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State Food Purchase Program Turns 30

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Created in 1983, and written into law ten years later, the State Food Purchase Program helps food banks feed the state’s hungriest families.  However, the 30-year anniversary is one that Hunger-Free Pennsylvania Executive Director Sheila Christopher would prefer not to mark.  “We would rather be standing her marking the end of SFPP, a sign that hunger is no longer a problem in Pennsylvania,” she told a crowd of anti-hunger advocates in the state capitol rotunda.  “Sadly that’s not the case.”

Amid the muted celebration, the group honored the four sitting lawmakers who were among the bill’s original co-sponsors 20-years ago: Sam Smith (R-Jefferson), David Argall (R-Schuylkill), Mike Sturla (D-Lancaster) and Tom Caltagirone (D-Berks). 

These cupcakes have since been delivered to state lawmakers and key members of the administration.

These cupcakes have since been delivered to state lawmakers and key members of the administration.

For the scores of younger lawmakers who don’t have such a long history with the SFPP, Christopher and others delivered each of them a cupcake and an information card.  “We certainly would hope they would recognize the importance of this program.  It’s not going away, unfortunately, so let’s get our people fed,” she tells us. 

SFPP funding has been slowly eroding. While demand for the program has increased over the past five years, support has been cut back from $18.75-million to $17.34-million.  Christopher says they’d need $24-million just to keep up with food inflation, let alone the additional requests for assistance.

“Nearly 1.4-million Pennsylvanians are at risk for hunger in one of the most productive agricultural states in the northeast,” state Agriculture Secretary George Greig explained at the commemoration.  While their struggle for funding continues, the participation of a Corbett cabinet member – in addition to bipartisan, bicameral lawmakers – gave the state’s anti-hunger advocates reason for optimism.

cows, dairy

97th Pennsylvania Farm Show Opens Saturday

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The weather forecast is fair, and officials expect more than 400,000 visitors over the eight-day Pennsylvania Farm Show.  “We’re dealing with about 24-acres under roof, just about a million square feet under roof, and that includes three arenas and eight major halls,” explains Farm Show Complex Executive Director Pat Kerwin.  It’s considered the largest indoor agricultural event in the country. 

Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary George Greig is double-booked all week long as the Farm Show’s unofficial host.  “I want to represent each faction of agriculture and in Pennsylvania we have a very diverse agriculture group,” Greig tells Radio PA.  Greig is a dairy farmer from Crawford County and says the Farm Show is also a good time to reconnect with old friends from western PA. 

The famed Farm Show Food court churned out 140,000 milkshakes last year, and more than 22,500 dozen potato doughnuts.  New fare for this year’s show includes bacon on a stick, pumpkin funnel cakes and apple cider slushies, but you can’t go wrong with the old standards.  “I like the fried cheese, milkshakes and roast beef sandwiches with horseradish.  I’m a big horseradish person,” says Greig. 

Some of the new attractions for the 2013 show include the Great Grape Stomp, a new wine tasting area and a polo demonstration.  “But the thing that seems to be getting a lot of attention – which is somewhat odd in my opinion – is cow patty bingo,” Kerwin explains.  Just picture a giant bingo card on the large arena floor with roaming bovines providing their own special markers.

The 97th PA Farm Show runs from this Saturday through Saturday January 12th at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg.  Admission is free; parking will cost you ten dollars.

CWD Public Meeting to Be Held Wednesday Night

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Representatives from the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the state Department of Agriculture will be on hand for a public meeting Wednesday evening at Bermudian Springs High School in Adams County. The subject will be the recent positive test for Chronic Wasting Disease in a captive deer on an Adams County farm.

This is the first case of CWD confirmed in Pennsylvania, and officials say there is no evidence that it has spread to the wild deer population. Still, this meeting will provide valuable information to hunters regarding quarantines and other steps being taken to monitor the deer population in and around the affected areas. Three farms are under the current Department of Agriculture quarantine order. All three locations were known to have been in contact with the one deer that has tested positive in Adams County. The other two farms are located in York and Lycoming counties.

CWD is not a threat to human health, according to the Centers for Disease Control, but Game Commission officials urge that it’s never a good idea to eat the meat from a sickly-looking animal. Additionally, officials are asking hunters not to shoot a deer that appears sick, but rather to report the location to the Game Commission as quickly as possible so that the animal can be found alive. The Commission says that aids in testing the animal for diseases like CWD.

The public meeting is being held Wednesday evening at 7:00pm at Bermudian Springs High School, 7335 Carlisle Pike in York Springs.

Chronic Wasting Disease Found in Pennsylvania

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Pennsylvania’s luck at keeping Chronic Wasting Disease at bay has run out, its aggressive surveillance program has found a case on an Adams County deer farm.

The positive sample came from a white tailed deer at a farm in New Oxford. As a result, the state has also quarantined two other farms directly associated with the infected deer, in Williamsport, Lycoming County and Dover, York County.

Steps are being taken to prevent further spread of the disease. A task force will carry out a response plan, including education and public outreach.

CWD is fatal in deer and other cervids but there is no evidence it can be transmitted to humans. Pennsylvania is the 23rd state to detect the disease.  It was already present in the neighboring states of Maryland, New York and West Virginia. To date, CWD has not been found in the wild deer population in Pennsylvania.

State veterinarian Dr. Craig Shultz says they are tracking this infection. He says staff has been working to identify any links to the animal diagnosed and other herds of captive deer as well as the locations the deer had been in before it became ill.

Hunters are being told to continue best practices of handling deer with gloves and field dressing the animals.   The Game Commission is looking at the case and deciding whether to designate a disease management area.

The CDC recommends that people or animals not eat any part of a deer diagnosed with or showing signs of CWD.

The state Agriculture Department regulates the farm cervid industry. The Pennsylvania Game Commission regulates wild, or free roaming deer.

96th Pennsylvania Farm Show Opens Saturday

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Pennsylvania doesn’t have a state fair.  It doesn’t need one; it has the Farm Show.  The Pennsylvania Farm Show is an eight-day celebration of everything agriculture has to offer.  “We will have 6,000 animals here this week and a half, over 10,000 competitive exhibits.  400,000 people will come here to visit,” says state Agriculture Secretary George Greig.  All one-million square feet of the complex will be put to good use during the Farm Show. 

While this is George Greig’s first Farm Show as Ag. Secretary, the Crawford County dairy farmer is no Farm Show novice.  “We have world famous Farm Show milk shakes; we have deep fried mushrooms, deep fried cheese cubes and every type of roast beef.  Everything that you could ever want to eat,” Greig told us, as he vouched for the legendary Farm Show Food Court. 

Beyond the food and the fun, the goal of this year’s Farm Show is to bridge the gap between farm gate and dinner plate.  “It has a very strong consumer education aspect to it, where people can learn about where their food and fiber comes from,” says Farm Show Complex Executive Director Pat Kerwin. 

Kerwin says Farm Show planning is virtually year round.  Setup for the 2012 Farm Show began around Christmastime and has been non-stop ever since.  While the Farm Show is the number one event at the Farm Show Complex, Kerwin tells us they host roughly 85 major events and several hundred smaller events every year.

Admission to the Farm Show is free, but parking will cost you $10.  New, this year, are a variety of online tools to help you plan your Farm Show visit.  The Farm Show runs Saturday – Saturday (January 7th – 14th).

State Police Investigate 10 Fatal Crashes Over the New Year Holiday

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Pennsylvania State Police investigated ten fatal crashes during the four-day holiday weekend that ran from December 30th through January 2nd.  They handled 552 wrecks, 141 fewer crashes than the last New Year’s holiday.

Six of those who were killed were not wearing seatbelts and two of the fatal crashes were blamed on drunk driving. State Police Sergeant Anthony Manetta says 285 people were arrested for driving under the influence, 379 people were cited for failing to buckle up and 51 did not have children properly restrained. Last year during the New Year’s weekend, 267 people were arrested for DUI, 458 cited for not buckling up and 42 failed to restrain children properly.

State Police issued fewer speeding tickets this year compared to last New Year’s, with 4012 cited last year compared to 3408 this year.

Sgt. Manetta says the strongest measures to protect drivers are proper seatbelt use and not drinking and driving.  He says people need to buckle themselves up and buckle children up.

The numbers only include cases handled by state police and do not include crashes investigated by other law enforcement agencies.

 

State Agriculture Officials on the Look Out for Invasive Beetle

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Exit hole made by an Asian Longhorned Beetle.

A destructive beetle has been found in another nearby state, raising concern that it could eventually make its way into Pennsylvania and threaten popular landscaping and hardwood industry trees.   The Asian Longhorned Beetle has now turned up in Ohio. The invasive beetle has already been causing problems in two other border states, New York and New Jersey.  It has also been found in Massachusetts and Illinois.

Leo Donovall, Coordinator of the Invasive Species Council and a plant inspection specialist with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, says the beetle will attack many different types of trees, but especially prefers maples.

Donovall says the female lays eggs under the bark of trees and will continue to colonize a tree until it dies. The beetle has been showing up mainly in urban settings, so they want people to be on the lookout.

The beetle is about an inch long, with a jet black glossy body and white  spots on its wings.  It has long antennae. Signs of damage include pitting on the outside of the tree, round exit holes, sawdust piles collecting in the crooks of branches or at the base of the tree, and weeping of sap from exit sites. People spotting these should contact the State Agriculture Department’s pest hotline at 1-866-253-7189, or email to Badbug@state.pa.us.

Donovall asks that people report any and all sightings.  He says if you can collect the suspect beetle, it will help them make identification.  He says if you have to kill it, try to collect all of the parts. He says you can put some rubbing alcohol on it and put it in a jar to deliver to the Department of Agriculture.  He says they need to have a specimen for a positive sighting.  He says they would also need a specimen to take action in an area where an infestation is suspected.

Tree Killing Pest Found in Two More Pennsylvania Counties

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The tree-destroying Emerald Ash Borer has been found in two more Pennsylvania Counties.   Huntingdon and Wyoming Counties have been added to the list where the pest has been found, becoming the 20th and 21st in the state. The Pennsylvania Agriculture Department is asking people not to transport firewood more than 50 miles from where it was purchased to help slow the ash borer’s spread.

 Nichole Bucher, Deputy Press Secretary for the  Department,  says it’s hard for the average person to notice damage caused by the ash borer, that’s why they’re encouraging people to burn any wood where they buy it.  She says the beetle can “hitchhike” on pieces of wood, spreading it to other parts of the state.

 Bucher says survey crews are trying to establish the leading edge of the infestation.  They started in May hanging up bright, purple triangular traps on trees throughout the state.  The ash borer is attracted to the traps. The Department asks that people not disturb those traps.

 Bucher says the beetle is destructive to ash trees. The ash borer basically suffocates the tree, cutting it off from air, water and nutrients.  Within about three years of infestation, the tree will be dead.  Ash trees are used in urban landscapes and are popular wood for baseball bats.

 Bucher says the department has a pest hotline. You can call if you believe you have found an Emerald Ash Borer or discovered damage it may have  caused.  You can also call if you find one of the purple traps dislodged.  The number is 1-866-253-7189.