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Gov. Josh Shapiro speaks at Pennsylvania Farm Bureau's State Legislative Conference at the Hilton Harrisburg on April 4, 2023.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania is stocked with an experienced and ag-friendly slate of elected officials, raising the possibility that the state could address long-standing farmer concerns.

New Gov. Josh Shapiro exemplified the tone when he addressed Pennsylvania Farm Bureau members who were in the state capital April 4 for a lobbying day and luncheon with legislators.

“When our farmers succeed, Pennsylvania succeeds,” Shapiro said.

Because food is a basic necessity, lawmakers and farm groups like to frame agriculture as a bipartisan issue.

And clearly, the Farm Bureau event presented the rosiest scenario, as politicians were eager to praise farmers and show they are working for the industry.

Still Shapiro, the new Democratic governor, is saying the right things, as even Republicans will declare.

Ag Secretary Russell Redding, serving under his third governor, has won praise from both sides of the aisle.

The state House and Senate ag committees have stable leadership, and the chairs appear to click.

And in Washington, Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson has become chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, just in time to lead negotiations for the new Farm Bill. Thompson is the first Pennsylvanian to lead the committee since the Civil War.

Shapiro is this year’s biggest change at the state level. He’s no farm boy, hailing from suburban Montgomery County.

But as a former state legislator and county commissioner, Shapiro — like Redding — has positioned himself as a practical, get-stuff-done leader rather than a partisan firebrand.

“I think we owe it to our farmers across this commonwealth to put the momentary political differences some of us have aside and focus on coming together around strengthening our agriculture sector,” Shapiro said.

Shapiro has pledged to reform the state’s burdensome permitting process, and he has proposed spending $31 million to support the fight against avian influenza. The disease has infected 57 Pennsylvania farms and 10 hobby flocks in the past year.

Shapiro’s predecessor, Democrat Tom Wolf, also provided support to the ag industry. He approved $25 million for avian influenza response and recovery last year, and his administration launched the Pennsylvania Farm Bill in 2019, creating many new ag initiatives.

But Wolf, a wealthy York County businessman, got off on the wrong foot with Republicans. He proposed major changes in his first budget, leading to a bitter fight with lawmakers and a months-late resolution. Year after year, he also pressed ideas that were nonstarters with Republicans, such as a severance tax on natural gas and a scholarship to be created by gutting the horse racing trust fund.

Shapiro has carried over a few of his predecessor’s proposals. Raising the minimum wage may be unappealing to Republicans, but the goal was hardly unique to Wolf. Capitalizing on Pennsylvania’s No. 3 ranking in organic farming, Shapiro said, could make the state’s products a gold standard for consumers.

“I am competitive as hell, and so while I’m happy with third or fourth in a category, I want to be first in every category,” he said.

Something about Shapiro has resonated with Republicans, at least so far. While GOP leaders met Wolf’s budget proposals with derision, they said Shapiro’s provided some good starting points.

“I think this is a governor that Republicans and Democrats can both work very well with, especially in the agricultural community. Because I think this guy gets it, I really do,” said Rep. Dan Moul, R-Adams. The ranking Republican on the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee knows Shapiro as Josh from the governor’s time as a state rep.

Not everything has gone swimmingly in state politics this year. The House was slow to get started because of a leadership tussle in the narrowly divided chamber.

After some special elections, the chamber flipped to Democratic control for the first time in a decade, elevating Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Luzerne, to chairman of the ag committee. He had been the ranking member since 2017.

Though he’s an urban lawmaker from Wilkes-Barre, Pashinski has embraced ag, especially promotional efforts such as PA Preferred. The switch in roles apparently hasn’t affected his relationship with Moul, the previous chairman.

“Eddie and I are like this,” Moul said, holding two fingers together. “We work so very well together.”

Those close bonds could serve farmers well as they seek policy changes on a state milk premium and other dairy issues, relief from slow permitting, support for environmental work, and a business climate that keeps them competitive.

The linchpin in these efforts will be Redding, who contemplated leaving public service after eight years as Wolf’s ag secretary in favor of teaching, writing and working on his family’s Adams County farm. An interview with Gov.-elect Shapiro quickly changed his mind.

“When he sees Pennsylvania’s future, he sees agriculture,” Redding said.

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