Gov. Josh Shapiro promised to fight federal cuts to agricultural programs during a visit to an eighth-generation potato farm in Schuylkill County this week while advocating for state spending under his own budget proposal.
“Six-hundred thousand of our fellow Pennsylvanians work in agriculture,” Shapiro said. “We generate $132 billion annually for [agriculture] … “Yet, sadly, too often when politicians … talk about [agriculture], they talk about it as though it's something historic."
He also celebrated the success of his administration’s “first-in-the-nation” Agricultural Innovation Grant and said it would continue to finance technology, conservation and renewable energy in its second year.
If Shapiro’s 2025-26 budget is passed, the program would operate with an additional $13 million.
Lawmakers have until July 1 to get a budget to the governor's desk.
Grant benefits Sterman Masser's operations
During Monday’s visit to Sacramento in rural Schuylkill County, Shapiro highlighted how Sterman Masser Potato Farm will use its $200,000 grant to purchase an eight-row planter that will boost planting efficiency, reduce fuel usage, and allow it to double the number of acres it plants and harvests, from 1,000 acres to 2,000 acres.
Lela Reichart, vice president of new business development for Sterman Masser Inc., spoke alongside Shapiro. She said the program allows farmers to make the most of available conservation technology to maintain soil health and yearly fertility.
Farmers “plant to conditions, not the calendar,” Reichart said.
“In farming, you get a sliver of a window of opportunity to get the seed in the ground … We need to plant our potatoes between mid-late April to the very beginning of June. If we plant too early, we have a frost risk. If we plant too late, we see declined yields. So for us, speed and efficiency with precision matters,” she said.
Shapiro to feds: 'Stop hurting Pennsylvania farmers'
Shapiro spoke harshly about federal cuts to programs through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). He said the innovation grant ensures politicians — both in Washington and in Harrisburg — can’t downplay agriculture, which he said is “absolutely vital to our future."
He said agriculture is central to the Pennsylvania Economic Development Strategy, which his administration reports is the state’s first development plan in 20 years. Released last January, it pledges to prioritize Pennsylvania agriculture over the next 10 years.
Shapiro also doubled down on the State Department of Agriculture’s appeal to USDA to restore the state’s three-year contract for Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA). Secretary Russell Redding argued in his March 25 appeal that the funds provided $28 million to local farmers and 25.9 million pounds of food to Pennsylvanians in need over the last two-and-a-half years.
Sterman Masser donated about 10% of its potatoes to local food banks through LFPA funding, according to Shapiro.
“I'm hopeful that [U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins] will rethink that: Stop hurting Pennsylvania farmers, stop hurting Pennsylvania food banks, and get those dollars to flow again to Pennsylvania farmers and to Pennsylvania food banks. It's super important that that be part of the work that is being done by our farms. We have an abundance of food that is farmed in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said.
Growing demand for local food
Several speakers highlighted how the need for locally grown food is growing without any signs of slowing down.
Dave Masser, CEO of the Masser Family of Companies, said Pennsylvania once grew over 100,000 acres of potatoes per year. Today, that number’s fewer than 7,000.
“It's time to reverse that trend by growing more potatoes here and at home and reducing reliance on imports from other regions,” said Masser.
Kent Heffner, president of the Schuylkill/Carbon County Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, said today’s market increasingly puts more demands on farmers.
“When I was in high school, one farmer fed about 25 people. Today, that number has escalated to over 150. 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,” Heffner said.
Agriculture is in a new “era of sustainability,” Heffner said, in which farmers must “get food from farm to table more efficiently to feed more people than ever before.”
Shapiro listed several ways to make agriculture more sustainable for Pennsylvania’s future. He touted plans to incentivize young people to get into agriculture through apprenticeship programs, and by offering farming programs in schools and in universities. The innovation grant was “overrun with applicants” in its first year, making it prime for state investment, he added.
Programs like the Agricultural Innovation Grant will bring farming into the future, he said. Pennsylvania will “remain a national leader in the green industry” and organic farming through programs like PA Preferred Organic.
USDA last month cut programs that prioritized green industry like the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC). The Trump Administration reported that “in many instances, [the program] provided less than half of the federal funding directly to farmers.” It had funded climate resilient agriculture.
Shapiro said his innovation grant would continue to fund climate-resilient agriculture. He said “climate change is real,” which was met by a few dismissive sighs from the audience.
“Anybody who works the lands knows that climate is having an impact on the way they farm and the impact on agriculture. And what we need to do is arm our farmers with the best information, the best technology, the best research. In order to do that, some of it comes through our investments,” Shapiro said.
He said research from institutions like Penn State helps farmers “work within the limitations of climate change.” However, federal fund cuts cripple what the state can do.
“I want to be really clear that when they cut funding in Washington D.C., whether it's for rural healthcare or funding that goes to our farmers, we don't have the capacity to make that up. So that will be felt in rural communities. It will be felt by our farmers. So, I'm doing everything I can behind the scenes to try and talk to our lawmakers in D.C. and let them know that the path they're on would have really devastating cuts that would … disproportionately harm rural communities,” Shapiro said.
Avian influenza testing in focus
Shapiro also spoke critically about the Trump Administration’s cuts to the federal milk testing program, which had tested for High Path Avian Influenza (HPAI) in raw milk.
Pennsylvania was one of the first states to implement the program, according to Shapiro. He redoubled on what he said the state can control, its High Path Avian Influenza Recovery Reimbursement Grant and its new testing facility in Western Pennsylvania. His 2025-26 budget will add an additional $2 million to the lab if approved.
Bird flu, or Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) is a vicious, highly contagious virus that can kill an entire flock within a few days. Its symptoms include neurological changes and multiple organ failure.
