Harrisburg:  The PA State Grange held its annual Farm Show Meeting in
room B of the Main Hall of the Farm Show complex Monday afternoon.
More than 25 Grange members and others attended.

After initial introductions by Brenda Shambaugh, Legislative Director
for the PA State Grange, introduced Agriculture Secretary Dennis
Wolff.  The Secretary highlighted some of the major programs and
accomplishments of the department for 2004, including:  PA Preferred
and a commitment from Giant Foods to support the program;
Agriculture Education with Mecee Baker as the Coordinator;   the
Dairy Task Force is now functional, and; the First Industry funds
($100 million) are now in place and applications are available for
agriculture to apply for these funds.

The Secretary also stated that the 2005 Farm Show theme is "Investing
in Agriculture."  To show some of this investment, he mentioned the
$40 million dedicated to Farmland Preservation and the $1 million
spent to put on the Farm Show.  He said, "In 2005 we want to let
farmers know they are the 'cornerstone of the economy' in most rural
areas," and that "We want to let them [farmers] know what is
available to them."

The last two items that the Secretary spoke about were Rural
Leadership and A.C.R.E.

He said that rural leadership was a priority for 2005, particularly
since only 1.6% of today's population in the Commonwealth is involved
in agribusiness.

He said that there "was not enough time in 2004" to get the A.C.R.E.
Initiative through the legislature.  Wolff said that they were trying
to get it back onto the agenda early this year after some legal
questions are answered.  The Secretary said that "A.C.R.E. is the
number one item on the agenda right now without a doubt," and he is
hoping for the next draft proposal within the next week or so to
present to the agricultural organizations.  He then closed with a
short question and answer period.

The second speaker introduced was Bill Achor, Environmental
Coordinator for Wenger's Feed Mill, Inc.  Bill explained some of the
proposed Nutrient Management regulations as they deal with both
nitrogen and phosphorus now.  He also explained that these regs only
apply to Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO's) and
Concentrated Animal Operations (CAO's).

He then spoke briefly about Water Quality, Air Quality, Commercial
Manure Hauler Certification (Act 49), and the Chesapeake Bay 2010
Agreement.  He then concluded with a short question and answer period.

The final speaker of the day was George B. Wolff.  George explained
what the Keystone State Transportation Funding Coalition is.  He said
that "The Coalition supports increased investment in Pennsylvania's
transportation infrastructure as part of any comprehensive program to
promote economic development and the jobs and tax revenues it will
create."

Mr. Wolff said that one of the major problems is that "A total of 12
major highway projects valued at $3 billion are slated for
reevaluation and another 14 projects valued at $2 billion are being
deferred."  He continued by saying, "The lack of adequate investment
in our transportation infrastructure undermines our economy."  He
closed by saying that, "The goal of the Keystone Coalition is to
raise public awareness of these issues and to build political support
for transportation infrastructure investment as part of any credible
economic development plan for Pennsylvania."

To close out the meeting, National Grange President Bill Steel,
visiting his home state Farm Show, spoke briefly to the attendees
about the new "2005 National Grange Blueprint for America" and the
upcoming National Grange Legislative Fly-In scheduled for March 14
and 15, 2005.

The Grange is a family fraternal organization dedicated to the
betterment of rural living in America through legislation, education,
community service and fellowship.  The National Grange was organized
in 1867 and the PA State Grange was chartered in 1873.  Today, the PA
State Grange, with 340 Community Granges and 16,000 members, serves
the needs of agriculture and rural living by striving to improve
conditions throughout rural Pennsylvania.