With a possible $3 billion budget deficit looming for Pennsylvania, Gov. Ed Rendell has asked state agencies to make serious cuts in spending.

However, some legislators in Harrisburg and people throughout the farming community believe cuts to the Department of Agriculture's budget go well beyond ordinary cost-saving measures.

Agriculture is considered the state's No. 1 industry, generating $45 billion in output each year.

State Sen. Mike Brubaker called a special meeting of the Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee Tuesday afternoon and listened to more than a dozen agricultural specialists from around the state talk about the effect of budget cuts.

Brubaker said the cuts are "deeper and steeper" than those at other departments in the state: 17 percent, compared to an average 8.8 percent cut elsewhere.

Rendell's proposed budget calls for a 28 percent cut to county conservation districts, a 60 percent cut in crop insurance assistance and a 73 percent cut to agriculture research.

"While we can survive and we will survive in this difficult economic time, it's absolutely critical that we keep a safe and affordable food supply, for that is fundamental to our very lives," Brubaker said.

Dr. Bruce McPheron, incoming dean at Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, testified in support of restoring funding for agriculture research, saying that every $1 appropriated to research generates an economic return of $20.

McPheron said the governor's budget calls for a 6 percent decrease for Penn State's agricultural research and extension programs, including the Lancaster County Cooperative Extension. He said the cuts will mean a loss of 70 positions statewide in county-level agricultural programs.

The public's expectations of agriculture are increasing, McPheron said, with rising concerns over food quality, safety and security as well as animal welfare and the water quality in the Chesapeake Bay.

"Agriculture must have assistance to meet these growing expectations, challenges and opportunities," McPheron said. "The ag sector — the industry itself — simply can't do this on its own. It requires our help."

Matt Ehrhart, Pennsylvania's executive director for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, testified that cuts to research and county conservation districts could hurt the state's ability to reduce pollutants and sediment enough to meet the targets set under the Chesapeake Bay Tributary Strategy, which is set to take effect by next spring.

Pennsylvania farmers have cut the amount of nitrogen — a component of fertilizer — deposited into the bay watershed by almost 18 million pounds a year compared to 1985, Ehrhart said. That's better than any other state, but an additional 25 million pounds of reductions are needed to comply with federal mandates.

Excess nitrogen in the Chesapeake Bay fosters algae growth that chokes off other aquatic life.

Judy Nissley, co-owner of Nissley Vineyard & Winery Estate in Bainbridge, testified on behalf of the Pennsylvania Winery Association, saying that state-funded marketing helps promote growth in the wine industry and increase tourism dollars through events such as wine tours and wine tastings.

Nissley requested that the legislature restore a $240,000 product promotion and marketing campaign for Pennsylvania wineries. Rendell's budget totally eliminated all funding to the program.

Pennsylvania wineries contribute $661 million annually to the state's economy and generate more than $161 million in wages, Nissley said. She said one million people visit state wineries yearly, bringing $167 million in tourist dollars.

Nissley said 95 percent of Pennsylvania wineries are small, producing less than 30,000 gallons of wine per year. That limits their ability to advertise their product.

"They are small wineries who cannot afford, individually or collectively, to spend the kind of marketing dollars that would enable the industry to reach its full potential," Nissley said.

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