Relevant

Harrisburg:  In a report published last year, the PA Departments of Agriculture and Education publiished a report documenting the activities of more than 18,000 high school students who learned about agriculture during the 2007-08. The food, fiber, fuel and related products that are produced, processed and promoted in Pennsylvania are not only an economic driver of more than $45 billion in total economic impact but they are also a considerable part of the employment pool, with one in seven jobs in Pennsylvania related to agriculture. Click here to download the entire report.

Recognizing the myriad of jobs that are tied to agriculture, it is critical that there be a pipeline of talent trained to enter into existing career opportunities as well as those that are on the industry’s horizon. Pennsylvania is fortunate to have an estimated 18,000 high school students engaged in agricultural classes at the secondary school level. This report provides insight on the thousands of young people engaged in agricultural education in the commonwealth and the work of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Education, the Pennsylvania FFA and other supporting organizations that enhance the formal Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that are tied to agriculture.

Act 26 of 1995 and Act 91 of 2000 both bring together two commonwealth agencies to engage in the process of creating and managing meaningful agricultural education programs at the secondary level. An update of Act 26, Act 91 requires specific pieces of the agricultural education continuum be developed by the Department of Education, in conjunction with the Department of Agriculture. Today, there is an unmatched level of communication between the two agencies, providing increased and enhanced support for the administrators, teachers and students of agricultural education programs, as well as the industry members that these programs support. A part of the mandate in Act 91 is to prepare and submit an annual report to the Governor and the General Assembly focusing on the status of agricultural education in the commonwealth. This report outlines agricultural education programs and achievements, highlights new initiatives, and recommends future program needs.

Lancaster:  With the cooperation of local watershed groups, the Lancaster County Conservation District, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, The Lancaster Chamber, the County Planning Commission, Lancaster County Cooperative Extension, the Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board, LIVE Lancaster, and other conservation-related groups, the Lancaster County Clean Water Initiative was recently formed to specifially address the Best Management Practices required for Chesapeake Bay remediate but more generally to think about the need of the County to assure the sustainability of its water resources.

This group has reached out to earlier ad hoc groups formed by Sen. Mike Brubaker to address a myriad of issues related to the Chesapeake Bay.

At the core of the effort are local watershed groups that are coordinated by Matt Kofroth, Watershed Coordiator for the Lancaster County Conservation District.  To see more about the work in area watersheds, click here to go to the Lancaster County Watershed website or here to see their most recent newsletter.  This site will offer a direct connection to this site on its home page over the next several weeks.