HERSHEY – On December 15, several members of the PSCFO Board met privately with John Hanger, former DEP Secretary under former Governor Rendell and now Secretary of Policy and Planning for incoming Governor Tom Wolf.  Mr. Hanger said that he welcomes policy input from the PA State Council of Farm Organizations to the Wolf Administration.  According to PSCFO President Brian Snyder, this may be the first time PSCFO has met with an official at this level of an incoming administration.  Among the topics discussed were:

• Need for adequate General Government Operations funds for the PA Department of Agriculture
• Preservation of certain line items in PDA’s budget such as the Centers of Excellence, agricultural research, PA Preferred, and others
• Importance of consistency in immigration rules. While a federal issue, state legislative initiatives could create an even more confusing set of rules for agricultural producers