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Agriculture

Ag secretary visits championship beef farm

ENON VALLEY, Pa. – Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee Chair Senator Elder Vogel, Jr. recently visited Old English Acres, home of champion Limousin beef cattle in Enon Valley, Lawrence County, to see how the farm's business investments would be more secure with the $5 million veterinary lab system expansion. According to recently released U.S. Department of Agriculture Census of Agriculture figures, in the past five years Lawrence County has seen a 100% increase in the value of products grown and raised on its 585 farms, most of ...

Rural Roads Safety Week designated for April 14-20

MIFFLINTOWN — Pennsylvania has more rural roads than any other state in the country. Especially during springtime, more farmers are driving large equipment on rural roads which, in turn, increases farm machinery accidents. The Rural Roads Safety program was created in 2000 by the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. Rural Roads Safety Week, a joint campaign between the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, State Police and the state departments of Agriculture and Transportation, is designed to educate the general public and farmers about safety concerns on rural roads, particularly in relation to slow-moving ...

Ag Department adds Greene Co. to spotted lanternfly quarantine

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced recently that Greene County is now among 52 Pennsylvania counties quarantined due to confirmed populations of the invasive pest spotted lanternfly. Redding also encouraged Pennsylvanians to destroy lanternfly eggs in the coming weeks prior to the spring hatch. "There's still time to help get rid of lanternflies before they hatch," Secretary Redding said. "As you clean up your yard, every egg mass you scrape and squash means 30-50 pests won't hatch in May. Our dedicated teams are seeking and destroying ...

Ag secretary highlights changes to fertilizer law

EAST BERLIN — Pennsylvania's Agriculture Secretary, Russell Redding, joined members of the General Assembly, associations and businesses in Adams County recently to promote Pennsylvania's updated fertilizer law and the Department of Agriculture's consumer education campaign to help residents manage their lawn care in a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable way. The revisions to the Pennsylvania Fertilizer Law, signed by Governor Shapiro in 2023, brought new responsibilities to homeowners and residents who apply fertilizer to their lawns, ensures clearer fertilizer labels to ...

4-H members earn high rankings National Shooting Sports Quiz Bowl

UNIVERSITY PARK — Pennsylvania 4-H members recently earned high rankings in the National 4-H Shooting Sports Quiz Bowl. This virtual competition included nearly 400 participants. The competition focused on the mechanics and safety of firearms, as well as specific trivia related to each of the disciplines taught in the 4-H shooting sports program — archery, rifle, pistol, shotgun, muzzle loading, hunting skills and western heritage. Participants also drew from general 4-H and science, technology, engineering and mathematics knowledge. Members competed as individuals and in teams ...

Penn State Extension offers to host equine first-aid workshop April 20

UNIVERSITY PARK — Regular monitoring of a horse's vital signs and body weight can prevent health problems from turning into emergencies. The Penn State Extension equine team will host a workshop designed for horse owners and horse caretakers to practice these skills. For eastern Pennsylvania residents, a workshop will take place April 20 from 1-5 p.m. at Equi-librium Inc., 524 Fehr Road, Nazareth. In addition to hands-on practice with real horses, the workshop will cover leg wrapping using model demonstration horse legs. A veterinarian will speak about common equine emergencies and ...