Standing at the entrance to the Maclay Street lobby of the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex on a frosty Saturday morning, leaders of the state’s agricultural community cut a ceremonial ribbon signaling the opening of the show 109th Pennsylvania Agricultural Show.
“This is a show that showcases Pennsylvania, the number one industry in America,” said U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-15th District), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture and Rural Affairs. “An industry that provides us with most of the things we need in life. Food and fiber, building materials, energy resources.
“And what an exciting time,” he added.
Pennsylvania Farm Show is the largest indoor agricultural event in the country. The 2025 Farm Show features thousands of competitive agricultural events, over 1 million square feet of hands-on agricultural education opportunities, a food court and a 1,000-pound butter sculpture.
On Saturday morning, speakers highlighted the theme of the 109th edition of the Farm Show, “Powering Pennsylvania.”
“AG is a huge part of our culture, our history and our way of life, but it is also the backbone of our economy,” said Rick Siger, Pennsylvania Secretary of Community and Economic Development.
Siger said the agriculture industry is anticipating nearly 600,000 jobs in Pennsylvaniameaning that according to pa.gov, one in 10 jobs is related to agriculture.
“It’s a whole ecosystem that contributes more than $130 billion a year for our Commonwealth economy,” Siger said.
Siger noted that Gov. Josh Shapiro has listed agriculture as one of his top priorities during his administration 10-year economic development plan.
Speaking to the Capital-Star after the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding described the current state of Pennsylvania’s farming community as “diverse, strong, growing and fragile.”
“We learned a lot about weather last year, especially about droughts and some of the flood damage and issues,” Redding told the Capital-Star. “You look into the future and you see a lot of changes around immigration, customs and environmental issues, and that’s all a sensitive part.”
December 21st President Joe Biden signed a $100 billion disaster packagewhich included extension of the agricultural actpassed by Congress. Redding said it was “really important for Pennsylvania.”
Thompson, who will play a significant role on agriculture issues in President-elect Donald Trump’s recent administration, expressed optimism in an interview with the Capital-Star, praising Brooke Rollins, Trump’s nominee to head the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“I will say, based on my knowledge and information, that not only will he be a great person to work with as secretary, but he will be the closest cabinet member to President Trump, which is a good sign for agriculture,” Thompson said. .
Rollins Thompson said he worked in the White House as a domestic policy adviser during Trump’s first term and has led the pro-Trump “America First Policy Institute” for the past four years.
“So he has a great relationship with the president,” Thompson said. “So between that and my relationship with the president, I’m excited about the future of agriculture.”
U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, nutrition and forestryhe also said Capital-Star on Saturday that he expects to support Rollins’ nomination, despite differences that may exist on some issues.
Fetterman said funding protection Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be his priority in the upcoming farm bill.
Redding told the Capital-Star he was grateful for the one-year extension of the Farm Bill in slow December and outlined a number of issues he would like to see as priorities in the legislation.
“Number one is making sure that food and nutrition remains consistent with our production policy, which means there are people who want to sort of separate nutrition from some of the elements of agricultural policy. We really believe they need to be held together,” Redding said.
“Two: Food and food insecurity issues are increasing, not decreasing, so we cannot have a federal farm bill that restricts food programs like our SNAP and our Emergency Food Assistance and so on,” Redding added.
Redding also cited rural research and development as crucial.
The 2025 Pennsylvania Farm Show runs through Saturday, January 11 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg. Parking fee is $15 per vehiclealthough admission to the Pennsylvania Farm Show is free.
For a schedule of events and more information about the 2025 Pennsylvania Farm Show, visit the website Farmshow.pa.gov.
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