Sweet and savory scents from the food vendors wafted throughout the Pennsylvania Farm Show Thursday, blending with the tang of fresh hay and some VIP visitors.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins did a whirlwind tour of the show in Harrisburg on Thursday, accompanied by some members of the state's Republican congressional delgation.
Rollins spoke during the visit — which was quick, and largely unannounced — about how Pennsylvania’s farmers are the backbone of the nation’s food supply.
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Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said he had a “nice visit” with Rollins and they shared common points of concern, including avian influenza, but that he also pushed her on some concerns farmers have brought to him over tariffs.
“She said, ‘What’s on the minds of farmers?’” he began.
“And I said, ‘Listen, this tariff issue weighs large. And it shows up in different ways.’” Redding said.
Redding said he spoke to farmers, both from Pennsylvania and from a delegation of 35 other countries who say they are being negatively affected by tariffs.
Redding said he asked Rollins to invest into fruit and vegetable farmers, as a recent $11 billion bridge funding program for farmers to tide them over until all the portions of the One Big Beautiful Bill go into effect, focuses primarily on corn and soybean farmers.
Redding said he also pushed Rollins and the Trump Administration to invest into the hardwood industry, as he said it was overlooked during “Trump 1” but is the state’s greatest export.
Military Appreciation Day
This is Pennsylvania Farm Show week in Harrisburg, and thousands of spectors of all ages filled the event's sprawling 24-acre complex in Harrisburg Thursday, perusing exhibits, admiring the livestock, and delighting in an array of freshly cooked foods and treats.
But it also was an opportunity for many to take a moment out of their day to honor those who have served the nation in addition to working the land.
Thursday was Military Appreciation Day at the farm show, including a ceremony recognizing an outstanding veteran farmer and agricultural entrepreneur through the Pennsylvania Veteran Ag Entrepreneurship Award program.
That honor went to George Lake, owner of Thistle Creek Farms in Warriors Mark, Huntingdon County.
Seeing the ceremony was a meaningful for Lisa Davis, who was visiting the farm show from New Ringgold, in Schuylkill County.
"The veterans, with the horses and everything, it was nice," Davis said. "It was tear-jerking."
Sharing their craft
The Farm Show features nearly 5,000 animals, 12,000-plus competitive entries from more than 4,600 competitors, plus more than 250 commercial exhibits, and hundreds of educational and entertaining events, state officials say.
With an expected attendance of over 500,000 during the show's eight-day run, tens of thousands of visitors pack into the complex each day — including many, like Davis, with ties to Northeast and Central Pennsylvania.
Liam McKay of Liam's Luck Woodworking in Bloomsburg spent Thursday preparing to give a demonstration on how to carve a wooden stirring stick, known as a spurtle.
"We'll be using a piece of maple, and we'll hand carve it into a finished piece," he said.
McKay started his woodworking business 17 years ago as a way to raise money for a trip to Europe through the People to People Student Ambassador Program. Now, he feels like he is helping to keep the art of woodworking alive.
"As each generation passes, the knowledge that they have and share becomes kind of lost, or more and more of it disappears," he said. "So when we can both share our craft as well as interact with people from all generations ... we learn a lot."
Making a clean sweep
A familiar face for any visitor to Wilkes-Barre's Fine Arts Fiesta waited in the farm show's main hall Thursday, sewing up a broom in red, white and blue.
John Paul Warren of Countrybrooms in Gilberstville will mark 50 years of broom-making this year. He's sold his handmade, corn brooms at the Farm Show for the past five years.
"It's a long week, but the good news is we enjoy it," he said.
He said as tariffs and prices have gone up for mass-produced nylon brooms and things like Swiffer dusters, people have shown more interest in old-fashioned corn brooms.
"Mainly because of the quality and what you can't buy out there," he said. "The hardware stores don't have a good corn broom."
Warren travels all over the state to sell brooms and give demonstrations. He will be at the Fine Arts Fiesta in May, on the same corner where he says a broom-maker has been for the past 54 years.
'How much they were willing to give for our country'
Lake, who was honored Thursday morning, is a 30-year U.S. Marine Corps veteran.
State officials said Lake "has transformed his family’s 600-acre farm, operated since 1919, into a nationally recognized regenerative, pasture-based livestock operation producing a premium grass-fed beef brand."
He also mentors fellow producers.
“I think small farms are the backbone of American agriculture, and I’m willing to give in any way that I can to help small farmers succeed,” Lake said, in a release.
“Helping other farms be profitable has become a bit of a passion for me. I’m especially drawn to veterans who want to enter a farming career," he added. "I’m aware of how much they were willing to give for our country.”
In addition to the award honoring Lake, Redding announced that $300,000 would be available in the next round of the Veterans in Agriculture Grants Program.
The grant application window will be open from January 30 to March 13, 2026.
