Chester County to Celebrate National Agriculture Day on Tuesday

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Chris Alonzo, President of Pietro Mushrooms and Ag Council Chair, holds a goat with Chester County Commissioner Michelle Kichline at The Farm at Doe Run in Unionville.

On March 21, Chester County – and the nation – will celebrate the 44th anniversary of National Agriculture Day.

As the county’s number one industry, agriculture supports approximately 9,000 jobs, including on-farm work, seed and tractor sales companies, and local retail and food businesses and restaurants that are supported by farm workers.

“When it comes to Chester County farms, many people think of our top vegetable crop, the mushroom,” said Hillary Krummrich, Director of the Chester County Agricultural Development Council. “But we also have much more, including dairy farms, equine operations, vineyards, horticulture, and field crops just to name a few.”

The theme for National Agriculture Day 2017 is “Agriculture: Food for Life.”

Mark Brault of Deer Creek Malthouse in Glen Mills shows malted grains to Chester County Commissioner Kathi Cozzone and Ag Council Coordinator Ann Lane.

According to the Chester County Agricultural Development Council, the connection between farming and the food on the table is easy to understand, but local farming means so much more in terms of the strength of our economy.

“When you ask a person to think about what a farming job is, they are likely to imagine a farmer on his tractor in a field,” said Krummrich. “Although that is an important part of many farm operations here in Chester County, the wider industry is full of people working in careers as sales and marketing representatives, soil and plant scientists, veterinarians, and even financial managers who coordinate lines of credit in banks.

“There is so much opportunity and potential for growth in agriculture these days.”

Chester County’s many agricultural employees are responsible for more than 14 percent of Pennsylvania’s agricultural production value (more than $5.7 billion), an impressive feat for a region that also hosts a wide range of housing and business development.

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