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Mark O’Neill, Media Relations Director
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For Immediate Release:  July 3, 2012

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Attains All-Time Membership High

(Camp Hill) – Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) has exceeded the 55,000 member mark to reach an all-time membership high in the 62-year history of the statewide farmer-run association.  PFB exceeded its 2012 goal by adding 2,011 new members to increase overall membership to 55,398.  It marked the 15th consecutive year that membership has grown.  

“Farm family volunteers played a major role in helping our organization grow by encouraging others in the agricultural community to join Pennsylvania Farm Bureau.  They know firsthand how Farm Bureau works to solve and prevent problems for agriculture and understand how the organization gets results through members, who contribute their valuable time working in numerous roles at the county, state and national level,” said PFB President Carl T. Shaffer.
PFB noted that a growing membership and the true grassroots involvement of those members makes Farm Bureau all the more influential when presenting a unified message to policymakers at the state and national level.

“Over the past year, Farm Bureau has had numerous success stories, including playing a significant role in convincing the U.S. Labor Department to withdraw proposed regulations that would have prevented farm family children and others from performing routine chores and gaining useful experience on farms; aggressively campaigning against efforts to expand Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania; coordinating efforts with state and county agencies to provide critical information to farmers impacted by natural disasters (such as Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee); and winning exemptions for farmers from inheritance taxation and realty transfer taxation of farm property,” added Shaffer.

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau also aggressively represents agriculture as a member of dozens of government advisory boards and industry groups.  “Whether the issues involve protecting the use of acceptable farm practices, outreach to customers or initiatives to strengthen farm income, Farm Bureau has a vast work agenda,” concluded Shaffer.

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is the state’s largest farm organization with a volunteer membership of more
than 55,000 farm and rural families, representing farms of every size and commodity across Pennsylvania.
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