Phil Gruber

I've started doing a roundup to compile those interesting little ag policy stories around the Mid-Atlantic and nation. May eventually become a weekly feature. Here's this week's edition. lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/a…

Apparently she was from Kirkwood, Missouri, not Lancaster County, but she did live in Carlisle and Bryn Mawr. pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultu…

Any type of cow's milk will provide all of these benefits. The only difference is people like whole milk more than milk with a lower fat content.

A bill allowing whole milk in schools passed the U.S. Senate this afternoon. lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/d…

@AlanLevinovitz Agreed. Jordan Mroziak, a well-spoken education consultant, made this point at an AI-in-education summit I went to at Penn State earlier this fall. lancasterfarming.com/country-life/y…

Sometimes the quality of product is only one part of its value, and maybe an insignificant one. A home-cooked meal might not taste as good as take-out. But it might *mean* more to your family, or the friends you made it for. Often the value of the product lies in its production. This is what people miss about AI essays in school. The point of writing the essay isn't to produce the best possible essay. It is to exercise your brain in the production of the essay — to connect you with the material, excite you about it, make it meaningful.

Today is turning out to be more eclectic than I expected. This morning I analyzed the difference between maggots and grubs, and now I'm going through a government regulation that mentions Voodoo and Santeria.

Based on a quick search of a couple agencies, USDA's message appears unusually rancorous. Interior/NPS and HHS are more straightforward. EPA and Energy don't even have obvious homepage notices.

Government shutdowns = notices on federal websites that are temporarily not being updated. USDA's message is particularly partisan.

Clear undercount, at least in Pennsylvania. Lancaster County has well more than three on-farm markets, as the current data tool on which this data was based shows. Perhaps the tool was less up to date in 2023, when the data on the chart was generated. usdalocalfoodportal.com/fe/searchresul…

For older @4H'ers, helping younger members is a favorite part of the experience at this New Jersey fair. lancasterfarming.com/country-life/f…

USDA has announced it will stop providing preferential benefits based on race or sex. lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/n…

The Justice Department is suing California, saying its mandate for cage-free layer housing conflicts with federal law. lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/p…

USDA is circulating this map of Chinese-owned farmland, which could be misleading at first glance. To be clear, the yellow blocks are the *counties* where Chinese entities own farms. The actual Chinese-owned farmland is about 0.01% of U.S. land, less than Adams County PA.

President Donald Trump’s administration announced Tuesday that it will attempt to ban Chinese nationals and foreign adversaries from buying U.S. farmland. lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/n…

@fleroy1974 In general, the "climate change makes everything worse" stories are long past their usefulness and at this point probably just feed negativity. Better to focus on solutions.

For Guardian journalists, tacking on "study finds" or "scientists say" in a headline seems sufficient to pass off the most laughable content.

My longest story to date posted today. Developed over two years, it is the story of how more than 30 diseases shaped American history. lancasterfarming.com/country-life/a…

One takeaway from this story is that entertainment is a big money maker for fairs. lancasterfarming.com/country-life/f…

A major Southwestern egg producer is calling for American hens to be vaccinated after the company lost about 6 million birds to avian influenza. lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/p…

Lancaster Farming is celebrating its 70th anniversary by honoring the farms that make this publication possible. Nominate a favorite farm for The Farmer's Choice Award. Go to lanc.farm/thefarmerschoi… to nominate a farm!

@SecRollins, in Pennsylvania today, said President Donald Trump will look out for American farmers while reshaping global trade. lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/n…