Investment funds 62 projects in 33 counties, and one statewide project to inspire and equip young Pennsylvanians to pursue careers in the state’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry.
Harrisburg, PA – On the third day of the 2026 Farm Show, Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced $600,345 in PA Farm Bill Agriculture & Youth Grants, including 15 matching and 47 direct awards to organizations in 33 counties, funding projects that will empower youth across the state to succeed in Pennsylvania’s $132.5 billion agriculture industry. Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker, and Education Secretary Dr. Carrie Rowe joined Secretary Redding to make the announcement during a Career Expo connecting more than 2,200 Pennsylvania students with career opportunities offered by 48 agricultural businesses.
“Pennsylvania youth are the fertile ground that will grow our nation’s prosperity in the future,” Secretary Redding said. “The Shapiro Administration is committed to investing in opportunities every young person needs to succeed. Our investments in relevant agriculture education today will help Pennsylvania agriculture businesses meet increasingly complex challenges tomorrow.”
Governor Josh Shapiro’s bipartisan 2025-26 budget funds a seventh year of Ag & Youth Grants through the PA Farm Bill. Since 2019, Ag & Youth Grants have supported $3.5 million in 377 projects that are providing opportunities for students statewide.
Under Governor Shapiro’s leadership, L&I and the Department of Agriculture have partnered to create more apprenticeship opportunities and training programs in Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry. Since the start of the Shapiro Administration, L&I’s Apprenticeship and Training Office has supported the creation of 115 new apprenticeships including four new apprenticeship programs serving the agriculture industry and enrolled more than 17,100 new apprentices since the Governor took office.
The 2025-26 budget also delivers $183 million in funding for career and technical education and apprenticeships — a more than 50 percent increase compared to when the Governor first took office.
“Agriculture has always been at the heart of Pennsylvania’s economy, and it continues to offer meaningful, family-sustaining careers for the next generation,” said Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry Secretary Nancy A. Walker. “Under Governor Josh Shapiro’s leadership, we’re investing in hands-on training through apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships that prepare Pennsylvanians for careers on the farm and in the many trades and industries that support agriculture. These investments help ensure our agricultural workforce remains strong as we honor our roots and continue growing a nation.”
Since taking office, Governor Josh Shapiro has invested $13.8 million each year in the PA Farm Bill, continuing support for Pennsylvania’s Commission for Agriculture Education Excellence, and supporting youth education and workforce development initiatives aimed at helping students and employers in both rural and communities to compete. As part of the PA Farm Bill Ag and Youth Grants provide direct funding of up to $7,500 and matching grants of up to $25,000 to support projects, programs, and equipment purchases by youth-run organizations, and those with programs that benefit youth or promote agriculture, community leadership, vocational training, and peer networking. Past funded projects include agriculture career seminars and field trips, agricultural safety training, capital projects, and equipment purchases aimed at leading students to opportunities in agriculture and building the future workforce Pennsylvania’s agriculture industry needs.
The Governor’s 2025-26 budget also delivers $900 million in additional funding for pre-K–12 public education, building on last year’s record-setting funding.
“For many students, agriculture education is the first time they realize something powerful: There is a place for me here -- a place where learning is hands-on and connected to the real world, where technology meets tradition, where curiosity turns into purpose,” said Secretary Rowe. “As Governor Shapiro often says, investments in today’s students are investments in Pennsylvania’s future. That’s why early career education matters. Career exploration doesn’t begin at graduation -- it begins with curiosity.”
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
Montgomery
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
Learn more about opportunities in agriculture at agriculture.pa.gov/kidsarethefuture.
Find a map of previous grant recipients and details of other PA Farm Bill grants and initiatives to grow and sustain Pennsylvania agriculture at agriculture.pa.gov/pafarmbill.
Photos and video of the event are at PAcast.com.
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