pennsylvania strengthen rural communities and support the future of farming in the region, officials said. Responses are confidential and the survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding tours Jersey Acres Farm in Wayne Township on May 27, 2025. PHOTO COURTESY OF PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE) Along with the $13 million allocated to the historic Ag Innovation Grant Program, other agricultural investments in Shapiro's 2025-26 budget plan include a proposed $2 million to keep Pennsylvania's new animal diagnostic laboratory in the western part of the state operational, an additional $4 million to connect Pennsylvanians at risk of hunger with healthy, local food through the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System, a $4 million increase to the State Food Purchase Program to provide emergency food assistance for low-income Pennsylvanians, plus continued funding of $13.5 million for the initiatives and funding to keep Pennsylvania farms thriving through the Pennsylvania Farm Bill.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Shapiro stops by Schuylkill County potato farm
For eight generations, Sterman Masser Potato Farms has operated in the Hegins Valley of Schuylkill County, and it plans to continue its operation for generations to come. But to do so in the current agriculture economy it will need to farm as efficiently as possible, with demand for its products continuing to grow. So Sterman Masser recently applied for and received a $400,000 grant through a new state program to buy an eight-row planter, the biggest such piece of machinery on its farm or anywhere in the county. And visiting the Hubley Township farm on Monday to speak about the new program was Gov. Josh Shapiro, who said he has prioritized the state's agricultural industry since being elected in 2022. 'I want agriculture to be the center of our economy in Pennsylvania,' he said while standing on the farm with Dave Masser, President and CEO of Sterman Masser. Gov. Josh Shapiro takes questions from reporters during a press conference on the Agricultural Innovation Grant Program at Sterman Masser Potato Farm in Sacramento, Monday, May 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) The agricultural innovation grant program that Shapiro's administration created last year is the first of its type in the nation, and has already supported 88 projects in 45 counties, which shows the state's commitment to family farms, Shapiro said. He is pushing for an additional $15 million in the state's 2025–26 proposed budget to meet continued demand and expand access to innovation capital for Pennsylvania farmers and producers, he said. 'We were overrun with applications,' Shapiro said. The grant for Sterman Masser covered half the cost of purchasing the $400,000 machine, which will be delivered next year and which will help double the number of acres it uses for potato planting and harvesting. Dave Masser, President and CEO of Sterman Masser, speaks about the Agricultural Innovation Grant Program at Sterman Masser Potato Farm in Sacramento, Monday, May 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) 'In Pennsylvania, we have a narrow window to plant over 1,000 acres of potatoes, and this planter will greatly assist us in planting in optimal conditions,' Masser said. 'Investing in innovation keeps Pennsylvania growing for the next generation.' Supporting agriculture helps create jobs, feeds families and drives economic growth, ensuring Pennsylvania remains at the forefront of the farming industry, Shapiro said, pointing to Sterman Masser as an example. Operating one of the largest potato processing facilities in the northeast, Sterman Masser has 400 employees, and its new machine will boost planting efficiency, reduce fuel usage, and allow it to increase the acres they plant and harvest from 1,000 to 2,000 acres. Sterman Masser grows, processes, packs and ships a variety of products from its red, white, yellow and russet potatoes, ranging from bulk quantities to ready-to-eat convenience products. A variety of potato offerings from Sterman Masser Potato Farm in Sacramento, Monday, May 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) As a result of its innovation grant, for the first time in 50 years Pennsylvania will see an increase in the number of acres used for potato planting and harvesting, Shapiro said. The Commonwealth is home to 50,000 farms, contributing $132 billion to the economy and supporting nearly 600,000 jobs, he said. 'Our farmers are the backbone of our economy here in Pennsylvania — they put food on our tables, in our stores, and in our restaurants every day. If we want to compete and succeed as a commonwealth, then we have to invest in our ag economy,' he said. Also receiving a recent state innovation grant was Jersey Acres Farm near Friedensburg, which it will use to buy a robotic milking machine for its dairy operation. Farm owner Kent Heffner, who additionally serves as president of the Schuylkill/Carbon County Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, also spoke on Monday about the importance of the new program. Kent Heffner, President of the Schuylkill/Carbon County Farm Bureau, speaks during a press conference for the Agricultural Innovation Grant Program at Sterman Masser Potato Farm in Sacramento, Monday, May 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) 'When I was in high school, one farmer fed about 25 people. Today, that number has escalated to over 150,' he said. 'The need to increase our efficiency will only grow. 'I believe the future of agriculture will focus on smaller farms doing on-farm processing and selling directly to consumers. That means more funding will be needed to get these projects up and running — everything from fruit and vegetable processing to meat and milk. The need for this program is going to be great. We've entered a new era — the era of sustainability — where we must get food from farm to table more efficiently to feed more people than ever before. Thanks to the ag innovation grant program, Pennsylvania is on the forefront of this era.' The funded projects from the new program span 31 commodities and 40 types of innovation, including precision irrigation, robotics, biodegradable packaging and carbon-storing crops. Also during his visit Monday, Shapiro also spoke about his opposition to federal funding cuts by President Donald Trump's administration that would hurt Pennsylvania farms and rural areas, leaving many of those communities behind, he said. Gov. Josh Shapiro takes a look inside the cab of a tractor at Sterman Masser Potato Farm in Sacramento, Monday, May 12, 2025. (MATTHEW PERSCHALL/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR) Therefore, Shapiro said he is now urging federal legislators to avoid taking such action, saying the cuts would be 'really, really devastating' to farmers since states could not afford to replace the federal money being taken away. 'We seem to be investing in agriculture when seemingly the federal government is divesting,' Shapiro said. 'Ag shouldn't be a partisan exercise. It should be something that lifts everyone up.'
