The Department of Agriculture gave a preview tour of the 2025 Pennsylvania Farm Show, which kicks off this Saturday.
“Just come on down and join us here at the farm show here in Harrisburg— Yeehaw!” Thomas Blackmon, a sweatshirt vendor, was one of hundreds of people already getting ready for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will start pouring in this weekend.
The Pennsylvania Farm Show is the largest indoor agriculture exposition in the United States to be held under one roof.
This year’s show lasts from January 4 to Jan 11, though the food courts will open at noon on Friday.
The show— which doubles as Pennsylvania's state fair— features arts and crafts, fresh produce, live animal competitions, and a *lot* of really good food. The Pennsylvania Farm Show Milkshake is featuring a mint flavor this year. There are new loaded french fries, along with hot honey fried mushrooms.
This year’s theme is “Powering Pennsylvania”. The state’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry supports 593,000 jobs. But new innovation is also- literally- letting farmers fuel their tractors… using cow manure.
“You essentially put a cover over them in manure storage tanks and you capture the gas,” Sean Dorosz said, a product marketing manager for New Holland. "So you then pipe it into a system, you separate the bad smell from, you get down to the part you use— which is that natural gas and that methane. You then compress it, put it in tanks and store it. And now this tractor can actually run on.”
Capturing methane from cow manure is one innovation of many that the state is highlighting.
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding hopes the show will connect agriculture workers with consumers, spark innovation, and remind all Pennsylvanians of agriculture’s legacy… and future.
“There are many things I love about farm show, but nothing more than standing ringside, watching a teenager for 4-H or FFA member show their animal for the first time,” Redding said. “It reminds me sort of why we do what we do and why we have agriculture.”
Many local students and businesses will be at the show this coming week. If any reader knows of a group who will be in Harrisburg for the Farm Show, feel free to reach out to Kara Jeffers Reports on Facebook Messenger, or email the station.