Agriculture & Rural Issues
PANELISTS:
Jonathon Johnson, Deputy Director, Center for Rural Pa.
Lynne Kime, Senior Extension Associate, Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension Service
Bill Fontana, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Downtown Center
Jonathon Johnson, Deputy Director, Center for Rural Pa.
Lynne Kime, Senior Extension Associate, Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension Service
Bill Fontana, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Downtown Center
Scribe Notes
by Stephen Scanlon
Lynne Kime, Senior Extension Associate, Pennsylvania State University Cooperative Extension Service
Pennsylvania’s Agriculture Extension supports public/private partnerships and acts to provide a rural and agriculture perspective when it is called for. This includes numerous publications for a variety of audiences.
Interesting facts that were offered include:
The changes in agriculture practices mean that Agricultural Extension is frequently called upon to provide perspective on what is new in agriculture and its impact on rural Pennsylvania.
Bill Fontana, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Downtown Center
Rural communities face the challenge of economic viability leading to a loss of a sense of being part of an economic region. Fontana addresses the challenge of working within an 18th Century set of boundaries by asserting that rural communities:
He closed with a cautionary note: a community intolerant of change will get passed by.
Jonathan Johnson, Deputy Director, Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
Even while there is a pattern of difference between the rural and urban parts of a region, they are inextricably linked. Urban and rural demographic and economic comparisons across Pennsylvania demonstrate:
The attracted set of maps and graphs highlight some of these differences.
Pennsylvania’s Agriculture Extension supports public/private partnerships and acts to provide a rural and agriculture perspective when it is called for. This includes numerous publications for a variety of audiences.
Interesting facts that were offered include:
- A change in definitions resulted in a recent 1% Pennsylvania increase in farm acreage. The average age of a farmer is 55.2 and women owners make up 40% of the principle owners.
- Agriculture is a changing industry. As a regional example, New Holland hosts the largest goat and sheep auction in the U.S. due to its central proximity to northeast markets where there is demand for fresh halal and kosher meat. However, the definitions for fresh meet necessitates that the meat processing be done on a regional basis, which means that the New Holland auction hub cannot translate into a further market advantage.
- Technological innovations and a scarce labor force mean agriculture needs to be increasingly run as a business with high input costs.
- The growing demand for local foods is developing strong support for the direct marketing of local and regional foods.
- Past farm bills included direct payments. Some farmers were paid to fallow their land. Now the trend is more market oriented, favoring crop insurance.
The changes in agriculture practices mean that Agricultural Extension is frequently called upon to provide perspective on what is new in agriculture and its impact on rural Pennsylvania.
Bill Fontana, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Downtown Center
Rural communities face the challenge of economic viability leading to a loss of a sense of being part of an economic region. Fontana addresses the challenge of working within an 18th Century set of boundaries by asserting that rural communities:
- Address many needs by developing practices that support the sharing of municipal services.
- Make a conscious connection to their region in order to develop a regional marketing brand.
- Connect to urban corridors in order to participate in the recovery that will flow from their urban cores.
- Recognize that communities have multiple roles they need to focus on and avoid reliance on a single industry or corporation.
- Consider Rural Regional Revitalization Corporations which deal with housing and access to resources rather than the traditional route of going it alone. These could address infrastructure improvements and the integration of agricultural and non-agricultural development.
- Create local or region brands.
He closed with a cautionary note: a community intolerant of change will get passed by.
Jonathan Johnson, Deputy Director, Center for Rural Pennsylvania.
Even while there is a pattern of difference between the rural and urban parts of a region, they are inextricably linked. Urban and rural demographic and economic comparisons across Pennsylvania demonstrate:
- There are rural and urban differences across south central Pennsylvania.
- Rural south central Pennsylvania is different from the rest of rural Pennsylvania.
- Over the past 50 years, rural south central Pennsylvania has seen significant population growth – this may challenge the rural character of some areas.
The attracted set of maps and graphs highlight some of these differences.
