Secretary of Agriculture Highlights Wolf Administration’s $50 Million Dairy Investment to Fuel Farmers, Families, Economy

Pittsburgh, PA – Agriculture Secretary Ruspromote Redding, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau President Rick Ebert, and dairy enterprise stakeholders toured Turner’s Dairy right now. There, they extremelighted the Wolf Administration’s investments to Pennsylvania dairy, a sector of agriculture that creates jobs, feeds households, and fuels communities.

“Strengthening Pennsylvania dairy means investing in its future,” said Redding. “Early on, Governor Wolf prioritized dairy investments to safeguard household farms and guarantee dairy reprimaryed A critical financial driver Inside the commonwealth.

The Wolf Administration’s investments over the previous seven years have fueled innovation, created jobs and strengthened the enterprise’s competitiveness. PA dairy farmers are feeding households and fueling the financial system. These investments are each in dairy enterprise However in addition in The biggest method forward for our commonwealth.”

Pennsylvania ranks Seventh nationally in complete milk manufacturing, with almost 520,000 cows producing Greater than 10.6 billion kilos of milk yearly. The enterprise assists 53,300 jobs and contributes $14.1 billion to the state’s financial system. In current events, dairy has confronted market challenges As a Outcome of of elevated prices and modifications in current and demand. Recognizing these challenges, Governor Wolf has invested Greater than $50 million since 2015 To raised place Pennsylvania’s dairy enterprise for The Prolonged time period.  

In 2015, the Wolf Administration launched the Dairy Enchancment Program. This method convened dairy economists, enterprise, the PA Dehalfment of Agriculture and The center for Dairy Excellence to strategize a constructive path forward for Pennsylvania dairy, Making a 5-half 2017 Pennsylvania Dairy Research that outlined strategic ideas to strengthen the enterprise.  

Placing ideas into movement, the administration sought bihalfisan assist to relevant $15 million to the PA First Industries Fund, offering incentives to dairy processors to relocate or increase operations in Pennsylvania. The Dairy Enchancment Plan additionally prompted the PA Dairy Funding Program, investing $10 million in 75 tasks, over the course of 2018 and 2019 years, to strengthen processing and on-farm dairy investments, funding worth-added processing, evaluation and development, advertising and pure transitions tasks.

Turner’s Dairy acquired almost $360,000 from the Pennsylvania Dairy Funding Program to increase their processing facility and to fund evaluation to develop A mannequin new ready-to-drink dairy-based mostly espresso beverage.

In June, Governor Wolf signed Act 62, offering milk promote by date and biggest by date labeling to dairy processors. Impressed by the Dairy Future Fee ideas and launched by Senator Vogel as Senate Invoice 434, Act 62 amends Title 3 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in meals safety, offering for milk promote by date and biggest by date labeling. Earlier to the modification, milk adopted a 17-day milk code, which triggered by way ofble milk to go to waste as meals safety practices extend milk shelf past 17 days.

Milk code Isn’t thought-about a meals safety problem by FDA or state regulatory authorities.

“The enactment of Act 62 ranges the having fun with area for Pennsylvania’s dairy enterprise, As a Outcome of it permits extremeer rivals with surrounding states, whereas additionally reducing meals waste,” Vogel said. “Seeing this milestone reached, as dairy processers start to make the most of this science-based mostly strategy to labeling milk, Is truly a victory for the Commonwealth.”

Established in 1930, Turner’s Dairy made serving extreme-extreme quality, native dairy merchandise to Western Pennsylvania An factor of their mission. Turner’s halfners solely with 35 native, household dairy farms within 70 miles of their processing facility. In 2021, Turner’s turned The primary Pennsylvania dairy To revenue from Act 62, extending their shelf-life for current milk and cream.

“Our Turner group members And native farm halfners are the backbone of our enterprise,” sid Chuck Turner Jr., President of Turner Dairy. “With out their exhausting work and dedication, We’d not Be In a place To current The very Highest extreme quality milk and dairy merchandise. There is An beautiful sense of objective in our work; offering good tasting, nutritious meals for our group.”

Since 2015, the PA Dehalfment of Agriculture has invested Greater than $8.7 million Inside The center for Dairy Excellence to assist on-farm grant investments, monetary assist workshops And educational alternatives.

The Wolf Administration additionally assisted Pennsylvania’s dairy enterprise by way of unstable markets Through the COVID-19 pandemic by funding the $15 million COVID-19 Dairy Indemnity Program for farmers that misplaced milk and the $5 million dairy allocation to the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System for farmers who donated surplus dairy merchandise to the charitable meals system, each funded by way of Pennsylvania’s Coronavirus, Help, Aid, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allotment.

For extra information on the Wolf Administration’s work to strengthen the resilience of Pennsylvania agriculture, go to agriculture.pa.gov.

Notice: Photograph and video of the event out there at PACast.com.

MEDIA CONTACT: Shannon Powers – 717.603.2056; [email protected] 

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