(Photo Provided with Release Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture, Labor & Industry and Education)
Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News
(Harrisburg, PA) Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced yesterday in Harrisburg on the third day of the 2026 Pennsylvania Farm show that $600,345 in PA Farm Bill Agriculture & Youth Grants, which includes 15 matching and 47 direct awards to organizations in 33 counties, will fund projects that will empower youth across Pennsylvania to succeed in its $132.5 billion agriculture industry. Pennsylvania Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker, and Pennsylvania Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe joined Secretary Redding to make this announcement during a Career Expo which connected over 2,200 Pennsylvania students with career opportunities offered by 48 agricultural businesses. According to a release yesterday in Harrisburg from the Pennsylvania Departments of Agriculture, Labor & Industry and Education, here is some more information about these grants:
Grant recipient Trellis for Tomorrow, a Chester County nonprofit, received $18,100 to expand its garden and farm-based youth programming initiatives in 2026. For the last 22 years, Trellis has provided hands-on, paid work experiences for young people in agriculture, prioritizing youth in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Greater Philadelphia Region. The group has worked with more than 1,600 youth over that time, and in the last six years has provided over 30,000 lbs. of organic produce to neighbors in need through its youth programming initiatives.
Grant recipients, funded project titles, and funding amount by county are as follows:
Allegheny
Riverview School District –Seeds of Tomorrow: VR Agriculture and Aquaponics Career Lab, $7,000
Bible Center Church –The Oasis Project, Oasis Farm Field 2 Fork Youth Academy, $7,500
Hilltop Urban Farm – Season extension, $7,398
Grow Pittsburgh – Garden Dreams, $25,000
Chatham University – Deer Education and Infrastructure at Eden Hall Campus, $12,280
Beaver
RiverWise – 2026 Summer Sustainability Institute, $7,500
Berks
Alvernia University – Seeds of Discovery: Raised Bed Pilot Project, $7,500
Brandywine Heights Area School District – Poultry Science Program, $7,500
Blair
Spring Cove School District – Food Science and Safety, $7,481
Bucks
Middle Bucks Institute of Technology – Phase 2 Greenhouse Restoration Project, $25,000
Upper Bucks County Technical School – Barn Renovations and Expansion Capital Project – $25,000
Snipes Farm and Education Center – Youth Ag Education Equipment for Snipes Farm Seed-to-Fork Program, $7,482
Middle Bucks Institute of Technology – Hydroponics Project for Horticulture and Landscape Program – $6,165
Butler
Butler Area School District Districit – Ag Programming Expansion, $7,500
Centre
The Pennsylvania State University – Philipsburg-Osceola High School Greenhouse and Gardening Program, $7,000
Bald Eagle Area School District – Floriculture on Display – Floral Cooler, $4,494
Chester
Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines – Ryerss Farm for Aged Equines Youth Summer Camps, $7,500
Chester County Intermediate Unit – School Co-op Garden, $7,500
Chester County Intermediate Unit – The Learning Lab Grant, $7,500
Trellis for Tomorrow, Trellis for Tomorrow – Agricultural Education Grow Space Expansion, $18,100
Columbia
Southern Columbia Area High School Agriculture Program – SCA Agriculture Career Exploration and Leadership Development Project, $7,500
Southern Columbia Area High School Agriculture Program – Greenhouse Project, $10,000
Crawford
Conneaut Area School District Agriculture Department – CASH Greenhouse, $4,010
Cumberland
Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation – Mobile Ag Lab Increases Access to Vital Agriculture Education, $7,500
Dauphin
Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation – DLT Farm Tours and Exploration Experiences, $7,500
Wildheart Ministries – The Hill Farm Field Trips 2026, $25,000
Erie
Groundwork Erie – 4th Street Farm Expansion and Education, $7,487
Eco-Erie – Water and Sanitation Upgrade for Youth Agricultural Training, $25,000
Franklin
Franklin County Fair Commission, Franklin County Junior Fair Board Improvement and Expansion, $7,500
Huntingdon
Standing Stone FFA – Huntingdon Area High School Plant and Soil Science Curriculum Equipment, $7,500
Southern Huntingdon County High School, Animal Science Equipment for Southern Huntingdon County Agriculture Department, $7,460
Lancaster
Killiann George – Hands-On Animal Reproduction Technology and Safety Lab, $7,018
Lawrence
Wilmington Area School District – Wilmington Farms: Growing Creativity, $7,500
Lebanon
ELCO School District – Legacy in the Making: The ELCO Barn Raising, $21,250
Variety – the Children’s Charity of the Delaware Valley – Variety’s Agricultural Vocational Program for Youth with Disabilities, $7,500
Montgomery County Intermediate Unit – 25-26 MCIU Transition Envision Horticulture, $7,500
Montour
The Pennsylvania State University – Montour County 4-H Agricultural and Environmental Science Program Extension, $3,354
Northampton
Easton Area Neighborhood Center – Pathways in Agriculture and Leadership, $7,500
Northumberland
Line Mountain School District Animal and Veterinary Program Additions, $7,368
Perry
LEAF Project – Farm Fellowship: Shared Authority and Sustainability on the LEAF Farm, $7,500
Greenwood School District – Energizing Engines Small Gas Engine Curriculum Enhancement, $7,500
Philadelphia
Novick Urban Farm – Giving of Self Partnership School Garden, $1,226
AgrotheraPA – G.R.O.W. Hub Intergenerational Garden Initiative, $5,000
The School District of Philadelphia – Fox Chase Farm Student-Run Farm Store, $7,500
Home and School Association of the Penn Alexander School – Penn Alexander Middle Grades Science Ag Education Program, $7,500
WB Saul Alumni Association – Saul School Support, $3,732
Home and School Association of the Penn Alexander School – Outdoor Classroom for Urban Garden, $25,000
Greener Partners – Farm Explorer, $7,500
Potter
The Pennsylvania State University – Learning Kits for Agricultural and Rural Education, $2,447
Snyder
The Pennsylvania State University – Agriculture Adventures Youth Day Camp, $6,103
Somerset
Berlin Brothersvalley High School – Animal Production Equipment, $7,490
Tioga
Wellsboro Area School District – Lab Science Supplies for Student Success, $7,500
Union
The Pennsylvania State University – Putting the Science Back in Livestock and Environmental Projects, $7,500
Mifflinburg Area School District – Agriculture Program Mobile Workstation – Mifflinburg, $25,000
Warren
Warren County School District – Eisenhower Middle-High Agricultural Program Supports, $7,500
Washington
California Area School District – The Greenhouse as a Living Classroom for STEAM, $5,658
Pennsylvania Guernsey Breeders Association – PA Junior Guernsey Breeders Attendance at 2027 National Convention, $7,500
Jeannette Hartley – Trinity Hydroponics Retrofit, $7,500
California Area School District – Agri-Ready Youth Training in Veterinary and Animal Science, $24,000
Wayne
The Pennsylvania State University – Wayne County 4-H Spring 2026 Education, $7,492
Wyoming
The Pennsylvania State University – Cloverbud and Junior Explorers Agriculture Safety and Community Discovery, $6,850
Statewide Project
The Pennsylvania State University – AP 4-H Agriculture and Nutrition Education – Books for Cooks, $7,500