The theme of this year’s show is Powering Pennsylvania, which is an apt name since agriculture is part of the backbone of our economy. This year’s bipartisan budget invested significantly in Pennsylvania’s agricultural industry and the importance of its impact has not been lost on the Shapiro administration, which included agriculture in the Governor’s new Economic Development Strategy along with energy, manufacturing, robotics, and technology as being key to Pennsylvania’s economic future.
The Farm Show brings half a million visitors to Harrisburg for eight days of competition, exhibitions, education and fun. The Farm Show showcases the quantity and scope of Pennsylvania's agriculture industry and the people who make it thrive. While the show can at first feel overwhelming, it offers visitors a broad spectrum of an industry that employs nearly half a million people and contributes $132.5 billion to Pennsylvania's economy annually.
To help you navigate the show, you can take a look at the Farm Show Visitor’s Guide. I am mostly interested in the animals, particularly the horse events, and I’m looking forward to petting cows, watching sheep shearing and milking competitions. My biggest hope is to watch a calving. At the Calving Corner, Pennsylvania’s Dairy Cow Birthing Center, you can sometimes witness cows giving birth. There’s a live stream in case you can’t attend in person. This year, four Pennsylvania dairy farm families will be bringing their cows to the exhibit. Beyond the cow birthing center, there are educational activities for children (and adults) of all ages to learn more about cows. While I’m focused on the animal events, I know that my son will want to go to the hall of farm equipment and that my husband will be most interested in the woodworking and bee sections.
The cooking and food events are also big draws at the farm show. You can find out more about the wonderful food offerings here. The farm show offers delicious treats from Pennsylvania’s honey producers from the PA State Beekeepers Association. From mushroom farms to maple syrup, you’ll find most any food you want at the show including Philly cheesesteaks. No trip to the farm show seems to be complete without a milkshake from the PA Dairymen’s Association.
Per the program book, at last year’s show: 175 bushels of apples were crunched, 2,000 gallons of cider were sipped, 3,700 dozen apple cider donuts were devoured, 1,600 bags of cotton candy were consumed, 550 gallons of honey ice cream were ingested, 4,800 potatoes were piled high in the Main Hall, 18,000 pounds of French fries were eaten, along with 5 tons of baked potatoes, 1 ton of sweet potatoes and 7,400 pounds of mushrooms were munched.
If your passion is cooking you can check out the PA Preferred Culinary Connection stage hourly each day for the entirety of the show to see an all-star line-up of celebrity chefs led by Philadelphia’s Food Network star, Chef Jet Tila. There are also many gardening and farming-related learning events. The options are so vast that I can’t do them justice here. If you want more information you can check out the events link here.
I do want to mention that special guest Dr. Temple Grandin will be speaking on Thursday, January 9, at 9 AM in the Small Arena, sharing her unique perspective on problem-solving and understanding animals. Finally, if you’re a farm show regular and want to learn what’s new this year, you can visit https://www.pa.gov/agencies/farmshow/pa-farm-show/whats-new.html.
I hope you’ll consider joining me in the only place in the commonwealth where a thousand of pounds of butter can be turned into art! With hundreds of vendors there is something for everyone and I look forward to seeing you there; just make sure you wear comfortable walking shoes!