ROCK SPRINGS, Pa. -- Barb Perry has a message for politicians who choose not to attend Penn State's annual Ag Progress Days: We matter, too.
"I feel like they do have the responsibility to come," said Perry, of Troy, Pa., who manned the Endless Mountains Maple Producers Association tent at the agricultural expo last week. "They should recognize us just as well as any other event they go to."
As approximately 40,000 people attended the event -- held from Aug. 17 to 19 -- one man was conspicuously absent: Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.
It marked the first year since his initial 2002 gubernatorial campaign that Rendell didn't visit the Ag Progress Days. Though other politicians -- like U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa. -- did attend, turnout among elected officials was significantly decreased due to the still-lingering state budget impasse, said Bob Oberheim, the Ag Progress Days show manager.
"We are always pleased to have whatever legislators come to the event because they are able to interact with the true ag audience that comes from throughout Pennsylvania. That's a positive," Oberheim said. "We're able to showcase what the [College of Agricultural Sciences] is doing for not only the agriculture industry, but we can also let the taxpayers ... see how important the ag research is and how diverse."
This year's show featured 428 exhibitors, up from last year's 405.
At the AgrAbility for Pennsylvanians booth, outreach specialist Crystal Smithmyer explained her organization's mission to Ag Progress attendees: providing information and equipment modifications to state residents who want to continue working in agriculture despite a long-term injury or illness.
"The thing that I get the most satisfaction from ... is that it keeps people farming," she said. "It gives them a greater sense of independence and self-esteem."
Smithmyer said her organization also provided more than 100 free full dermatological screenings for skin cancer and full vision check-ups, as well as several hundred free blood pressure readings over the three Ag Progress Days.
But the exhibits and vendors weren't just geared toward professional farmers. Shelly Hershey of Centre Hall, Pa., said she brought her children because the Ag Progress Days entertain them.
"They like to see the equipment. They like the animals," she said. "My husband and I both grew up on a farm, so we like to bring the kids here because we don't live on a farm now."
Bob Keeport of Lancaster, Pa., a former farmer, said he appreciates that the event transcends tractor dealers and silo displays.
"It's the diversity," he said. "You have home-and-country living exhibits. It's not really totally geared just to farming."
The Family Room -- a warehouse run by Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences -- featured miniature golf, healthy food demonstrations and a treasure hunt with facts about food and nutrition. Patti Mauk, a nutrition educator at the university who handed out flyers at the door, said Ag Progress Days still matter despite a declining emphasis on agriculture around the state.
"People still need to understand agriculture and where we get our food from and how to prepare it safely," she said.
