As the summer growing season gets underway, the agricultural industry continues its perennial mission of looking for a new crop of young people to enter the workforce. “Pennsylvania has long faced a looming agricultural workforce shortage, at one point estimating a deficit of 75,000 workers as farmers retire and new,
wfrank@altoonamirror.com
Simon Itle, 26, is a fourth-generation family member at Vale Wood Farms, Loretto, where he is the milk processing plant manager. He is also vice chairman of Pennsylvania Young Ag Professionals as well as a representative of District 12. / Mirror photo by Walt Frank
Pennsylvania Young Ag Professionals is working to get more people involved in agriculture.
YAP, part of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, has regional chapters throughout the state and is open to Farm Bureau members ages 18-35. They’re involved in networking, getting younger farmers engaged in advocacy, hosting regional and statewide events and contests, said Liam Migdail, bureau spokesman.
Targeting polluted streams, a proposed program could set up a framework to provide needed money to farms in Lancaster County and across the state, where pressure is high to make environmental improvements.
That was the message shared by Republican state Sen. Gene Yaw of Lycoming County, who spoke Monday in York County to promote his Senate Bill 465, which has support among farmers and conservation stewards.
But even with that support, Yaw acknowledged there is an obstacle. Specifically, no dedicated funding source yet exists to get the proposed program off the ground.
âFunding is an issue,â Yaw said, speaking Monday at the Flinchbaughâs Orchard & Farm in Hellam.
Pollution reduction work on Lancaster County farms could get boost in proposed bill lancasteronline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lancasteronline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
From Mirror staff reports
CAMP HILL Pennsylvania Farm Bureau applauded the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ bipartisan passage of House Bill 101, saying the legislation would help Pennsylvania family farms grow their rural communities and remain viable through a changing farm economy.
The bill would offer commonsense legal protection to farms that invite the public onto their property for agritourism activities, such as corn mazes, pick-your-own produce, hayrides and similar attractions. Specifically, the bill would grant farms that offer agritourism activities reasonable protection from lawsuits that arise from circumstances beyond their control as long as they warn visitors of the inherent risks of being on a farm. At the same time, farmers would still need to take steps to ensure guest safety.