STATE COLLEGE — Governor Josh Shapiro and Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding came to Penn State University Monday, Sept. 16, for a ceremonial bill signing to discuss the $10 million Agriculture Innovation Grant Program that was approved in the 2024-25 state budget.
The grant program was originally announced by Shapiro, Russell and several other legislators at Penn State’s Ag Progress Days in August of this year.
“In my administration, we know economic growth and opportunity flow right through our farmlands, and that is why we have put agriculture front and center in our economic development strategy and in the bipartisan budget I signed this summer,” Shapiro said. “We’re proud to announce the $10 million secured for the Agricultural Innovation Grant Program as we continue working to ensure Pennsylvania leads the nation in agriculture, as the first state to create a dedicated program like this.
“We’re talking game-changing projects — alternative fuel tractors, methane digesters powering entire farms and cutting-edge robotic milkers being developed right here at Penn State. This first-in-the-nation initiative is going to help fund game-changing projects. And thanks to our bipartisan work, the future of farming is happening right here in Pennsylvania.”
According to the Shapiro administration, the state’s agricultural industry has a major impact on the overall economy of the state, with around 53,000 farms statewide supporting more than 600,000 jobs and contributing about $132 billion to the state economy annually.
House Bill 2301 is the piece of legislation carrying the agricultural innovation fund and was passed with bipartisan support. The statewide bill has local connections to Centre County, with Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, as the primary sponsor of the bill.
“Agriculture is Pennsylvania’s number one industry and supports hundreds of thousands of workers and their families across the Commonwealth. As the pace of agricultural research, discovery and innovation continues to accelerate, it is important that we help PA farmers and businesses take full advantage in order to help make them more efficient, profitable and sustainable while also benefiting the environment and climate,” Takac said.
“This new Ag Innovation Grant Program provides funding assistance to PA farmers to adopt and implement new technologies and best practices to increase both economic resiliency and environmental sustainability. These grants will help create partnerships and opportunities to work toward a better and more prosperous future.
“On a personal level, this is my first legislation to be signed into law and I am both proud and grateful that it is something that will have a significant positive impact on farmers, families and communities across our Commonwealth.”
The program will make grants available to farmers, agribusinesses and projects with a local impact, and will be administered through the Department of Agriculture.
The grants are to help farmers and businesses implement and adopt the newest technologies, innovations and conservation efforts.
“Penn State’s world-class agriculture research farms, engineering facilities and veterinary labs are where innovation is born,” Redding said. “We invest millions in developing these innovations. This new investment helps put them in to practice in the real world, where they will make a difference for Pennsylvanians and for the environment we share, our families and our economy.”
With Penn State being a cornerstone of agricultural education and innovation for the state, several faculty and professors at the university commented on the impact the grant program will have the industry.
“Farmers are the backbone of this nation, but farming is incredibly difficult. Advances in technology, including robotics and artificial intelligence can help make farming easier, more productive and profitable and more sustainable,” said Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro professor of entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State University. “AgTech is a field that advances very quickly, and our College of Ag Sciences has been at the forefront of this field.”
The grant program defines “innovation” broadly as a way to be inclusive and adaptable to future research and discoveries.
“This program will provide grants for implementation of innovations that increase production efficiency, encourage sustainable practices, utilize renewable energy and sequester carbon,” saidTroy Ott, dean of Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
In addition to the $10 million allocated in the 2024-25 budget, another $31 million was set aside to help farmers impacted by hi-path avian influenza pay for additional testing and reimbursement for loss of flocks. The budget will also be put toward investing in a new state laboratory in the western part of the state, which will aid with testing capacity, rapid diagnosis and mitigation of future avian influenza outbreaks.
