Starting now.
Commonalities where guests find
common ground through uncommon
conversations, politics,
religion, finances,
all the topics your grandmother told
you not to discuss with friends.
And now your host, Matthew Dowling,
and today's guests on commonalities.
Thank you for joining another episode
of Commonalities. I'm your host,
Matt Dowling, alongside
a friend of mine, uh,
secretary Russell Redding,
who is Secretary of Agriculture for
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Uh,
secretary Redding, thank you so
much for joining us here today.
I know you've worked, uh, in several
different governor's administration.
So at the top of the show, I wanted to
kind of give you the opportunity to, uh,
do a little bit of a bio
or self introduction and
tell us how Russell Redding
became the Secretary of
Agriculture for the Commonwealth.
Yeah, Matt, first of all, it's good
to see you and happy New Year to you,
and thank you for reaching out. It's
good to see you again. Um, yeah,
so it's been an interesting journey.
So I, I feel very lucky, uh,
to have my vocation, that vocation
be the same, uh, to, to do that in,
in a public service role particularly. Uh,
it started with a chance encounter of, uh,
a US Senator Harris Wofford,
uh, that got my start in,
in public service. And from there,
uh, of course the journey to, uh,
elections and, uh, ultimately coming
back to work for Tom Ridge, who, uh,
was governor. And that's where
I started, worked through, uh,
the Bridge Administration and
Rendell left a while to be, uh,
in higher education as the Dean of
Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.
And then, uh, came back with, uh,
governor Tom Wolf, uh, most recently.
But through that whole journey of public
services has always been sort of a, a,
a common foundation around production
agriculture in Adams County.
Our, our roots are there. Uh, that's
where we've been. We continue to farm, uh,
in that county. So I feel like
I've got both a, a, a foot in the,
in the, uh, farmer world,
right. Uh, and that of the, uh,
the public service role here as secretary.
But, uh, both are very rewarding.
Well, I thank you so much for being on
the show. I wanted to have you on, uh,
this week, uh, not because agriculture's
not important year round. It is.
Uh, but because we are in
the midst of Farm Show Week,
the Farm Show started on January
7th and runs through the 14th.
This is the hundred and
seventh Farm Show. Um,
and I know you have a, a theme
that you're working with, uh,
as you do most years for the Farm Show.
Why don't you tell us a little bit about,
uh, about this year's Farm show theme?
Yeah, thank you. Uh, our, our theme
this year is rooted in progress. Uh,
we felt it was a good sort of capstone
to eight years of, of the administration,
but it's also a great description
of the industry, right?
It's rooted here in pa, it's
important to us, uh, across time.
It is centuries old, uh,
and today we've seen the progress of that
by being able to celebrate it here in
the state. It's 132 billion
economic impact every year.
18% of our state's gross state product
is food and agriculture. So, uh, rooted,
uh, but those roots have really
nourished our progress across time. So,
uh, we wanted to celebrate that and,
and try to represent both what we have
done in the administration to further
that progress. At the same time,
know that we're not representing, uh,
simply, uh, a four or eight
year term, but 107 years, right?
Plus. So that is also part of this.
So we're rooted in so many ways,
innovation, progress, the food system,
the legacy work that's been
done over, uh, of time.
Our mission is rooted here,
um, in the state as well. So,
so many ways. So we've, we
feel like the theme is, uh,
a good description of time,
but it also transcends time,
and that is a really, um,
a great storyline for us this week. And
we've seen a lot of it through just, uh,
in the setup to see what that's
gonna look like. But we're excited.
It's a great time.
Well, I'm really excited too. I,
I've been to the Farm show, um,
as I've been able to for the last
seven years or so. Um, last year,
unfortunately, I was, uh, in the hospital,
uh, and, and unable to make it. Um,
and then we had, uh, at, at
no fault of, of anyone's, uh,
a pandemic that you had to deal with,
and we had a virtual farm show in 2021.
So I know that things are just kind
of blooming and, and growing back to,
uh, the pre covid era. Um, so
I'm really excited to see that.
I'm excited, uh, also for the
farm show milkshakes and, uh,
and those fried cheese, of
course, uh, my wife, uh,
and my kids and I will be up later this
week, uh, to partake in all of that. So,
why don't you tell me what
you are excited about, uh,
during this year's farm show?
Well, I, I, I, I share
the, uh, uh, your appetite,
uh, for good things in the food court.
You know, it, it's, it's the go-to,
right? You can satisfy everyone's sort
of pallet and stomach and interest in,
in the food. But we hope while
you're here and others, I mean,
you really look around at,
at just the diversity of ag,
but personally excited about
a couple things. One is,
I always like the conservation display,
and we started that some years
ago, as you recall, when,
when we had a lot of issues
swirling around about land use in
Pennsylvania,
we had issues in townships with ordinances
and restrictions in place. We said,
we really ought to sort of tell a
story about what, what land use is,
what it looks like, right? What do
the modern agriculture look like?
So all of that's captured in
this conservation pod now that,
uh, shows the land, uh,
uh, cover, uh, across, uh,
that most consumers and public
would see across the state. Uh,
it shows the equipment. Uh,
there is a rainfall simulator
to show what happens when you
have cover on fields during winter or not,
and what that looks like in
terms of runoff. So that's
one. The other is around,
uh, sunflowers. Uh,
this is a product of both
market opportunities. Uh,
it's a recognition that, you know,
half of the sunflower oil
comes out of Ukraine, um,
right? So, uh, you've
seen this world, uh, uh,
supply disrupted. We've got 'em here.
We're growing them here in Pennsylvania,
wanna grow that market in pa.
So I could go through that list,
but they're just two highlights that
I think sort of stand out that are
universal regardless of where you are
in the state. It's about conservation,
and it's also about looking at progress,
uh, of how do you develop new markets?
How do you entice farmers
to try growing in new crop?
How does it translate in terms
of economics, uh, for our farm?
So there are two that I think
are good bookends to the,
to the other displays at Farm Shell.
Well, and, and I have to tell
you, I was very inspired by, uh,
some of the conservation pieces that
I saw. I believe it was four H uh,
several years ago, had done, done, uh,
some setups where they were looking at
harvesting water in urban settings. And,
uh, several years ago,
inspired by the Hunger Garden
that is at the Capitol,
I put a hunger garden
in at, uh, at was my,
what was my district
office in the parking lot.
And it was a small 10 by
15 parcel, uh, with the,
the building sign, uh, was right at
the edge of that. But we gardened, uh,
for those that were in need,
um, right in that, that, uh,
urban garden. And just last year, um,
the facility we worked with our,
our local, uh, technical school,
and the facility added a
rain collection system.
I call it a wing because it sits on top
of the sign and, uh, two rain barrels.
And so all of the water that's
needed is harvested, uh,
right from the two 50 gallon rain
barrels that sit on either side
of the sign. Uh, and, and
there are plants on it,
and you would never even know that,
uh, that it was harvesting water.
But I was inspired by seeing what our
young people were trying to create and,
uh, envisioning for the
future of Pennsylvania.
I think the farm show is so important, uh,
because of the opportunities that
it affords to our future Farmers of
America to our young people. So, uh,
can you tell me a little bit about, uh,
how you interact with, uh, with
the youth at the Farm show?
Yeah. Thank you for mentioning that,
because I think we can all
sort of look at sort of the,
the work that we've done in our
respective public service and hosting of
farm show, but at the end of the day,
it's about inspiring somebody to sort
of get into this business, right?
And the business could be in
the production agriculture,
uh, or it could be in,
in somewhere in the food service or the
sciences or whatever, that that's the,
the generation that we're
trying to appeal to.
And I hope that over the eight days,
somebody sees something here, uh,
mom and dad see something the
kids should be interested in,
but hopefully the kids see it
themselves, uh, that they see, you know,
opportunity in the hardwoods industry
here. That, so you want to be a farmer.
It's about the roots and plants
and genetics, uh, that's all here.
So we, we try to build a
lot of those exhibits, uh,
into this farm show. You'll see
it in a four H, uh, uh, exhibits.
We've got f f A here, uh, early
in the week with, uh, you know,
from all over the state talking
about, you know, their future of ag.
Uh,
I try to interact with all of
the commodity representatives
who were spending a
year of their lives representing
their particular interests.
It could be in the Grange or the
ffa, or the Apples, or the honey.
I think all of those are
incredibly important to a culture,
but also the advocacy for those particular
commodities. So interacting with 'em.
Uh, and then throughout the week,
uh, we do a lot of work. As you know,
the sales in the farm show
support, scholarships, the,
the sale of the champions of,
of some of the market
animals go into scholarships.
There's a lot of scholarship and
youth activity that are part of the
celebration of ag this week,
but I think extend throughout the
year where we connect our fairs
to our farm shows, right?
We connect our youth in four H and the
family living area into what we're doing.
So, so many places they intersect,
but it's a common sort of thread
across the week of recognizing that
future generation that
needs this at the end,
we want them and desperately need
them to be part of agriculture, uh,
in the years to come.
Well, I, I, I do think that's, uh,
so important that the emphasis is on
the future of farming in Pennsylvania,
because we need people to keep
putting, uh, food on our tables.
And agriculture is such a large industry
here within the Commonwealth Secretary.
We have to get to our first break. Uh,
we'll be back in just a moment here on
Commonalities Talking Farm Show with
Secretary Russell Redding.
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Thanks for staying with us here
on commonalities. I'm your host,
Matt Dowling on Wmb S
five 90 am 1 0 1 0.1 fm,
and every place you download
your favorite podcast.
My guest today is Secretary of
Agriculture, Russell Redding,
secretary of Agriculture for the
Commonwealth, uh, secretary Redding.
It's so great to have you with me.
We were talking farm show before we
went to the break. Um, and you know,
one of my favorite things to, to look
at and to witness and experience,
uh, at the farm show, uh,
aside from all the kids that are
showing livestock and and et cetera,
is, is the butter sculpture.
And I know the butter sculpture
was revealed last week. Um,
can you tell me a little bit about
that sculpture and, uh, and you know,
what it means to the farm show?
Well, it's, it's the 32nd
year, uh, we started that 1991,
uh,
as a way to recognize the dairy
industry and to sort of rally the,
uh, the interest of, uh, the public.
And, and it's sort of the unofficial,
uh, opening of the farm show. So
we're always excited to do it.
It's a great partnership
with the dairy industry.
There are 5,200 dairy
farms in Pennsylvania.
All of them are contributors to, uh,
the Dairy Association that
supports, uh, the sculpture.
Uh, so we start back in, uh, August and,
and brainstorm what the theme is, and, uh,
hand that over to, uh,
some folks who try to translate
the words to the theme.
And this year, we, we have this beautiful,
uh, butter sculpture that captures,
I think, pretty well, all of
that roots of progress. You know,
it's the forest products
industry represented by the tree.
You've got a young family,
uh, with kids that,
that talk about the bridge of
generations. Uh, we've got a wonderful,
um, you know, sort of,
uh, animal, uh, with,
with a young calf that
symbolizes, you know,
that's the future of, that's the
next generation of, of dairy, uh,
uh, cows, uh, et cetera. So
that when you look at it,
it's got this nice sort of
balance between young and old,
between forest and and
crops. Uh, it has the,
um, you know, the, the, the landscape,
if you will, of Pennsylvania.
So when you look at it, it, it
says Pennsylvania to me. Uh,
it clearly says dairy by way of the, uh,
the butter and the product that's
it's made out of. But it's also,
when you see the individual
pieces of, uh, uh,
that make it, make out the, the,
uh, sculpture, uh, it clearly, uh,
represents very well the dairy industry
here in, in the state of Pennsylvania.
So it's the way, so it's unveiled, it's
a key part. It's a marquee, uh, it's a,
the north on the compass, if
you will, of farm show complex.
If you can get to the, uh,
the, the butter sculpture, uh,
you can be guided anywhere, uh,
because you'll know where you are in,
in a million square feet of classroom.
You know. Uh, so we're, we're talking
about the butter sculpture. And if, uh,
if you're viewing this episode on
Facebook or YouTube where you can see, uh,
the video, um, I, you've seen
some pictures on the screen.
If you're listening on the radio,
visit my Facebook page at Facebook
slash Matthew Dowling public.
And, uh,
and I have some pictures courtesy of Penn
Live that are up there of this year's
ba uh, butter sculpture.
It is a, a amazing, uh,
it just impresses me that something
of that magnitude can, uh,
can be sculpted every year. And,
uh, and, and maybe a silly question,
but secretary, what happens to that
butter after the farm show? Um,
do you bake a lot of bread or,
you know, what, what happens.
<Laugh>? Yeah. So, uh,
several years ago, uh, we, um,
worked with a local dairy farmer
who's got a methane digester.
Uh, and that di uh,
that digester accepts this
butter as it does other, uh,
farm waste or food waste.
And, uh, it, it gets turned,
turned into energy, right?
So it does not go to waste.
It does not go to a landfill. It
gets turned right back into energy.
So I think it's a great story completing
that cycle, right? Started on the farm,
goes back to the farm,
uh, uh, to produce energy.
So that'll happen on the day after
farm show that butter's becoming
energy to, to, you know,
uh, power our lives.
Well,
and that goes back to that important
piece of conservation that we discussed
earlier in the episode. Now, you
know, as I talk to people, um,
and as a state representative,
I would travel out to the farm show
with my family and had a fantastic time.
I'm about three, three and a
half hours away from Harrisburg.
So it's a little bit of a hike. And,
uh, I guess I could say those who know,
know, uh, about the farm show,
but those who don't, don't, uh,
who should attend the
farm show, you know, it's,
it's not just people that
are raising livestock. Uh,
I think every Pennsylvanian could find
something for them at, at the farm show.
So, I, I don't know if you could
speak to that a little bit about, uh,
about who the farm show's open to.
Yeah. The, the Farm show is a
public show, right? It's, it's,
it is a Pennsylvania show. Uh,
we as a department are
simply honored to host it,
but it is a state sponsored show,
and I always underscore that because it's
not something that is sponsored by PDA
as a department. Uh, it isn't one
year, it's not a governor, right?
It has been around for 107 years,
and it is a state sponsored show,
and that means it's owned by the state.
It's everybody who is here in this state,
I think has appreciation, you know,
some more than others in terms of what
agriculture is and where it touches our
lives. But I would hope that
those who are, you know,
just curious about our food
system would come in and
look, uh, and walk and taste the,
the farm show and learn if
you're interested in, you know,
preservation and conservation that come
in, if you're interested in wildlife,
right? We talk about pollinators
and the bees and the butterflies,
all of that is here. Or if you just sort
of want to talk about equipment and,
and look at, you know, your, you're a
home owner and, and you want to have, uh,
you know, uh, uh, expand a garden
garden or have a garden, uh,
there's a opportunity to say, Hey,
maybe you wanna be a farmer. Uh,
there's so many things inside of the
Farm show complex that, uh, I, I,
I would be hard pressed to
say that there's not something
there that touches the
interest of every single
resident of Pennsylvania, right?
Maybe it's food at the end of the
day. It could be conservation,
it could be the, you know,
the natural resources and
invasive species and all of that.
That's the beauty of farm show that
I think it's evolved from a time when
it was, uh,
all about the farm and farmer coming
to Harrisburg to sort of look at the
latest. This industry is sophisticated.
It's grown so much in the
last, uh, years that today,
uh, it has the same dynamics
of other parts of our economy.
A lot of it's online. A lot of
it is, you know, through what we,
we've experienced through
covid, people buying online.
But what we find is that people want that
relationship with who's feeding them,
right? So if you want that
relationship, come to the farm show.
And, you know, the farm show complex,
you mentioned it a couple times,
is really kind of an, an amazing
complex or, or building, uh,
as you as it is, uh, on its own,
and it's used for other purposes
throughout the year. But of course, uh,
you know, we refer to it as the farm
show complex. Um, you know, I I,
I will probably get this statistic
wrong, and you can correct me,
but if I'm right, it is the
largest indoor agricultural,
uh, event in, uh, north America. Is,
is that correct? Is that, that, uh,
a statistic? That's true.
That's true. Yeah. You, you've got a
great, great memory, um, right. It,
it's a million square feet under roof,
and there are a lot of other places
with open spaces, with show rings and,
and fairgrounds, uh, that are larger
by footprint, but not under roof.
So we've got 24 acres that are under
roof here, uh, in, in Harrisburg. So,
and the other interesting piece, you,
you probably know this, but back, um,
in and during World War ii,
uh, that complex was used,
um, you know, as, as the Pennsylvania
State School of Aeronautics. Uh,
and it was used to repair,
uh, the, uh, by the air, uh,
army Air Corps, uh, the planes that
were damaged in World War ii. Um,
so there's only been two years when
there's not been a in-person farm show,
1943 and 2021, uh,
in one of those through a war,
the other, through a pandemic.
So we're celebrating it's 80th year,
80th anniversary this year of the
complex being used during World War ii.
It's a nice story, uh,
both our military and history and our
veterans story during the complex.
So all of that's inside
that story complex.
We hosted, uh, for eight days,
but it's used throughout the
year for 300 other shows, uh,
that take place here at the Farm show.
Sure, sure. Now, uh, before we
wrap up the interview today, I,
I wanted to ask you a
question that's not, um,
not directly tied to Farm show,
but, uh, but as we're looking ahead,
we're in a new legislative
session, uh, the 20, uh,
2324 legislative session,
I wanted to ask you, uh,
what were some legislative
priorities that are, uh,
dealing with agriculture that you
see on the forefront or the horizon
of, uh, of being voted on, perhaps in
the Pennsylvania House or Senate? Um,
what, especially, what can we
do, uh, as Pennsylvanians to,
uh, support our agrarian,
um, industry that's here?
Um, so what are some of those
legislative bullet points that, uh,
that you would say will look, be
looking at over the next two years?
Yeah, I, I would say, uh,
uh, one, um, that touches,
you know, rural and urban
spaces, um, is, is dog law.
Uh, and, and just to say that we were, uh,
so close to having that done,
but anybody who has a dog in
Pennsylvania is required to be licensed
that came out of, uh, you know, uh, uh,
legislature of 1896, I think
it was. So a long time.
But the point is that there,
there are more than a million docs and
PPA that are, have to be licensed. And,
uh, we all know if you
want to get 'em back,
you need to have some identification
on them. We wanted to increase the, uh,
the license fee. That fee goes
directly to support our, uh,
our staff in the field and,
and oversight of kennels where
a lot of these dogs are, uh,
born and reared. Um, uh, we wanna
make sure that they're safe and,
and healthy. So that, that's
one we just hope to get done.
That's been a seven or eight year
run for pa. Uh, we have, uh, milk,
um, we've made some progress on
milk with, uh, sale dates and,
and, and, you know,
where, where it appears.
But there's also a very important
dairy, uh, piece of that for,
um, the, uh, uh,
milk marketing board here in
the state of Pennsylvania.
We're one of five states with
any state pricing authority.
We've got a piece of legislation, we're
working on the fertilizer component.
We've made a little progress in
the last year in this session,
but there's another chapter
to fertilizer. And that means,
you know, the commercial fertilizer
being applied to lands in,
in pa not just in agriculture, but
urban centers because of water quality.
And, uh, that has been supported.
Uh, we've made a lot of progress,
but again, there,
we've gotta come back to that and try to
finish that task here in this session.
Sure, sure. So, a lot of work
that needs to be done to, uh,
support one of the largest
industries here in Pennsylvania.
Secretary Redding, I wanna thank
you for taking the time out, uh, to,
to be with me and with my
listeners today. Again,
we wanna remind everyone that the hundred
and seventh Farm Show with a theme
rooted in progress, uh, started on
January 7th, runs through the 14th.
Um, it's only a three hour
drive from the Uniontown area,
although I have listeners all
over the Commonwealth. Uh,
I would encourage you all to, uh,
to stop at the Farm show and, uh,
and say hi to my guest,
uh, secretary Redding, if,
if you happen to bump into 'em in the
halls there. Thanks so much, secretary.
Pleasure, ma. Thank you. It's great. Have.
A great day. Day.
Thank you.
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My guest earlier today was Secretary
of Agriculture Russell Redding,
and we talked about
the hundred and seventh
Farm Show, which is taking place this
week in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania,
January 7th through the 14th.
And before we sign off today,
I reached into the archives and found
a couple interviews I did with some
amazing young people
back in 2020 pre pandemic
at the hundred and fourth PA Farm Show.
Our first interview is from
Tara Evans of Rockwood.
Her family has been raising
cattle for quite some time.
We're at the hundred and
fourth Pennsylvania Farm Show,
and I'm with Tara here today,
who is, uh, an old pro at, uh,
bringing animals to the Farm show
and to being interviewed by, uh,
by our crew here because we
interviewed her a couple years ago.
You have a farm outside
of Rockwood, I understand?
Yes, it's my parents' farm.
And, uh, and how many head
of cattle do you have there?
Approximately 200. Between the calves
and dry cows and heifers and all that,
we milk.
And I noticed that you have, uh,
14 or so here that you
brought to the farm show.
Tell us a little bit about the
animals that you brought here,
what type of cows they are and, and how
you get them ready for the farm show.
Sure. Um, so we got a couple different
breeds. We have Air Shire, brown,
Swiss Shorthorn, and,
uh, jerseys here. Um,
so to get 'em ready, um,
a lot of the heifers,
we put on a little special diet
a couple months beforehand,
separate 'em to get 'em a little more
prepared. Um, and then the milk cows,
we keep a close eye on them, making
sure that they're still producing well.
They're not getting any type of mastitis
that we need to be of concern. Um,
and then just make sure that they're
in overall good health standing to make
good trips since it's, it's pretty
long trip and it's stressful for them.
So we make sure they're in good
health before we even do the Trek.
<Laugh>. So once you get 'em here, uh,
then you have to prepare them to be
shown. You have to clipper 'em, I believe.
Yep. So we get 'em washed and
then we gotta clip 'em up,
get all the fuzziness off, and, um,
do some fine details of top lines and
just try to get 'em looking their best.
Now, when will you show these animals?
On Friday.
And you came in on.
Tuesday. Y Tuesday.
Yep. So you're here for the
majority of the week in,
in getting these animals ready for,
for show. Yep. Uh, have you guys, uh,
placed or, or won before
with, with any of the animals?
We've gotten close. We've gotten a
couple, couple honorable mentions,
but haven't gotten the golden ticket yet.
<Laugh> big hopes for this year.
I hope so. There's one in
particular. I've got, you know,
I'm crossing my fingers
for, but we'll see.
Now, anything you would like to, uh,
maybe share with us about the
agricultural industry in Pennsylvania, uh,
about farming in general?
So, um, unfortunately it's something
that's kind of dying away. Um,
there's a lot of farms have been
lost over the last couple years.
It's not as big as it once was, but it's
hard work. But it's a humbling work.
Huge and important industry, uh, an
economic driver here in Pennsylvania.
So we thank you and all the farmers
in Pennsylvania for what you do.
And thank you for being
with us here today, uh,
as we interview people from the hundred
and fourth Pennsylvania Farm Show.
My second interview from the
archives is with Hunter Holiday of
Confluence, pa,
where he gave a presentation
in 2020 about how to field
dress a whitetailed deer.
We're here at the hundred and fourth
Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg,
pa and I'm with Hunter, who is
a resident of Confluence, pa,
a student at the career in
Technical Center in Somerset County,
and also a member of ffa. And
at eight o'clock this morning,
he did a presentation on, uh,
a number of different things,
but how to dress a whitetail
deer, I believe, was, uh,
the title of the presentation.
So tell me a little bit about
what you talked about today.
Uh, we pretty much talked about a
whitetail deer, how to field dresses,
how to track it,
and use all the different tools that
you have to use for a whitetail deer.
Now, on our way over here from,
uh, one of the other arenas,
we were having a conversation about the
chronic wasting issue that we have in
Pennsylvania. Tell us a
little bit about that.
Uh, chronic wasting disease,
also known C w d Roy poses a big
problem here in the United States.
Cutting off Roy. Tons of deer. Uh, Roy,
the nurse on you're looking for in deer
is like a Roy decay or warts on the deer
or the inside on the
arteries or lungs or heart.
And how long has chronic
wasting been an a problem?
What are some of the origins
of the disease? Do you know?
I said probably close to about 10, 12
years now, the disease started in Nevada,
I believe so.
And if you come across a deer
that has, uh, uh, c w d what,
what should you do?
Uh, you should turn it into the Gaming
Commissioner Nearest drop site for C W D.
Okay. Now you're a member of ffa. Uh,
tell me a little bit about that program
and some of the opportunities that you
have through future Farmers of America.
Okay, so I'm in the s CTC Forestry.
When you join the forestry class, uh,
you have to, you're obviously in ffa.
Uh, we come to the Farm Show every year.
We have different events
throughout the year,
like fall skills and spring skills,
and we do all kinds of contests
like tractor driving, horse judging,
and livestock judging.
And who would be some students
that would be interested in, uh,
being in that forestry class?
Um, uh, say you want to be a
Game Warner or DCN R or uh,
fish Commission, that'd be a great
place to work for a state park.
That'd be a great place to go.
Well, hunter, I want to thank you so much
for telling us a little bit about ffa,
a little bit about, uh, chronic wasting,
and for joining us here at the hundred
and fourth Pennsylvania Farm Show.
It's a pleasure to meet you.
Pleasure to meet you too.
And the final bit of
archival footage and audio
is an interview with Mackenzie Glass.
Mackenzie is a member of ffa.
We're celebrating agriculture here at
the hundred and fourth Pennsylvania Farm
Show. And joining me right now is
Mackenzie Glass. And Mackenzie,
you were a meyersdale, uh, student
from Meyersdale High School,
but you're also the state
chaplain for the FFA program,
future Farmers of America.
Tell me a little bit about ffa.
So FFA started in a 1928,
and it was started by 3 33 farmers
that were around the world.
And it has evolved to so
much more than just farming.
So in 1988,
it was changed from future Farmers of
America to the National FFA organization
so that we could be more inclusive of
everyone and everyone's background and
everything else. So we have now over, uh,
170,000 members nationwide and
almost 13,000 here in Pennsylvania.
And we offer so many different
opportunities for public speaking and
all different kinds of skills that
kids wanna learn for future careers and
future endeavors.
So gimme a little more detail on those,
uh, type of opportunities that you have.
So the different types of opportunities.
So we have everything from
career development events
to leadership development
events. So public speaking is a huge one
that I was involved in in high school.
So my freshman year I started doing
the creed and I played second,
and I was like, oh my
goodness, this is so awesome.
So I continued with public speaking
throughout my entire high school career,
but there's so much more than just that.
We have everything from veterinary
skills to, um, ag issues,
which was, uh, here this past week, and
we had a lot of teams compete in that,
and I've never competed in
it, but it seems really cool.
And there's just so many different things
and so many different aspects of FFA
that is involved in ag
and some that are not.
Oh, I had the opportunity to sit in on
one of those presentations earlier today
where they were talking
about sterilization and, uh,
important techniques that you have
to use when you're caring for, uh,
for animals. And I was really
impressed to see what some of your, uh,
fellow students and colleagues were,
were teaching and in displaying
through that presentation.
So it seems like a worthwhile
program. Now, as the state chaplain,
what are some of your
responsibilities at the state level?
So, some of my responsibilities, uh, I,
if a student or a member
comes up to me and asks,
what about like what I do? I
always tell them, I'm here.
If you have any questions,
I will help you with your spiritual
guidance or if you have like,
any other questions about
that. But, uh, in Pennsylvania,
our titles are not a hundred
percent like feasible,
I guess I wanna say. So, um,
I'm, I am very religious,
like, but some of us are not on our team,
and that was what makes us so diverse
and it's such a great thing to have.
But we have what,
we have a time of reflection when
we have our opening ceremony.
So if you are not really religious,
we have a time of reflection for you
to reflect on what you are involved in.
Now, you, uh, have been holding your
position, I believe since mid-summer. And,
uh, so you're coming up on this
second half of your term of office.
What are some things you'd
like to accomplish or you're
looking forward to, uh,
before you kind of hand over
this position to, to the next in.
Line? So,
a couple of events that we have coming
up is our ACEs conference in February.
It's a three weekend conference, and
this is when most of our members attend.
Uh, over the course of three weekends,
we have different workshops. We have a,
uh, volunteer day that we have,
and we just do so many different things
and it's such a great experience.
And then in March we have a, our state
legislative leadership conference,
also known as S SL C, and it's a
three day conference. And we have,
um, a big thing about advocating this
year because we're trying to revamp that
entire conference.
We are still including different things
about the whole legislative process,
but we're trying to make it more, uh,
advocate related to
agriculture and to ffa.
And then after that is
our summer convention,
which is where me and the
rest of my team will retire,
and all the other teams in the
state will compete and first place,
second place will go to the big E or to
the National FFA convention in October.
So it's really exciting,
all the different things that are coming
up and we couldn't be more thrilled.
Well, Mackenzie,
thank you so much for joining us here
at the hundred and fourth Pennsylvania
Farm Show and for telling us
a little bit more about ffa.
I wanna thank you for joining us on
this episode of Commonalities where we
talked about the hundred
and seventh Farm Show,
which runs January 7th through the 14th.
The theme this year is rooted in progress.
If you have a chance to
get out to Harrisburg,
do so before the 14th and see the
amazing things that are happening
at this year's Farm Show.
This has been commonalities,
a show where guests find common
ground through uncommon conversations.
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