By Rick Ebert,
Times Guest Columnist
Posted: 02/29/16
I can hear my
father’s words quite plainly today. When explaining to me the difference
between cost and value, he’d say what I’m sure many of us have heard before:
“You get what you pay for.” So the recent announcement by Penn State President
Eric Barron that our land grant university might be forced to shutter the doors
of extension offices in all 67 counties shouldn’t really surprise us.
Eight months into
the fiscal year, the commonwealth has not made a single payment to Penn State
Extension, for the multitude of service they provide to ensure food safety and
enhance plant and animal health.
After vetoing two
previous budget proposals last year, the governor decided to line-item veto the
Legislature’s third proposal, in order to disperse some public funds to keep
public schools and human services functioning. As a result of the line-item
veto, funding for PSU Cooperative Extension and Research, along with other
agricultural priorities, have been zeroed out of the existing state spending
plan that was supposed to run from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2016.
But the
hard-working men and women of Penn State Extension, and the value they provide
to farm families, consumers and more than 90,000 4-H youth across the state,
should not be used as leverage in a political “game of chicken.” Penn State
Extension’s true impact is impossible to measure. But what our land grant
university does for farm families – and the entire community – is a value we
can’t afford to lose.
Over the past eight
months, I’ve been engaged in many conversations with lawmakers and cabinet
officials about this issue. And it seems to me that all sides – Republicans and
Democrats, legislators and members of the administration – agree that Penn
State Extension plays a vitally important and necessary role in protecting the
safety of food, plants, animals and humans in our state.
It’s also evident
to me that all sides in this multi-lateral negotiation believe the cost of Penn
State Extension – little more than one-tenth of one percent of the entire state
budget – is well worth the state’s investment. Farm Bureau does acknowledge the
previous actions by the legislature to include funding for Penn State Extension
in budget legislation, but unfortunately, there is nothing yet to celebrate. No
reason to applaud.
As most of us in
agriculture know, Penn State began as the “Farmers’ High School,” and its
charge was to apply scientific principles to farming. But, if the legislative
and executive branches of our state government are unable to come together –
soon – to solve the budget crisis for Penn State Extension and Research,
Pennsylvania may very well become the FIRST
state in the nation to lose our Land Grant University!
I don’t use these
words lightly. Without state funding for Extension, which is used to attract
twice as much funding from federal sources, not only is Penn State Extension at
risk of closing its doors, but the entire College of Agricultural Sciences at
Penn State faces a bleak future.
I refuse to accept
this as an acceptable outcome, and hope that farm families across the state
share in my outrage.
Agriculture is
constantly facing a variety of challenges beyond our control, such as volatile
market prices, overzealous regulations and devastating weather conditions. Losing
our land grant because of politics is preventable. Farmers can make a
difference and influence this outcome. Our elected
officials – all of them – must take swift action preventing the closure of
Extension offices and the furlough of Extension agents in all 67 counties.
Whether you’re a
Farm Bureau member of not, I encourage you to go to www.pfb.com/actnow where a draft message is ready for you to send
to your state representative, your state senator and the governor.
Help us Save PSU ag!
Rick Ebert is
president of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, located in Camp Hill.
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