CAMP HILL, Pa. — During my years as Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President, I have appreciated the many listening sessions that allow elected officials to gain insight during the negotiations that result in a new Farm Bill every five years. As this process begins anew, I hope the American farmer will remain a central focus of these conversations.
I am fortunate to live on a multi-generational dairy farm in Westmoreland County. Over the past several years, I have traveled across the Commonwealth and country in service to Farm Bureau. During this time, one important lesson has been consistently reinforced: when opportunities are presented to producers, they flourish. The upcoming Farm Bill can do just that. Farmers like me can potentially benefit from all twelve titles of the Farm Bill, even those which might appear to help just those who are recipients of nutrition programs.
Wise investment in programs such as the Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) help make sure that quality American grown food lands on the tables of those in need. Farmers benefit from TEFAP by accessing these additional venues to move their products. In a similar example, the Pennsylvania General Assembly has increasingly invested in the Pennsylvania Ag Surplus System (PASS) since it was first funded in 2015. PASS, administered by Feeding Pennsylvania through the PA Department of Agriculture, provides funding for Pennsylvania farmers to help provide food for those in crisis.
Last year, Feeding PA commissioned a study, performed by Penn State which revealed that every dollar spent through PASS provided an additional two dollars of economic activity. In short, the $10M invested in Pennsylvania food purchases from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act provided a total of $18.4M in economic output within our Commonwealth.
As an agricultural education student at Penn State, I remember the lessons of Maslow’s Hierarchy. Without food, individuals cannot move forward in society. Farmers across America can certainly play a role in helping our hungry brothers and sisters.
As lawmakers deliberate the upcoming Farm Bill, I have faith they will find a path to provide farmers the opportunity to further help those in need.
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Rick Ebert.
–Pennsylvania Farm Bureau