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PA Farm Show's 'Today's Agriculture' display shows how we are all connected to farms

Learn what conditions are like for animals and in the fields at a modern family farm exhibit.

By STEPHANIE REIGHARTDaily Record/Sunday News

Updated:
01/03/2013 08:21:02 AM EST

Chickens are on display at the "Today's Agriculture" exhibit at the PA Farm Show. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Stephanie Reighart)

York, PA -

If you live in a city, shop at a grocery store and have never set foot on a farm before, you are still involved in agriculture.

Why?

"Because you eat," said Bob Stallman, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, a nonprofit organization representing agricultural communities.

And that basic relationship is changing, he said.

Urban and suburban dwellers are five and six generations removed from farm life. That creates a knowledge gap that can be all too easily filled with misinformation, Stallman said.

"Farmers know what they do to keep food safe," he said. "And they assume everyone else knows, too. There is an effort needed to bridge the information gap between producers and consumers."

Consumers want to know how their food is produced, the environmental impacts of the production and how animals are cared for on the farm, Stallman said.

"Farmers need to learn to communicate the basics of what we do so that consumers feel good about their choices," he said.

Not everyone has the opportunity to visit a farm or see where their food comes from, said Amy Bradford of PennAg Industries Association.

To foster transparency and trust between farmers and consumers, PennAg sponsored an exhibit at the 97th Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg to see how products like eggs, chicken, beef and corn are raised.

"We want people to be familiar and comfortable with where their food comes from," Bradford said.

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Titled "Today's Agriculture," the exhibit features a barn built inside the farm show complex housing chickens, ducks, turkeys, pigs and cows at different life stages.

All the animals are kept in cages and pens that are the industry standard across the country, said Chris Pierce, president of Heritage Poultry Management Services, a consulting firm hired by farmers to help them keep up with regulation changes.

A family farm is likely to see four or five visits a year from regulatory officials who hold producers accountable for animal welfare, environmental impacts and food safety.

"That's just part of being a farmer today," Pierce said.

Rather than hinder production, the public's interest in food has helped farmers, Pierce said.

The buzz created by consumers over food prices and standards has brought about technological advances in farm management that make production more efficient, cost effective and safe, he said.

The basis of farming is consumer trust, Stallman said.

And the future of farming will depend on keeping the lines of communication open between provider and consumer.

At this time in the agriculture industry, farmers "don't have the luxury of saying 'someone else will handle the future of farming,'" Stallman said. "It's up to us and the time is now."

Commodity crops by the numbers

-- 7,400 dairy farms in Pennsylvania.

-- 1.2 billion gallons of milk produced annually in the state.

-- 97 percent of all U.S. beef cattle farms and ranches are classified as family farms.

-- Pennsylvania is ranked 13th in the U.S. for commercial red meat production.

-- A small family farm can raise an average of 250 veal calves at a time.

-- A mother pig -- sow -- averages two litters in a year.

-- The gestation period for a sow is three months, three weeks, three days.

-- The ratio of laying hens to people in the U.S. is approximately 1:1.

-- Pennsylvania is third in the nation for chicken egg production.

-- Pennsylvania has more than 1,350,000 acres of corn planted each year.

-- One ear of corn has about 800 kernels.

-- Pennsylvania harvests more than 20 million bushels of soybeans each year.