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DANVILLE -- Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding recently spent time with students from Danville Area High School Advanced Placement Environmental Science and Honors Veterinary Science classes and their agricultural science teachers Van Wagner and Mike Schultz. Students demonstrated valuable career skills they are gaining with the help of drones and classroom equipment purchased with PA Farm Bill Agriculture and Youth Grants.
"Teaching students to use technology employers need today gives them the skills and inspiration to stay in Pennsylvania and drive our agriculture industry forward tomorrow," Redding said.
Since 2023, Ag and Youth grants have supported career preparation for Montour County youth with two awards to Danville High School totaling $15,000 and two awards to Penn State Extension's Montour County 4-H Environmental Science and Agriculture programs totaling $8,850.
"This opportunity has allowed me to provide my agriculture students with hands-on drone-flying experience," Danville teacher Van Wagner said. "Drones are a cutting-edge technology being used in multiple areas of our global economy. My students gain valuable flying experience and can even apply for a drone pilot's license from the Federal Aviation Administration. These students graduate high school not only with some really amazing experiences but with an actual pilot's license."
Pennsylvania's ag employers are increasingly investing in agricultural drones and will need workers with flexible, tech-savvy skills and the imagination for how they can make work more efficient and productive.
Drones are among the technologies funded under the Shapiro Administration's historic $30 million Agricultural Innovation Grant Program, which is supporting 185 projects driving ag industry progress -- and changing the skills needed in the workforce statewide. Drones enable precision farming jobs including monitoring crops for damage, disease, and moisture, as well as maturity and number of blooms in orchards. Drones are used both to gather data to inform decision-making, and to target spraying, seeding, and other crop treatments.
In January, Sec. Redding announced the Shapiro Administration's most recent investment of $600,345 in PA Farm Bill Agriculture and Youth Grants, including 62 awards to schools and youth organizations in 33 counties, funding projects empowering youth across the state to succeed in Pennsylvania's $132.5 billion agriculture industry.
Redding also invited school districts and youth nonprofits to apply for 2026-27 grants, funded at $500,000 in the 2026-27 state budget. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture program is accepting applications through Friday, Oct. 2, 2026 at 5 p.m.
Ag and Youth Grants provide direct funding of up to $7,500 and matching grants of up to $25,000 to support projects, programs, and equipment purchases by youth-run organizations, and those with programs that benefit youth or promote agriculture, community leadership, vocational training, and peer networking. Past funded projects include agriculture career seminars and field trips, agricultural safety training, capital projects, and equipment purchases aimed at leading students to opportunities in agriculture and building the future workforce Pennsylvania's agriculture industry needs.