Elk County farmers discuss issues during legislative tour

ELK COUNTY (WTAJ) – On August 16, local farmers in Elk County met at The Winery at Wilcox to discuss some of the pending legislation that the Elk County Farm Bureau is following in Harrisburg and Washington.

“This is where we invite all our local, county, state and federal representatives to and ag divisions within the county to give them an idea of some of the agricultural activities within the division,” Elk County Farm Bureau government relations director, Ernest Mattiuz said.

During the event, farmers raised issues and concerns regarding the future of agriculture in Pennsylvania. One issue brought up was the lack of FFA chapters in the area.

“The last state chapter was in Johnsonburg a number of years ago and it focused mainly on forestry. When that teacher retired back in the seventies the program shut down and it was never re-established. Hopefully we get it back in,” Mattiuz said.

In the wine industry, the president of The Winery in Wilcox, Jamie Williams says one of his top concerns is the spotted lantern fly.

“Right now we are dealing with an invasive pest that a lot of people have heard about it. It’s the spotted lantern fly. It’s a major issue. It really drives up our production cost with 12 acres of grapes and our spray. Budget has quadrupled over the last few years because of the pest,” Williams said.

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Other topics discussed at the event were dairy and energy issues.

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