logo
Weather page
GET THE APP
ePaper
google_play
app_store
  • Login
  • E-Edition
  • News
  • Sports
  • Obituaries
  • Opinion
  • Classifieds
    • Place an Ad
    • All Listings
    • Jobs
  • Special Sections
  • Photo Gallery
  • Contests
  • Lifestyle/Entertainment
  • Games
    • News
      • Local News
      • PA State News
      • Nation/World
    • Sports
      • Local
      • College Sports
      • State
      • National
    • Obituaries
    • Opinion
      • News
        • Local News
        • PA State News
        • Nation/World
      • Sports
        • Local
        • College Sports
        • State
        • National
      • Obituaries
      • Opinion
    logo
    • Classifieds
      • Place an Ad
      • All Listings
      • Jobs
    • E-Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Login
      • Classifieds
        • Place an Ad
        • All Listings
        • Jobs
      • E-Edition
      • Subscribe
      • Login
    Home Opinion Tax credit grows Pennsylvania agriculture
    Tax credit grows Pennsylvania agriculture
    Editorials, Opinion
    July 29, 2020

    Tax credit grows Pennsylvania agriculture

    Pennsylvania might have been made famous by coal and oil, iron and steel, but the industry that actually built the state was agriculture.

    Rolling hills and wide fields and their crops and livestock have been the powerhouse of the Keystone State since its Colonial days and remain a major building block of the economy. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there are 7.3 million acres in operation on 52,700 farms. The dairy industry alone produces $1.95 billion a year.

    But how long will that last?

    It isn’t that fewer people are eating the bacon cheeseburgers whose parts are being raised on Pennsylvania farms or the apple pie that starts out in the state’s orchards. Mushrooms and potato chips, chicken wings and ice cream — the products are still in high demand.

    It’s the producers that are in short supply.

    The average age of a Pennsylvania farmer is getting older every year because those farmers are aging and not enough new ones are starting in the profession. According to a 2019 report from the Pennsylvania Young Farmers Coalition, that average farmer in 2017 was 56.5. In 1997, it was 52.

    The problem there is that those aging farmers are getting closer and closer to the end of their careers — years of work that can be physically demanding.

    Agriculture needs new people getting involved to keep the industry blossoming. The state has a $59 million tax credit program to encourage that, and the best part is that it benefits those veteran farmers.

    Someone who rents their land, equipment or other assets to a new farmer is eligible for the tax break. That’s good because those farmers may have spent decades — or their families spent generations — accumulating those assets that could then lie fallow.

    Some are concerned that there is no upside for the new farmer. But there is.

    Buying a farm is expensive, with the state average coming in at $225,000. But that’s just the property. It doesn’t include machinery, fuel, seeds and fertilizer, livestock and more. Farms often operate on thin margins, stretching through lean times to get to harvest.

    Being able to rent instead of buy could make it possible for young farmers to get their start. That makes the tax credit beneficial for both sides.

    It can also make it easier to keep a farm in operation, rather than have it sold for other purposes after an estate passes to family members who don’t farm.

    The only thing that will preserve Pennsylvania’s rich agricultural tradition is a new crop of people to do the job. That has to be encouraged and supported.

    — The Tribune-Review (TNS)

    Tags:

    agriculture assets crop economics farm farmer fertilizer livestock pennsylvania

    The Bradford Era

    Local & Social
    Latest news for you
    Steelers sign GM Omar Khan to 3-year extension
    Local Sports, Sports, Sports
    Steelers sign GM Omar Khan to 3-year extension
    July 3, 2025
    PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Steelers signed general manager Omar Khan to a three-year extension after an offseason that saw the team bring in qua...
    Read More...
    {"newsletter-sports":"Sports", "to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    House gives final approval to Trump’s big tax bill in a milestone for his second-term agenda
    Nation & World, News
    House gives final approval to Trump’s big tax bill in a milestone for his second-term agenda
    By LISA MASCARO, MARY CLARE JALONICK, LEAH ASKARINAM and MATT BROWN - Associated Press 
    July 3, 2025
    WASHINGTON — House Republicans propelled President Donald Trump’s big multitrillion-dollar tax breaks and spending cuts bill to final passage Thursday...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    State police investigating Eldred burglary
    Crime, Local News
    State police investigating Eldred burglary
    July 3, 2025
    Pennsylvania State Police reported a 60-year-old Eldred woman was the victim of a residential burglary on Artline Road sometime between June 26 and 28...
    Read More...
    Raising the roof; pastor, wife repurpose furniture to fund church roof
    Local News
    Raising the roof
    Raising the roof; pastor, wife repurpose furniture to fund church roof
    Pastor, wife repurpose furniture to fund church roof PIC
    By BEVERLY KEHE-ROWLAND Special to The Era  
    July 3, 2025
    ELDRED — Much has transpired since Tammy Ireland surprised her husband, Pastor Bruce Ireland, with the news that she had purchased the former Eldred T...
    Read More...
    {"newsletter-daily-headlines":"Daily Headlines", "newsletters":"Newsletters", "to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Supreme Court to take up case about which sports teams transgender students can join
    Nation & World, PA State News
    Supreme Court to take up case about which sports teams transgender students can join
    By MARK SHERMAN - Associated Press 
    July 3, 2025
    WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a case over state restrictions on which school sports teams transgender students can join....
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    Social Security Matters: Would taxi job hurt my Social Security?
    Business, Local News, News
    Social Security Matters: Would taxi job hurt my Social Security?
    By RUSSELL GLOOR 
    July 3, 2025
    DEAR RUSTY: I opted to draw my Social   Security retirement benefit early and work part-time. The company I work for has decided to pull me from field...
    Read More...
    {"to-print":"To print", "bradfordera-website":"Website"}
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    This Week's Ads
    Current e-Edition
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Already a subscriber? Click the image to view the latest e-edition.
    Don't have a subscription? Click here to see our subscription options.
    Mobile App

    Download Now

    The Bradford Era mobile app brings you the latest local breaking news, updates, and more. Read the Bradford Era on your mobile device just as it appears in print.

    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store

    Help Our Community

    Please help local businesses by taking an online survey to help us navigate through these unprecedented times. None of the responses will be shared or used for any other purpose except to better serve our community. The survey is at: www.pulsepoll.com $1,000 is being awarded. Everyone completing the survey will be able to enter a contest to Win as our way of saying, "Thank You" for your time. Thank You!

    Get in touch with The Bradford Era
    Submit Content
    • Submit News
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Place Wedding Announcement
      • Submit News
      • Letter to the Editor
      • Place Wedding Announcement
    Advertise
    • Place Birth Announcement
    • Place Anniversary Announcement
    • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
      • Place Birth Announcement
      • Place Anniversary Announcement
      • Place Obituary Call (814) 368-3173
    Subscribe
    • Start a Subscription
    • e-Edition
    • Contact Us
      • Start a Subscription
      • e-Edition
      • Contact Us
    CMG | Community Media Group
    Illinois
    • Hancock Journal-Pilot
    • Iroquois Times-Republic
    • Journal-Republican
    • The News-Gazette
      • Hancock Journal-Pilot
      • Iroquois Times-Republic
      • Journal-Republican
      • The News-Gazette
    Indiana
    • Fountain Co. Neighbor
    • Herald Journal
    • KV Post News
    • Newton Co. Enterprise
    • Rensselaer Republican
    • Review-Republican
      • Fountain Co. Neighbor
      • Herald Journal
      • KV Post News
      • Newton Co. Enterprise
      • Rensselaer Republican
      • Review-Republican
    Iowa
    • Atlantic News Telegraph
    • Audubon Advocate-Journal
    • Barr’s Post Card News
    • Burlington Hawk Eye
    • Collector’s Journal
    • Fayette County Union
    • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
    • Independence Bulletin-Journal
    • Keokuk Daily Gate City
    • Oelwein Daily Register
    • Vinton Newspapers
    • Waverly Newspapers
      • Atlantic News Telegraph
      • Audubon Advocate-Journal
      • Barr’s Post Card News
      • Burlington Hawk Eye
      • Collector’s Journal
      • Fayette County Union
      • Ft. Madison Daily Democrat
      • Independence Bulletin-Journal
      • Keokuk Daily Gate City
      • Oelwein Daily Register
      • Vinton Newspapers
      • Waverly Newspapers
    Michigan
    • Iosco County News-Herald
    • Ludington Daily News
    • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
    • Oscoda Press
    • White Lake Beacon
      • Iosco County News-Herald
      • Ludington Daily News
      • Oceana’s Herald-Journal
      • Oscoda Press
      • White Lake Beacon
    New York
    • Finger Lakes Times
    • Olean Times Herald
    • Salamanca Press
      • Finger Lakes Times
      • Olean Times Herald
      • Salamanca Press
    Pennsylvania
    • Bradford Era
    • Clearfield Progress
    • Courier Express
    • Free Press Courier
    • Jeffersonian Democrat
    • Leader Vindicator
    • Potter Leader-Enterprise
    • The Wellsboro Gazette
      • Bradford Era
      • Clearfield Progress
      • Courier Express
      • Free Press Courier
      • Jeffersonian Democrat
      • Leader Vindicator
      • Potter Leader-Enterprise
      • The Wellsboro Gazette
    © Copyright The Bradford Era 43 Main St, Bradford, PA  | Terms of Use  | Privacy Policy
    Powered by TECNAVIA