Pennsylvania Agriculture Impact Update Unveiled
Agriculture Partnership Background
Team Pennsylvania’s partnership with PA Department of Agriculture (PDA) began in 2016 and is supported by both a Memorandum of Understanding with the state agency in effect through 2024 and the Governor’s Executive Order 2017-06. To support the work of the partnership, Team Pennsylvania and PDA assembled a 25-member Agriculture Advisory Board of industry leaders that provide guidance to programmatic and policy activity.
With a focus on long-term systems change driven by data, Team Pennsylvania has made great advancements with our agricultural initiatives. In 2018, our Pennsylvania Agriculture: A Look at the Economic Impact and Future Trends report was released. For the first time in state history, this analysis defined the commonwealth’s unique agricultural landscape, quantified economic and workforce impacts, and outlined six policy and industry recommendations for a thriving future.
On April 28th, 2021, Team Pennsylvania and PDA unveiled the newest update to the 2018 analysis, that identifies current trends, and seeks to analyze the impacts of COVID-19 and the PA Farm Bill programs, which will inform next steps for industry and government leaders.
Report Key Findings
While this update shows a 2.7 percent decrease in total output from the estimate in 2018, the decrease is largely driven by changes in individual large food manufacturing companies. Despite the decrease in food manufacturing, nearly all other categories saw increases over this period. Total jobs in and by agriculture have increased from the estimate in 2018 by 2.4 percent, with direct jobs in agriculture increasing by estimates of nearly 24,000.
Based on the analysis, survey, and roundtable insights, these areas require focus and attention:
- Workforce development must be a priority
- Research and better understand supply chain issues and challenges
- Support growth and access for rural broadband
- Invest in agricultural infrastructure
- Build on connections with the food support network
- Support business needs of agricultural industries
- Strengthen and support organic promotion and enforcement
- Expand urban Ag programs and opportunities