Penn State | CAS | Research and Graduate Education | Research & Extension Centers | Russell Larson Research & Education Center | Ag Progress Days You are Here

Every third week in August, like magic, a small city of tents, buildings, cars, and new farm equipment pops up on a 174-acre farm that once parked nothing more than dairy cows on its gentle terrain. It’s another Ag Progress Days, a bustling monument to agriculture, commerce, and Penn State’s education, research, and outreach programs.

Go to Ag Progress Day website.

The significance of Ag Progress Days in Penn State history goes deeper than a taproot. In the 1800s, faculty would periodically travel across the state to hold Farmers’ Institutes. These on-farm workshops continued well into the 1900s and played a crucial role in educating farmers on the latest agricultural breakthroughs. The college first invited farmers to campus in 1907 during Farmer’s Week, held every December or January. These winter field days were eventually discontinued in favor of the Pennsylvania Farm Show, which debuted in 1917, but Penn State did not abandon its responsibility to reach out to new audiences. Faculty and extension agents participated in yearly field days at college facilities or area farms, sponsored by the University, local farm organizations, or the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

“The real precursor to Ag Progress Days was Grassland Field Days, which started in 1951, and then became Forage Progress Field Days,” says Jim Starling, senior associate dean emeritus. “These events were held around the state, bouncing from site to site.”

These two-day events focused on equipment, plowing contests, pasture renovation, and forage production. In 1969, the event had its name changed to Agricultural Progress Days and was held on Fox Chase Farm in Bradford County. The first Ag Progress Days to be held at Rock Springs was in 1971, also the first time the event was held over a three-day period. The event continued to be held at various sites until 1976, when Dean James Beattie proposed that Rock Springs become the event’s permanent home. “It was much less expensive to build a quality site at Rock Springs than to start from scratch every year at a different location,” Starling recalls.

Today, Ag Progress Days remains one of the top agricultural events in the state. It also is one of only three agricultural exhibitions in the country sponsored by a major university. The show uses about 55 acres for events, 35 acres for parking, and more than 80 acres for crops. The site was first developed for the event by Joseph Harrington, professor emeritus of agronomy, who served as APD manager from 1976 to 1991. Current APD manager Bob Oberheim, who succeeded Harrington in 1992, says it takes 12 months of work to produce three days of agricultural activities. “Before I finish this year’s show, I have projects and improvements already planned for next year,” he says.

The APD farm has no separate staff. Oberheim, who also manages the horticulture farm, oversees the site, and works with agronomy farm manager Scott Harkcom to plant and harvest crops for machinery and crop demonstrations. Oberheim also tries to add at least one new feature to the APD farm each year. In recent years, the farm added a tractor safety demonstration area, a composting pad, a state-of-the-art animal greenhouse, and flower and ornamental beds.

In 2000, exhibitors and vendors were allowed to transact sales during the event for the first time. “At APD, farmers can see, test, and sometimes operate different brands of equipment in a single visit,” Oberheim says. “Now, if they like a piece of equipment, they can buy it here, too. A farmer’s time is valuable, and this service can only make the show more popular.”

Ag Progress Days remains one of the college’s most effective outreach tools. Nearly all of the college’s 12 academic departments and 67 extension offices participate every year, contributing exhibits and educational materials, including a large multimedia display on current research programs in the College Exhibits Building. State and federal agricultural agencies also prepare extensive educational displays for the event.

Oberheim surveys APD audiences every other year, using questionnaires, interviews, and parking counts to help determine the makeup of the event’s audience. About 60 percent of the people visiting the event are directly associated with agriculture. The 2000 show had 342 commercial exhibitors and between 43,000 and 45,000 visitors. “I think we can easily reach an attendance of 60,000 and a roster of 375 commercial exhibitors within the next couple of years,” he says.

—John Wall