Pennsylvania Farm Show Highlights Team Efforts

Join the Extension Farm Stress Real Talk team as they reflect on their participation in the 2026 Pennsylvania Farm Show and their favorite events and activities of the week. 

Transcript

Welcome And January Ag Events

Speaker 3 0:01

Hello everyone, and welcome to another episode of Farm Stress Real Talk with Penn State Extension. This is Amber Otis. I'm joined by my co-hosts, Sonya Nace, Chi Catalone, and Ginger Fenton. And we are coming together today to talk a little bit about a couple of premier events in Pennsylvania that took place throughout the month of January. And then we were busy as an extension unit in the month of January. We had a couple of ag events throughout the state. So one that we like to mention and that where extension is fairly active at is the Keystone Farm Show. But the one that we'll be focusing on a little bit more today is the Pennsylvania Farm

Farm Show History And Fun Facts

Speaker 3 0:43

Show. And before we get started talking about some of our memories, our favorite moments, and just a couple other situations from the farm show, just wanted to share a couple of fun facts that I found out when I was doing some research for this podcast. So this year, 2026, was actually the 110th farm show. It started with very, very humble roots back in 1917 when a few farmers got together, and it has grown into the largest indoor ag event throughout the world. Yes, people, you heard that right. Not the state, not the country, but the world. They had over 500,000 attendees over the course of a week. They went through 20,200 gallons of milkshakes, which if you go to the farm show, it's almost tradition that you have to get a milkshake. They distributed 25,000 slices of pizza. And incredibly, they also went through 20,000 pounds of potato donuts, which is another big specialty at the Pennsylvania farm show. So while we know that there is lots of food to be had and lots of food consumed throughout the farm show, I wanted to check in with the educators who were there and just kind of get a feel for what kind of memories they have from the farm show, also what they were doing there throughout the course of the week. They were taking their turns, providing education and tabling and doing other events, but also their favorite moment or their favorite part of the farm show in 2026. Without further ado, let's hear some other voices.

Childhood Memories And Traditions

Speaker 3 2:34

All right, Sonya Nace, you're up. Tell me a little bit about the farm show for you.

Speaker 2 2:40

Well, as a kid, we would go to the farm show. When my kids were little, they went to the farm show in backpacks. And so we wouldn't have to have a stroller trying to get through the crowds. That was some of my favorite memories. And even recently, my youngest daughter found her love of bunnies, being able to get in touch with the little bunnies there, rabbits at the farm show itself. So it, you know what, over the years it changes a little bit, but the memories are still really awesome.

Speaker 3 3:10

All right, let's take it around the table a little bit. How about Chi Catalone? What's your favorite memory of farm show?

Speaker 1 3:17

Thanks, Amber. Farm show is always very nostalgic for me. Um, as a kid growing up on a farm, our vacations consisted of a trip to the farm show and egg progress days in the summer. So for me, it's very nostalgic every year to go back and see the butter sculpture. I remember just being fascinated as a child seeing that. And it just is really a great memory to be able each year to go back and see it. And I know everyone back home always looks forward to seeing the pictures that I post um of the farm show.

Speaker 3 3:52

All right. And Ginger, you're up. Any special memories that the farm show has for you?

Speaker 3:59

I don't know that I had quite the same experience because I never went there as a child. My first time would have been probably as an adult and then working at the farm show. But in that capacity, my first experience working at the farm show was on the junior livestock sale committee. And what I remember, I guess, and thought was so interesting because we had to be so many places. You got special armbands, and so you learned how to navigate through that complex of buildings really well, and some of the, I'll call them the back passageways, to the shortcuts to get places. And I just remember I still don't know that I could navigate through the building very well, but you found somebody else that knew how to and let them show you where you were going.

Speaker 2 4:48

You know, Ginger, as kids, that was some of the most fun times because you would try not to get lost so you could get back to your bus or find your parents again. So that was definitely uh you brought back a memory for me right there. Thanks, Ginger.

Speaker 1 5:04

And I can say I definitely get more steps in ever than when I'm at the farm show going back and forth through all those long hallways.

Speaker 3 5:13

And I mean you got to get those steps in too, based on the food that was consumed and the calories. I can't imagine that's probably the healthiest food there, which but hey, it's still pretty darn tasty, so you can't beat it.

Speaker 2 5:24

You still have to have some of the farm show food.

Speaker 3 5:28

Definitely.

Speaker 1 5:29

Sonia and I may have shared some apple cider donuts, and they were quite delicious.

Speaker 2 5:37

We can do it again next year.

Speaker 3 5:41

You guys are maybe a little too nice. I think I would have been selfish enough and just taking my own serving of donuts instead of sharing them. So you're better better people than I probably would be in that situation.

What Extension Presented This Year

Speaker 3 5:52

All right. Well, great memories. So now kind of moving forward and thinking about those memories from when we were maybe younger, when we were kids, and take fast forward to 2026. What was everyone up to this year at the farm show? Sonya, you want to lead start us off?

Speaker 2 6:08

Sure. Thanks, Amber. This year was pretty busy for me. I got to be working, you know, it's kind of fun work, I guess, uh when you get to go to the farm show. I got to be there five times this year. And so that was pretty cool. I think I met most of the uh half a million people. It felt like they all came through the Penn State Extension area. Um, but whenever we all get to go to the farm show, many of us get to take part in the Lancaster farming stage and give some presentations. And this year was no different for many of us. And so this year I talked about uh a new curriculum that we're coming out with called Crew, which is compassion and resilience education at work. So it really focuses on employers, employees, workplace settings. And this segment that I, uh at the Lancaster Farming Stage was about work-life balance. And I was really happy to have people in the audience who were interested. And uh it was a great experience to be able to connect with people to talk about wellness, talk about stress, and creating balance in their lives. Looking for ways to uh encourage and accept support from other people is really important, especially whenever you're thinking about how to balance out your life with the things you must do uh and the things you want to do. I also uh really wanted to talk with people about valuing routines and and the curriculum is new, so we're definitely uh looking for uh ways to take it out into our communities, and this was a great start. I was really excited to take it to the farm show, talk to the folks who were there um in the giant expo hall, and it was a great experience. I really I always enjoy it talking to people. So that's what I got to do officially for work, Amber.

Speaker 3 8:06

Thanks, Sonya. I mean, the farm show is kind of right in your backyard. So for those who don't remember or recall, Sonya's based in Dauphin County. Right. And yeah, so and apologies if I didn't pronounce it correctly, not being a native Pennsylvanian, but You did.

Speaker 2 8:23

That's exactly right.

Speaker 3 8:24

So you're right there, it's in your backyard. And I think it's really important just knowing what this podcast is all about and looking at some of those stressors of farming and agriculture, and so important to talk about maintaining and trying to create even that work-life balance, you know, and trying to find things that you want to do and that you enjoy doing, but then also making sure that you're living to the responsibilities that you have to get done too. So that's a really solid point and really good education that really you can't spread around too much, I feel like. So that was great information.

Speaker 2 9:01

Yeah, thanks. It was it's good to find joy in the things that you must do too.

Speaker 3 9:07

Very true. So thanks. That was a good recap. All right, let's see. Chi, what what what was your time at the farm show like and what did you all do there?

Stress Resources Farmers Can Use

Speaker 1 9:17

Yeah, so I was really fortunate to be able to be back again this year to present on the Lancaster farming stage, as Sonya mentioned. Um, and I was able to talk this year about resources that are available for farmers and farm families that are going through hard times. And I heard from a lot of farmers after my session that they really resonated with the talk about how the weather impacts their yields and how they're impacted by livestock illnesses and pest outbreaks and machinery breakdown, along with high interest rates and how it's all really compounds this stress for them. Um, but it always strikes me that many of them aren't aware of some of the resources that are right at their fingertips here in Pennsylvania to help them. Um, so two really important share resources I share, and I uh love to talk about it all the time, is the 988 Suicide and Crisis Line. Please know you're never alone. You can reach out for help with no judgment and get access to professionals during those hard times by calling or texting 988. Another wonderful resource for Pennsylvania farmers is the AgriStress Hotline. And that number is 833-897-2474. And you can talk to counselors who had specialty training in those unique stressors that farmers face. And so they can connect you to a wealth of resources in your community to help with those really difficult times. So it's really special for me to be able to be back, giving back to the community that helped shape me. And I always enjoy my time there, whether presenting or just working at the booths and interacting with everyone that's coming through. And I was extra thankful to Mother Nature this year. She didn't make my trip too challenging. Most trips to the farm show. I'm coming down from Elk County. I have a little over a three-hour drive, and it's usually through blizzards. And this year I managed to escape that. So I would say that was also a win.

Speaker 3 11:22

All right. Always good when one of those stressors that you can't control turns up being something positive. Weather is certainly one of those things that are out of is out of our control. So always nice to know when there's good weather and when you have to drive somewhere. But yeah, certainly just to reiterate, and we'll put those numbers and that information in into the show notes, the episode notes here, but with a lot of uncertainty right now in agriculture, looking at commodity prices and just other uncontrollable stressors that are happening, really important that those resources and those numbers are widely distributed. So again, sounds like you were doing awesome work down there at the farm show, just helping to spread those resources out as much as possible. So thanks, Chi. And then last but certainly not least, so our fearless farm stress team co-leader, Ginger, what were you up to this year at the farm show?

Lawmakers Hear Farm Stress Testimony

Speaker 12:17

My experience is a little different than Chi and Sonya because it was a quick trip. I had not really planned ahead to go to offer programming, but I was invited to provide testimony for the joint public hearing of the Pennsylvania House and Senate Committees on Agricultural and Rural Affairs. I'm very thankful that our legislators that are public policymakers are focusing time and attention on this topic. This is the third time that I have been invited to testify. Each experience has been very different. The first year that I was invited, I believe was in 2020. I know it was during COVID, so we had to testify via Zoom. And then the next time I was invited, you had to wear masks into the building, as I recall, because we were still concerned about COVID at that time. This year the room was packed. There were many people listening and spectators, I believe. And then we also had a full house as far as the committee members. All the chairs were full, and they had to add a few, which I think really speaks volumes to that. Again, that that group cares and was very interested. Secretary Redding, our Secretary of Agriculture in Pennsylvania provided some opening remarks. Dr. Florence Becot, who is our Nationwide Insurance Early Career Professor in Agricultural Safety and Health at Penn State, set the stage. She talked about the literature and the body of research surrounding farm stress. It was excellent testimony, very informative. It's available online. You can find the testimony from that day, I believe. Or at least the video. I don't know if you can find the written version. And then I was asked to talk about some of the things that Extension is doing in response to farm stress. So I talked about practical resources for farmers. And Chi already mentioned some of those things. Thank you. Thank you so much, Chi. That's one of the big things I really tout as well are wallet cards and just keeping those numbers handy and knowing that you can call for yourself or for somebody else if you need. I talked about some professional development and resources that are available for our agricultural industry because we talk so much about farmers, but we have to remember all of us on Extension and so many other people who support the ag industry out there also are under similar stressors. The farmers are stressed about their crops and their yields and their production, but so are the people that are depending on them to make their living as well. So we can't forget our ag industry professionals and supporting them and providing resources for them. And then the last thing I talked about was the Pennsylvania Ag Forum. It's an initiative that we've been doing in Pennsylvania. We'll have our second one coming up soon. It brings people together from different capacities, different organizations, including farmers and those that support the ag industry and healthcare and finance service providers of all types to come up with some short-term solutions and some projects. And so we've had some great results. So that was pretty much what I did. I went down, I did my testimony, and I drove back home. And again, I'm extremely thankful, like Chii, that we had nice weather because it is notorious that we have blizzards and freezing weather usually in January during farm show week.

Speaker 3 16:05

You were busy, Ginger, down at farm show. But Sonya, you go ahead. I know you were trying to say something.

Speaker 2 16:12

I think Mother Nature was confused this year. She didn't realize that it was farm show week. So but Ginger, you did a fantastic job. The same with Florence Becot, just a wonderful job at that hearing, very powerful. And so kudos to you all. Well deserved.

Speaker 16:31

Thank you, Sonya. And I guess I kind of stopped. I didn't finish about the other two speakers. Um I stopped after my testimony. Ms. Lisa Wherry, who is part of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, spoke as well. She talked about their farm state of mind campaign and their resources that the Farm Bureau is offering. And then the day wrapped up with Mr. Jeff Corle, who did a wonderful job presenting the farmer's perspective. And he was a former dairy farmer and is sharing his story. So if you get a chance to check that out, his song is Empty Barns. He's touring, he's promoting it. And I thank him for his openness, his willingness, and the you know, heartfelt feelings that he shares with people and just reflecting his experiences.

Speaker 1 17:27

I challenge anyone to not have a dry eye listening to his song. Um, there is a video that goes along with it if you YouTube it, and it has beautiful imagery um that goes along with a really heart-tugging song, and I definitely like Ginger, encourage everyone to check that out.

Speaker 17:49

It was very moving. And I believe that many of the people, the legislators, uh, have farm backgrounds or can could relate to a point. And I think that um they shared, and you could tell from their comments and questions that it is a topic that is important to them.

Speaker 3 18:11

All right, and I will say too, um, we have had Jeff on the podcast. I was fortunate enough to be able to interview him in one of our series, I can't remember which one. And he is such an amazing storyteller that even when he's speaking, his words just pull you right in. We're fortunate that we just booked him actually the same day that I think he was testifying with you, Ginger. We booked him up here for a concert in the fall up in my little my neck of the woods in the northeast region here. So really looking forward to hearing him in person and hear his keynote concert. But if you do want to take a look back, listeners, I we did have an interview with him, and I want to say empty barns. The video should be linked there and in the episode notes too, if you haven't seen it. I 100% agree with everyone else in that. It's a tearjerker. It brings a lot of memories and not memories, but even just emotions to the surface. So really powerful storyteller and really great advocate for farmer mental health. All right. So all three of you were equally busy throughout your time at Farm Show. So thanks for sharing your educational experiences. But trying to keep aligned with the idea of work-life

Favorite Moments Food And Rodeo

Speaker 3 19:30

balance. Now let's let's have a little fun and hear. Well, what was your favorite part of this year's farm show activities, events? You know, what was what did you enjoy doing in your some of your free time there down at the farm show? Well, start back around the table with Sonya.

Speaker 2 19:48

Well, one of the days I got to take my youngest daughter with me. I tried showing her some of the those passages where you can go all through the building and she's she kept saying, Mom, I don't think we're supposed to be here. Mom. So I took her out and then we went and tried to see if any of the calves were being born in the calving corner. So we got around all over the 24 acres as much as possible before I had to work at the extension area. But that was my probably my favorite memory, was just hanging out with her, you know, sort of passing on those memories and making new ones.

Speaker 3 20:28

Introducing and keeping a whole new generation interested in the farm show for years to come, hopefully. So that's awesome that you got a chance to spend time with family. I will make another note too. When you talked about calving, there were 18 calves that were actually born throughout this year's farm show, too. So add that little nugget of trivia to your ears, listeners. So, but awesome, Sonia. Thanks for sharing. Chi, what was your favorite part of farm show this year?

Speaker 1 20:56

It's hard for me to pick a favorite because I love food and so I love all the food there. And I also really love seeing the animals, especially the Jersey cows. That was what we had as a kid, and I really um love going back and seeing them. But this year I did have a little work-life balance, and I was excited to be able to go to the rodeo. I had an awesome dinner of fried cheese curds and a chocolate vanilla milkshake that was absolutely delicious. Um, so I enjoyed supporting the local vendors and watching some entertainment. It was a great night.

Speaker 3 21:33

I mean, it also sounds like you supported the PA producers as well with your carefully curated supper meals. So good choice. I approve of both the milkshake and the cheese curds. So can't always beat the rodeo. That's a big tradition and a big pastime that a lot of people enjoy going to at farm show. So I don't think you're alone there, Chi.

Speaker 1 21:57

I just want to add the rodeo was military Appreciation night. And that was extra special too because the ceremony that they did to thank all of our veterans was extremely moving. And that's something that I also feel very passionate about, expressing gratitude for. And so that made the rodeo also extra special.

Speaker 3 22:19

Even better. It's like the icing on the cake of an already really neat event. So all right, Ginger, what was your favorite part of the farm show this year?

Speaker 22:29

Hard for me to answer because I was in and out really quickly. But I'm gonna call on past memories if that's all right. And for the past several years, with the exception of this past year, I have helped with the farm show cheese contest. That's wonderful with the cheese judging. And I it was a great opportunity to learn about cheese judging. That was not something I'm familiar with, but I have a background in food science as well. And being a dairy educator, of course, I love wonderful cheeses, so it has expanded my appreciation for good cheeses. We have some some wonderful cheesemakers in Pennsylvania, and they have submitted excellent cheeses over the years. And one of the perks of being on that committee, because as a farm girl, you know, they submit 40-pound blocks. So some of us get charged with lifting and cutting those 40-pound blocks up, and there's lots of cheese left. So we do get to take home some of the samples the committee members do. So I usually have excellent cheese to share after the cheese contest.

Speaker 1 23:31

Feel free to throw my name in the hat if they ever need judges in the future, Ginger. That sounds like an awesome job.

Speaker 2 23:38

I was gonna say the same thing, Chi. Very cool.

Speaker 3 23:41

Make it unanimous. I think you've got three extra judges here, should they ever need them.

Speaker 23:46

That was part of the learning experience for me, too. Cheese judging is very, very rigorous. Much, much more so than I realized. Um they train for a long time and yeah, I would not be ready to do it. I I admire their their skill and their refined taste that they have to bring in order to separate and to categorize and to do what they do.

Speaker 3 24:13

Yeah, that's something that you never really think of. But I suppose there are a lot of little intricacies of being a cheese judge to differentiate a high quality cheese from a low a medium, even, and just those those tiny differences that can make or break a cheese. So that's that's something that probably does take a lot more study than even I would realize. So kudos to those who are able to do it and do it well.

Key Links And Looking Ahead

Speaker 3 24:42

But so I think we're gonna kind of start wrapping up a little bit here. So it was really interesting to hear kind of from the past, the present, and both professionally and personally, what we all enjoy at the farm show. I think we're all looking forward to the 2027 farm show. It's never too early, I suppose, to start planning and looking ahead a little bit. And it'll be interesting to see if we do this annually, you know, what next year's episode looks like when we kind of recap again to see how things have changed, or maybe we have some new memories that have become favorite memories too. So we will link a couple of things in the episode notes, um, including the 988 Suicide Prevention Hotline that Chi had mentioned, the Agri Stress helpline number, which again, that number is 833-897-2474. So that will be in the show notes before I sign us off. Anybody else have anything else that they want to add?

Speaker 1 25:43

No, thanks, Amber. I just think before we know it, it's going to be Farm Show 2027. So thanks for recapping this year with us.

Speaker 3 25:53

All right. Well, to all of our listeners, be well, be safe, and we'll catch you for our next episode. Take care.