PA Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding (left) shares details of the 2023 Farm Show.
State officials are saddling up for this year’s PA Farm Show, which they say will be in “full force mode” after several years of pandemic-induced changes.
On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding announced the details of the 107th show, set to take place Jan. 7 to 14 in Harrisburg.
“It is wonderful to be back in the complex for the 107th Farm Show,” Redding said, during a press event. “We are anxious to host this show and bring everybody back together again.”
The past two years of the annual agricultural event were impacted heavily by the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 farm show was held virtually, and attendance at the 2022 event was down by 44% compared to previous years, according to farm show Executive Director Sharon Myers.
However, Myers expects this year’s attendance to be back to pre-pandemic levels.
“We are confident that this year will be back to normal or almost back to normal,” she said.
The theme for the 2023 PA Farm Show is “Rooted in Progress,” emphasizing the history of agriculture in the commonwealth.
A display at the Farm Show
As always, the show will include plenty of food, vendors, animal competitions and exhibits and educational presentations.
New this year are a sustainable home gardening exhibit, a sunflower exhibit and an exhibit honoring the state’s veterans and the role that the farm show complex played in World War II. Additionally, there will be unique events like goat yoga, a llama and alpaca costume contest and the “Moo U” station, which will explain the technology behind dairy farming. Dogs will also have their chance to shine during “Meet the Breeds” presentations during the week.
In one change, there will be no poultry included at the event due to an avian influenza crisis, Redding explained.
Favorite Farm Show treats will be found in the food court, as always. In December, the PA Dairymen’s Association announced that it would serve up a new orange cream milkshake flavor at this year’s farm show to celebrate 70 years of the iconic shakes.
Starting on Saturday, the PA Dairymen’s Association will serve its iconic Farm Show milkshakes.
“It’ll be eight days of fun,” Redding said. “It’s a chance for us to honor and celebrate agriculture in the state as a major economic enterprise, but it’s also a place of education, it’s a place of food, and it’s a place of relationships and rekindling those relationships.”
The Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex & Expo Center is located at 2300 N. Cameron St., Harrisburg. For more information on the 2023 PA Farm Show, visit their website.
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