Pennsylvania Farm Bureau

510 S. 31st Street P.O. Box 8736 Camp Hill, PA 17001-8736

CONTACT: Mark ONeill, Director of Media and Strategic Communications, (717) 761-2740 mroneill@pfb.com www.pfb.com For Immediate Release: July 8, 2013

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Membership Continues to Grow

(States Largest Farm Organization Reaches All-Time Membership High)
(Camp Hill) Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) has exceeded the 58,000 member mark to reach an all-time membership high in the 63-year history of the statewide farmer-run organization. PFB exceeded its 2013 goal by increasing its membership by 2,924 (or 5.3%), upping the overall membership to 58,322. Farm family volunteers played a major role in helping our organization increase membership for the 16th consecutive year 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 the elimination of the state inheritance tax for working family farms, the repeal of unfair reality transfer taxes on farm businesses and the updating of farm vehicle laws allowing larger, modern farm equipment to legally travel on roadways, added Shaffer. Pennsylvania Farm Bureau also aggressively represents agriculture as a member of dozens of government advisory boards and industry groups. Our comprehensive work agenda encompasses all of agriculture, including protecting the use of acceptable farm practices, promoting initiatives to strengthen farm income and increasing outreach and conversations with customers who buy our food or use our products, concluded Shaffer. Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is the states largest farm organization with a volunteer membership of more than 58,300 farm and rural families, representing farms of every size and commodity across Pennsylvania. ###