The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is preparing for the state’s second year of commercial-scale hemp production, and will begin accepting applications from growers and processors to participate in the 2020 hemp program.

Kay Hollabaugh, 63, began working at Hollabaugh Bros., her family’s business, full-time in 1984 and became an owner and board member in 2007. Today she serves as treasurer of the family farm corporation and retail market and office manager.

This year, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture issued more than 300 permits to grow hemp on nearly 600 acres at more than 800 locations around the state, according to a press release.

Governor Wolf signed the PA Farm Bill into law July 1, enacting legislation that will support the agriculture industry across the state.

Two Cumberland County hop farms have cropped up recently hoping to tap ongoing craft-beer growth in Pennsylvania.

Stefanie Angstadt of Oley started making cheese as a hobby soon after graduating from college in 2008. After a few years she knew it was something she wanted to do full time. She opened Valley Milkhouse in a former dairy farm in Oley in 2014 and began to manufacture and sell her cheeses professionally. Not a dairy farmer, herself, she ...

Area business and property owners are being encouraged help stop the spread of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive species that can damage hardwood and fruit trees.

Changes adopted under a federal farm bill passed in late 2018 declassified hemp as a Schedule 1 drug and allowed for wider cultivation across the country. But after an 80-year hiatus, much has changed in the world of commercial hemp farming. So, interested producers are taking baby steps towards what they hope will become a lucrative product. They need to ...