Bob's Blog
Combating the Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs
October brings the peak of the apple harvest and National Apple Month. Apples are a major crop for Pennsylvanian farmers. In 2010, our State produced nearly $75 million worth and 490 million pounds of apples, ranking it fourth in the nation. Pennsylvania is an ideal place to grow apples, with hundreds of varieties grown across the State.
However, stink bugs have recently become more of a pest in Pennsylvania orchards and farms. These bugs damage crops, such as fruit, by sucking out the juice and injecting saliva. Stink bugs leave pockmarks and spots on the affected crops, making them unmarketable. As an example of their destructive nature, stink bugs cost apple farmers in the Mid-Atlantic region $37 million last year alone. It is essential to the livelihoods of Pennsylvania farmers to find ways to control the bug and alleviate its devastating impact on our food crops.
Therefore, I am pleased that Penn State University recently received a Federal research grant to identify ways to combat the Brown Marmorated Stink Bugs that are ravaging crop yields. The Penn State Fruit Research and Extension Center and its partners will use this funding to study the negative impact that stink bugs have on orchard crops, vegetables, small fruit and other crops. The research will aid in the development of control strategies designed to mitigate the pest’s impact on farms. The research is supported the by the Specialty Crop Research Initiative through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, I strongly supported the Specialty Crop Research Initiative in the last Farm Bill and will continue to do so.
Protecting Our Forests
Implementing beneficial conservation practices in our great forests is very important to me. Not only do forests provide spaces for outdoor recreation and tourism, they also create thousands of jobs and a variety of economic opportunities. I believe that in Pennsylvania, once known as “Penn’s Woods” for its lush and beautiful forests, we have an opportunity to strengthen and develop our forestry conservation programs. That is why I sent a letter to Chief Dave White of USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) today regarding forest conservation in Pennsylvania. In this letter, I highlighted a few ideas aimed at making participation in forestry conservation programs easier for Pennsylvanians. By enhancing its collaboration with the State forestry agency staff and through streamlining its technical service provider (TSP) certification process, NRCS can increase Pennsylvanians’ access to forestry expertise. As the 2012 Farm Bill process moves forward, I will continue to keep the interests of Pennsylvanian foresters in mind.
Helping Pennsylvanian Farmers
Today’s Agriculture Committee hearing on the importance of specialty crops and organics in the Farm Bill is a good way to focus attention in Washington on the needs of Pennsylvanian farmers and to demonstrate their positive impact on the economy. In Pennsylvania, specialty crops, in addition to dairy, represent the majority of agricultural production. Nationally, organics currently constitute 4% of all food sales, and organic fruits and vegetables make up 12% of U.S. fruit and vegetable sales. The organics industry is growing at a rate of over 8% a year and creating jobs at four times the rate of the national average. Due to the increasing popularity of specialty crops and organic products, these industries are having a significant and positive economic impact in Pennsylvania.
The 2008 Farm Bill recognized specialty crops and organics as a crucial part of America’s agricultural industry for the first time. As Congress considers the 2012 Farm Bill, we must continue to build upon the successful investments in specialty crops and organics. I was grateful to have Kim Tait, owner of Tait Farm Foods in Centre Hall, Pennsylvania, testify before the Committee on the importance of the Farm Bill programs which support specialty crops and organics. Tait Farm Foods not only produces a wide range of certified organic fruits, vegetables and greenhouse products, but it also features a community-supported agriculture project, a value added facility, an on-farm retail store and several educational and research partnerships. Mrs. Tait’s operation is exemplary of the exciting and progressive farming happening all throughout the Commonwealth.
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