Inaugural Exhibit Will Open Doors to Farming at 2012 Pennsylvania Farm Show

Today's Agriculture to Feature Modern Production Practices

HARRISBURG, Pa., Dec. 13, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Visitors to the 2012 Pennsylvania Farm Show, January 7 – 14, can experience a new, innovative display that brings the farm to families. "Today's Agriculture," a 10,000-square-foot exhibit, coordinated by PennAg Industries Association, on behalf of the Pennsylvania Alliance for Livestock Care and Well‐Being and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, will help consumers understand more about how farmers feed a growing population, by opening the doors to modern livestock and crop production. A coalition of nearly 90 agribusiness and trade associations, including the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA), joined forces to make Today's Agriculture a destination exhibit at this year's event.

A specially constructed 84‐foot long x 42‐foot wide barn will allow the public to see farm animals in their typical commercial production environment and will include a crated sow with her litter, nursery pigs, finishing floor pigs, broiler chickens, caged layer hens, ducks, turkeys, feedlot steers, dairy cows and veal calves. After a self‐guided barn tour, visitors can explore plots of soybeans and corn, at various stages of growth, and both cover crops and forested buffers that depict on‐farm conservation practices.Sophisticated farm machinery will show the latest in Global Positioning System (GPS) enhanced planting and harvesting technology, to convert crops into nutritious animal feed.

Producer and industry volunteers will staff all areas of the exhibit, explaining their specific agriculture sector and answering questions. Those volunteers hope to build bridges with their city cousins and share the environmental stewardship, animal care and food safety practices implemented every day on farms across the Commonwealth.

"By showing the public our production practices, we hope to eliminate the biggest argument antiagriculture groups have today ‐‐ that we won't allow the public to see how their food is produced," said Christian Herr, Executive Vice President, PennAg Industries Association. "We're excited to open our doors, let people look around and answer their questions."

To learn more about the Today's Agriculture exhibit, including the nearly 90 agribusiness and trade association sponsors, visit www.PennAg.com.

PennAg Industries Association is a non‐profit, member organization that works to create and maintain an effective, viable, and competitive environment for Pennsylvania agribusiness to grow and prosper.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA)