ROCK SPRINGS — Saying no entity other than Penn State can provide the state's agriculture industry the science and support it needs, College of Agricultural Sciences Dean Bruce McPheron warned an audience, which included Gov. Tom Corbett, about the long-term impact of not investing in ag research and extension.
“Other colleges and universities don’t address these issues. Business doesn’t have the capacity. It’s us or no one,” McPheron said Wednesday during the government and industry luncheon at Ag Progress Days.
The annual lunch gives politicians and Penn State officials a chance to address a crowd of farmers, business people, local elected officials and others.
The 2011-12 budget Corbett signed cut state funding for Penn State and Cooperative Extension and Agricultural Research by 19 percent. McPheron used Wednesday’s lunch to speak about why the college and its extension and research should get more state support in the future. He pointed to the university’s outreach and research on Marcellus Shale and the growing natural gas industry as an example of a key service the college provides.
“The emerging problems and challenges are limitless, but our ability to respond is eroding,” McPheron said.
Corbett, who noted that he was making his seventh appearance at Ag Progress but only his first as governor, countered by saying the state can’t spend more money than it has. He credited farmers, their common sense and business principles for that lesson.
“We have great science helping our farmers, but science doesn’t turn the soil and doesn’t feed the cattle,” Corbett said.
He said farmers “know this fundamental truth: you can’t spend more than you have,” and that he took a cue from that, getting a budget passed on time.
The state was facing a $4.2 billion budget deficit. Corbett said he wants to create an environment that allows farmers and businesses to grow the economy and create jobs.
McPheron said the state funding cuts mean a loss of about 200 jobs, 82 of which came from early retirements. Further job cuts of 70 to 100 people may be needed, McPheron said. The college had already been working on streamlining its operations, reducing 12 departments to nine and maintaining cooperative extension in all the counties, while reducing administrative overhead costs. He said the college has become leaner, more efficient and innovative.
“But there’s a point, however, when we can no longer do our job to the standards of excellence that we and our stake holders expect,” McPheron said.
Corbett said after the lunch that he doesn’t disagree with McPheron about the need to invest in agriculture. But, he added, when the budget was tight, spending had to be reduced everywhere.
“We tried to do as much as we possibly could for agriculture and for education this year,” he said.
“There’s a number of different areas that we have great demands on the budget in Pennsylvania, not the least of which is agriculture education,” Corbett said. “So, we’re going to do as well as we possibly can. I’d like to see us grow it. And I believe that, considering what we were looking at, that we kept it within a decent range in this last budget.”
Today is the last day of Ag Progress Days, the annual three-day event at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center. Nine miles southwest of State College on state Route 45, the free event features agricultural research, tours, demonstrations, commercial vendors, children’s activities, horse shows and food.
Anne Danahy can be reached at 231-4648.
