In Blair County, Governor Shapiro and Agriculture Secretary Redding Visit Kulp Dairy Farm to Highlight Administration’s Work to Speed Up Permitting, Support Farmers, and Strengthen Rural Communities

Aug 25, 2025

Governor Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding joined Pennsylvania farmers and agriculture leaders at Kulp Dairy Farm in Blair County to highlight how the Shapiro Administration’s work to modernize and accelerate permitting are delivering speed and predictably for farmers allowing them to invest and expand their operations.

From day one, Governor Shapiro has made cutting red tape and streamlining government a top priority. By speeding up permitting processes, his Administration is helping farmers like the Kulps expand their operations with confidence supporting jobs, boosting food production, and driving rural economic growth.

“From day one, my Administration has been laser-focused on cutting red tape and speeding up government so Pennsylvanians can get answers more quickly and move forward with their plans whether that’s a dairy farm expanding, a barber opening a new shop, or a teacher starting in the classroom,” said Governor Shapiro. “By modernizing the permitting process, we’re helping family farms like the Kulps grow and thrive, while making sure our ag sector continues to feed our families and power our Commonwealth’s economy.”

Kulp Dairy Farm, a third-generation, family-owned farm founded in 1973, is planning a major expansion to add new animal housing barns, a milking parlor, a manure separation building, a waste storage pond, and other infrastructure improvements. The expansion will allow the farm to add nearly 1,000 dairy cows, increasing its capacity to supply milk to Land O’Lakes while sustaining and creating local jobs.

When the farm raised concerns earlier this year about potential delays in securing its stormwater construction permit, the Governor’s Office of Transformation and Opportunity (OTO)(opens in a new tab) and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) worked closely with the farm to expedite the process. As a result, the Kulps received their permit more than four months ahead of schedule. DEP completed its review in just 83 business days compared to the standard 117 days thanks to the Shapiro Administration’s reforms and the Kulps’ consistently high-quality applications, as the farm has expanded several times over the past few years.

“Governor Shapiro’s leadership in streamlining permitting particularly environmental permits gives Pennsylvania farmers the certainty they need to move forward with confidence,” said Secretary Redding. “Timely decisions mean farmers can invest in innovation, adopt conservation practices, and grow their businesses without being held back by delays. That’s how we keep agriculture strong and sustainable for the future.”

“Over the last 26 years, through hard work and the blessing of many great employees, our business has grown to 2,900 milking cows across three locations with 47 full-time employees,” said Kyle Kulp, owner of Kulp Dairy Farm. “As my generation steps into leadership, we’re excited to make the next large investment in our farm for the benefit of our cows, our employees, our community, and Pennsylvania agriculture. We’re very appreciative of the strong communication and timeliness of the permitting process. From our initial submission on February 5 to final approval on August 7, the review was remarkably quick compared to historical norms a strong testament to the Governor and his team.”

“Today is actually a celebration thank you, Governor Shapiro, for coming through with what you promised,” said Chris Hoffman, President of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. “When he was campaigning, the Governor said he would be a tireless advocate for agriculture and that he would address our issues. And today, we’re here to celebrate with the Kulp family a milestone something we’ve worked a really long time to achieve. Getting permits and forms together in a relatively short amount of time is critical to keeping farms moving. Agriculture doesn’t sit still it moves at the speed of light and we need a government that runs with us, works with us, and delivers the support we need.”

Source : pa.gov

Video: Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Understanding how a plant responds to stress is one thing.

Using that knowledge to make better management decisions is another.

Systemic acquired resistance, or SAR, is the plant's more direct defense response. When stress or infection occurs, the plant begins signaling throughout its system and preparing defensive compounds.

But if we know that response exists, can we help prepare the plant before the stress arrives?

The answer starts with understanding what triggers the response and what the plant needs to carry it out.

The Trigger and the Fuel

Salicylic acid plays an important role in triggering the SAR pathway.

Think of it as turning the truck on.

The engine may be running, but it still needs fuel to do the work.

In this case, manganese plays an important role in supporting the enzyme systems involved in the plant's defensive response.

This makes manganese status an important part of the conversation. Whether a producer is using tissue testing, sap analysis, or simply scouting for visible deficiency symptoms, the goal is to make sure the plant has adequate manganese available.

Manganese is required in relatively small amounts, but that does not make its role small.

If the plant receives a signal to defend itself but lacks the nutrition needed to support that response, it may struggle to carry out the process efficiently.

The trigger matters.

The fuel matters too.

Prepare Before the Stress Arrives

The best time to think about stress management is before the plant is overwhelmed.

Once a crop is already struggling, management can quickly turn into a game of catch-up.

This is similar to nitrogen management. Once a plant becomes severely deficient, correcting the problem does not necessarily erase the time and yield potential already lost.

Plant defense can work the same way.

Low-rate, targeted approaches designed to support the SAR pathway may fit best ahead of an expected stress event rather than after significant damage has already occurred.

That requires producers to think about predictable stress.

We may not know exactly what the weather will do tomorrow, but we generally know summer heat is coming. We know certain field conditions increase disease pressure. We know a herbicide application can temporarily stress a crop as the plant processes the chemistry.

Even a properly timed and labeled herbicide application can create a temporary response in the plant.

That does not mean the herbicide is bad.

Weeds can create significantly more yield loss than the temporary stress caused by controlling them.

The question is not whether we should eliminate every stressor.

The question is whether we can better prepare the plant to manage necessary and predictable stress.

Not All Stress Is Bad

Stress is a normal part of plant growth.

A perfectly stress-free environment does not exist in the field.

In fact, some stress is necessary for normal plant development. A plant responds to wind, temperature, moisture, sunlight, and countless other environmental signals throughout the season.

The environment is stress.

The plant's job is to manage it.

Problems begin when the stress load becomes greater than the plant's ability to respond.

Extreme heat, drought, high salt concentrations, disease pressure, and even certain management practices can add to that load.

This is where understanding SAR becomes useful.

Instead of waiting until the plant is visibly struggling, producers can begin identifying periods when stress is likely and make management decisions around those windows.

ISR Starts With the Soil

While SAR is a more direct defense response, induced systemic resistance, or ISR, brings the conversation back to soil health.

The longevity of a farm is closely connected to the health of its soil.

Carbon plays a major role because it supports biological life within the soil. Bacteria, fungi, and other organisms interact with plant roots and influence how the plant grows, accesses nutrients, and prepares for stress.

This is why soil health cannot be reduced to one product or one application.

It is a system.

Keeping living plants in the field longer can support biological activity. Cover crops may fit some operations. Better water management can improve soil conditions.