Agriculture

Most schools in Columbia County close for either part or the full week of the Bloomsburg Fair. Youth participation at the largest agricultural fair in Pennsylvania has increased the last few years.

The Farm to Family Festival returns to Dalton this Saturday for the fourth year, bringing demonstrations, vendors and activities to Streamside Park to connect farming and local communities.

The 150th Troy Fair begins on Sunday at Alparon Community Park. It is among more than a dozen fairs set to take place across NEPA this season.

The state this week announced an effort with experts from Penn State Extension, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies to expand testing and mitigate the spread of avian flu. Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding talks about the scope of the problem.

The United Nations named 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer to honor women’s essential roles across global food systems. We celebrate women farmers in Northeast and Central Pennsylvania.

The YMCA of Wayne County announced Tuesday its withdrawal from an estimated $20 million project in Cherry Ridge Twp. and will likely reapply with a different version in a few months.

The next meeting on the YMCA of Wayne County's plans to build a new center in Cherry Ridge Township is rescheduled to Jan. 27 because of the incoming winter storm.

WVIA News visited the Pennsylvania Farm Show last week to report on the richness of the annual event as it happened, but also with an eye toward larger trends in Keystone State agriculture, from potatoes to rodeo riding and bird flu.

From fluffy Silkie chickens to ‘mini’ Bantam chickens, the Pennsylvania Farm Show welcomed a variety of birds to Harrisburg for the first year since the 2022 avian flu outbreak.

Wayne County Commissioners announced they will not apply to the Cherry Ridge Twp. Zoning Hearing Board for a special use exception to build an agricultural center next to a proposed YMCA, citing cost, lack of support from the farming community, and concerns about building on leased land.