HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — Farmers in Pennsylvania met with Governor Josh Shapiro and other state lawmakers to discuss their growing concerns about tariffs from Washington, D.C., and bird flu outbreaks across the state.
Agriculture is one of Pennsylvania's biggest industries, and today, farmers had the opportunity to tell lawmakers their top priorities, including funding for land preservation, crop and flood damage mitigation, avian flu protection, and even stiffer fines for trespassing hunters.
"We're the number one driver in economics in Pennsylvania," said Chris Hoffman, the President of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. "It's agriculture. So you should focus on us because we're important to the economics of Pennsylvania."
Hoffman says the Bureau has around $61 million in reserve, with some of the money being allocated to the innovation fund to help deal with some of their issues. Governor Shapiro spoke and warned of a trade war's impact on Pennsylvania.
"I know these tariffs are going to make it harder for our farmers to get by," said Governor Shapiro. "I'm here talking to Pennsylvania farmers, and they're a crop away from bankruptcy. They're crop away from losing their farms."
Shapiro says farmers lost billions of dollars during the first Trump presidency when tariffs were more modest, but Hoffman, a pig farmer, says it's not so black and white. In previous trade agreements, China was supposed to buy 20% of its pork from the US, but it did not, with no consequences.
"Depending on how it all plays out, it could be, it could be pretty tough on agriculture," said Hoffman. "The president has a decision to make: What tools does he have to create an economic push to be able to get them to agree to or do the things they agreed to do."
Hoffman said the Farm Bureau prioritizes the well-being of farmers and ensures the Bureau is in a position to keep farmers profitable despite the current economic uncertainty.
When asked how tariffs will potentially impact Pennsylvania farmers, Hoffman said that farmers are concerned, but it's still unclear how they will affect them, and the U.S. can't continue to be the only side honoring trade deals.
He added that the government has mitigation practices that could keep farmers whole during trade talks and that Pennsylvania heavily relies on trade agreements.
Several farmers told abc27 they were Donald Trump supporters and voters. They're concerned about Trump's tariffs but still optimistic that things will work out.
