Inspired to Grow with the PA Farm Show

Each year, Pennsylvania celebrates a $312.5 billion dollar industry in a one-million-square-foot space in Harrisburg. It’s the largest indoor agriculture exposition under one roof, in the nation, but around these parts, it’s just called the Pennsylvania Farm Show.

For the last seven years, Dr. Sean Cornell, associate professor geography and earth science and advisor to the campus farm, has represented the university at the PA Farm Show. Each year, he and several students manage a small educational exhibit focused on farming, soil, sustainability, and more. This year, he was invited to more than double his exhibit space as part of the larger “So You Want to Be a Farmer” exhibit.

“The average age of a grower in Pennsylvania is 65, so the number one contributor to the industry is starting to age out. We need more people growing food and we hope to inspire new growers,” said Cornell.

Cornell and students spent the entire week before the opening of the PA Farm Show transporting elements of the exhibit and setting up. They featured greens planted last October by students at the campus farm, displays about soil, composting, and more.

“I go to the Farm Show every year, but have never worked there. I was blown away by the amount of effort that goes into preparing and I never imagined how much work would go into our exhibit,” said junior sustainability major Mavis Anderson.

Anderson spent her days at the PA Farm Show answering the common question “why won’t this grow,” but her favorite part of the week was working with children.

“I believe young kids are our best chance at solving the climate crisis. Exhibits like this get them engaged and things like recycling just become normal for them,” added Anderson.

Cornell’s favorite part of the week is also helping people solve their growing problems.

“I get questions about nutrient management, pest issues, or simply how to get started. They leave here excited about growing and that is the best part,” said Cornell.

While Cornell and his students were engaging with hundreds of potential farmers, another group of Ship students were working behind the scenes at the PA Farm Show to reach an even larger audience.

Each year, the PA Department of Agriculture employs many communications interns to support media relations, digital content, and more. This year six out of the 13 selected were Ship students.

Ryan Cleary ’23, Allyson Ritchey ’24, Elizabeth Peters ’24, Jayden Pohlman ’26, Megan Sawka ’26, and Rylee Swails ’25, all from the Communication, Journalism, and Media (CJM) Department and were excited to represent Ship.

“The first day of orientation we all introduced ourselves and Ship was really showing up,” said Cleary.

Cleary was on the job from start to finish each day shooting and editing photos and videos of different events, competitions, and exhibits. Cleary’s content was featured daily on the PA Farm Show’s official social media accounts and its more than 80,000 followers.

It was an experience that took him well out of his comfort zone in many unexpected ways. Growing up in Philadelphia, he didn’t have much experience in the farming industry and had never heard of the PA Farm Show.

“I’m also a pretty quiet person, but I had to learn very quickly, I couldn’t be afraid to talk and ask questions,” said Cleary.

He quickly learned about rodeos, draft horse pulls, sheep shearing, and the value of making connections.

“I made great connections for the future with other professionals in my field and fellow photographers,” he added.

There is one part of the experience that didn’t feel at all foreign to Cleary, and that was the actual work he was tasked with doing.

“The hands-on experiences I got using cameras and other equipment in the CJM program at Ship more than prepared me for this internship. I didn’t have to ask a million questions about my assignments because I already knew what to do. And I saw first-hand the importance of deadlines, not overshooting, and more. That’s all stuff I learned in my program,” said Cleary.

For Pohlman, interning at the PA Farm Show felt like coming home. She grew up on the Pohlman Family Farm, continuing a family tradition that is older than the 108 year-old PA Farm Show.

“We own one of the few bicentennial farms in Pennsylvania. We raise beef cattle and finishing hogs on land my family has owned for over 200 years,” explained Pohlman.

Pohlman was thankful to be able to put her background in agriculture and her love of photography to work in a meaningful way.

“I learned so much throughout the entire week and couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to work with,” she added.

Ritchey was the veteran intern at this year’s PA Farm Show, returning for her third year with the Department of Agriculture. She took on various tasks including running the PA Farm Show’s Instagram and Facebook pages, writing press releases, and taking photos.

Over the course of her three years, she became amazed by the art of square dancing and even got to meet a celebrity, that goes by the name Punxatawny Phil.

“Ship is in such a great location for access to internships in Harrisburg,” explained Ritchey.

On top of her three years with the Department of Agriculture, Ritchey spent last summer as a communications intern with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

“I learned so much in the classroom at Ship that has made me into a star intern across the Commonwealth. These opportunities have allowed me to grow so much,” said Ritchey.

Many of the interns hope to continue growing through future internships at the PA Farm Show and Cornell has plans to grow his exhibit, in an effort to inspire more growers, next year.