At the Pennsylvania Farm Show, dairy cows as big as sedans are guided through the crowds for baths to a chorus of moos. Children fish for baby trout. And attendees slurp down the show’s iconic milkshakes — the new flavor this year is mint.
Elected officials walk around in suits and cowboy boots. Alpaca fur is woven into socks and hats on site.
Pennsylvania is quirky and the farm show is no different.
Visitors could run through a Christmas tree farm, watch bees make honey in a clear rectangle box or take a ride on a bicycle made from Pennsylvania hardwood.
Agriculture is at the center of the economic success in Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro said while addressing public officials at lunch.
“Agricultural powers our economy forward,” he said. “I want the rest of the nation to take note of what we’re doing here in Pennsylvania”
At the sprawling 118th farm show, that power is on display.
Dolly George owns Rolling Hills Red Deer Farm in Catawissa in Columbia County. She sold jerky and other items made from the farm's venison.
This was not the first year her multigenerational farm was at show.
"It's not just showing our products, it's education," she said.
George and her husband started the deer farm after visiting the elk in Elk County. She says the red deer are similar and their lore goes back to biblical times.
"It’s just a wonderful experience to meet all these people from Pennsylvania. And it's great to share, share what we're doing," said George.
Agriculture contributes $11.8 billion in annual revenue and supports 47,000 jobs across Pennsylvania.
The industry isn’t just plants and animals. It’s all the products that come from the state’s natural resources, said Jonathan Geyer, executive director of the Hardwoods Development Council.
Geyer was holding up a bicycle made of wood. The wood came from a sawmill in Sullivan County.
The farm show complex includes 11 halls and three arenas. Local businesses sell everything from large tractors to earring made of clay. There’s entire sections dedicated to different foods from across the state.
Painterland Sisters Organic Yogurt from Tioga County was served at the shows luncheon.
Shapiro toured the expo center and met up with sisters Haley and Stephanie Painter in the Giant Food Stores booth. They’re the first brand to carry PA Preferred Organic Label. The sistery say they are the fastest growing yogurt brand in the country.
“We appreciate the difference you've been making. We see it. We feel it on the farm,” Stephanie Painter told the governor.
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