After being held virtually last year, Penn State’s annual Ag Progress Days returns for three days of activities, events and educational opportunities starting on Tuesday.
Pennsylvania’s largest outdoor agricultural expo will be held 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Tuesday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. on Wednesday and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Thursday at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center on Route 45 in Rock Springs.
“Ag Progress Days is an important event to showcase the College of Agricultural Sciences’ land-grant research and extension programs and to provide a forum for those involved in agriculture and natural resources to learn, exchange ideas, and see products and practices that can help grow their operations,” Jesse Darlington, Ag Progress Days manager, said in a statement.
Typically attracting about 45,000 visitors, the event features special presentations and exhibits, machinery demonstrations, crop displays and a trade show that offers those in the ag industry one-stop shopping for tools and to learn about services and technology for virtually any category.
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Even those without a direct connection to the agricultural industry, however, will find much to enjoy among the nearly 500 exhibitors from around the country, spread across 150 acres of farmland, including youth and family activities, horse exhibitions, tours, demonstrations and food. A variety of Pennsylvania fare from hot sandwiches to lemonade to ice cream and more will be offered by local and state organizations.
• At the College of Agricultural Sciences Exhibits Building, presentations and displays will focus on some key issues, including the invasive spotted lanternfly. The pest was first spotted in Berks County in 2014 and has since spread to 34 counties, threatening various agricultural industries that comprise about $18 billion of the state’s economy. Visitors can speak with Penn State spotted lanternfly experts, learn how to identify the life stages of the insect and find out how they can help contain and manage infestations.
Specialists also will share information about the most common vector-borne diseases in Pennsylvania, including Lyme disease, discussing how to identify vectors and ways to protect yourself, your family, pets and livestock.
Other topics will include avian flu and the need for strong biosecurity; swine health; plant pandemics; and vaccinations, including for COVID-19, with extension educators on hand to answer questions about safety and effectiveness.
• Plenty of youth activities are scheduled. At the 4-H Youth Building, kids can learn about 4-H’s many programs in science, technology, engineering and leadership with hands-on activities and demonstrations. The Pennsylvania State Rabbit Breeders Association will have live rabbits and demonstrations on Wednesday.
“Each year, the 4-H Youth Building informs our youngest Ag Progress Days visitors about various aspects of the industry,” said Jeanette Stackhouse, 4-H education program associate and teen program manager for Penn State Extension. “Many of our exhibitors are youth organizations who bring hands-on learning activities designed for all ages.”
Outside the building, Shaver’s Creek Environmental Center will have presentations with live turtles, snakes, amphibians and birds of prey.
Visitors also can walk through a butterfly tent with informational displays and live butterflies. Elsewhere on the grounds, a corn maze at the end of East Fifth Street provides a fun way to learn about agriculture and is accessible for wheelchairs and baby strollers.
Hands-on exhibits at the Pasto Agricultural Museum, on East Tenth Street, will give visitors a glimpse into farm and rural life of days gone by.
Families and kids can visit the Family Room building, on Main Street between West 8th and 9th streets, for interactive displays and demonstrations focused on healthy eating, physical activity and keeping food safe.
• The Equine Experience offers something for horse owners and those who just love horses, with demonstrations and clinics, informational displays and presentations and performances.
“We are excited to return in-person this year at Ag Progress Days,” said Danielle Smarsh, equine extension specialist and assistant professor of equine science in the College of Agricultural Sciences. “The Equine Experience will bring back some familiar faces into the arena for three full days of demonstrations, and the educational displays in the equine barn will be something you won’t want to miss.”
Tuesday at the Equine Arena and Equine Exhibits Building, located at the top of Main Street, will feature the Keystone Dressage and Combined Drill Team, as well as the Mini Prix.
The Capital Area Therapeutic Riding Association Youth Ambassadors miniature horse performances lso will be held Wednesday.
Bear Hill Horse Logging — which specializes in low-impact timber management, selective harvests and wetlands logging — will offer log-skidding demonstrations to educate about horse logging and restorative forestry.
Each day, Team Horse Power will teach spectators how to harness horses and start the driving process. Visitors also can meet some of Penn State’s quarter horses during handling and training demos, and members of the Pennsylvania State Police Mounted Patrol will be on site, as well.
• Creating pollinator-friendly landscapes will be the focus of the Yard and Garden area where plantings in the 13-year-old demonstration garden at the end of 11th Street nourish large numbers of native bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
“The demonstration plots serve as living proof that the average gardener can do something to attract and help pollinators,” said Yard and Garden Area organizer Molly Sturniolo, Penn State Extension Master Gardener coordinator for Centre County. “Planting these flowers and other host plants is well within the ability of the Pennsylvania gardener.”
Centre County Master Gardeners will give tours of the Pollinator-Friendly Garden. Visitors can also get advice on plant and pest problems from Master Gardeners across the state and check out demonstrations on container gardening, seed saving, building raised beds, cover crops, winter sowing, flower arranging and a vegetative propagation demonstration.
Near the demonstration garden will be an observation beehive, where experts from the Pennsylvania State Beekeepers Association and Penn State Extension will conduct honey bee demonstrations and provide guidance.
• In and around the J.D. Harrington Crops, Soils and Conservation Building, at the end of East 5th Street, specialists will answer questions about crop production, weeds and biofuels and provide information about crop and nutrient management, organic farming and sustainable agriculture.
The Conservation Exhibit Area will feature displays on managing farmland to promote beneficial insects, solar-powered livestock watering systems, cover crop varieties and managing soil health.
The 2021 Pennsylvania Hay Show will be held 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day at at the Harrington Building.
“Ag Progress Days is a great place to learn about best practices in crop management, wildlife and conservation from experts in the field,” Darlington said. “Plus, the annual hay competition showcases the best hay the state has to offer.”
• Ten free bus tours will explore locations in and around Penn State’s 2,000-acre Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. Tours lasting one to two hours will focus on wildlife habitat, dairy beef feedlots, adaptive grazing, woodlot management and stream buffers.
While the tours are free, they require tickets which can be obtained at the departure point at the corn crib near the top of Main Street.
Virtual tours are also available online.
• At the Farm Safety Demonstration Area, located at the end of West 6th Street, visitors can learn about ATV rollover dangers, with six demonstrations taking place at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday.
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, agricultural safety specialists will present two rescue demonstrations to highlight rescue devices and training available to first responders for management of on-farm incidents.
Free health screenings, information and presentations will be available at the Rural Health and Safety Tent.
• Several events will give visitors an opportunity to learn about issues and policies impacting Pennsylvania agriculture.
During a town hall from 1 to 2 p.m. on Tuesday in the Red Barn Annex, College of Agricultural Sciences Dean Rick Roush and Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding will discuss the present and future of Pennsylvania’s agricultural economy. Live audience space will be limited and those planning to attend online should register for the webinar.
“Transitioning Ag Businesses: Positioning for the Future,” will be held from 1 to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday and will feature Roush, Redding, state Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee chair Elder Vogel, Penn State Extension and agricultural business experts. The discussion also will be available via webinar.
U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Howard Township, the ranking Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, will share updates from Washington, highlight what the House Ag Committee is developing to address issues facing farmers and hold a Q&A from 3 to 5 p.m. on Wednesday at the College Exhibits Building Theatre.
• The trade show will include nearly 500 commercial and educational exhibits and many field demonstrations and workshops around the grounds.
Exhibitors cover a wide range of products including field machinery, milking systems, animal genetics, storage structures, seed, feed, tools, trailers, sprayers, mixers, livestock housing, utility vehicles, fertilizers, fencing, financial products and insurance.
Field demonstrations offer a chance to see product like hay mowers, rakes and tedders, hay balers and bale handlers in action. New demonstrations this year include forage chopping and hay mergers.
• A free COVID-19 vaccination clinic, sponsored by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and Pennsylvania State Association of County Fairs, will be held each day on West 10th Street.
For full daily schedules of all events and maps, visit agsci.psu.edu/apd.
