HARRISBURG –Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff honored Pennsylvania’s dairy industry and celebrated June Dairy Month today by dipping into a 90-gallon sundae served on the Capitol steps.
“The dairy industry is the cornerstone of Pennsylvania agriculture,” said Wolff. “During June, we recognize our dairy producers’ hard work to produce fresh, wholesome products for consumers.
“Governor Rendell’s continued support and the initiatives of the Department’s Center for Dairy Excellence have propelled the dairy industry’s economic contribution to $1.7 billion annually.”
Pennsylvania’s 8,400 dairy farm families care for 554,000 cows and produce 10.7 billion pounds of milk annually. Nationally, the commonwealth ranks fifth in milk production, third in butter production, sixth in regular hard ice cream and seventh in cheese production.
This year, Rendell has taken great strides to further boost the profitability of Pennsylvania’s dairy industry. He has developed significant recommendations for dairy policy reform for the 2007 Farm Bill, the key piece of legislation that affects every citizen through agriculture and nutrition planning for the next five years.