230 Opportunities for and Threats Against Animal Production in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: the Need for Animal Scientists to Have a Role in Informing Society

Abstract

Abstract Animal agriculture is critical to the economy and livelihoods in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Animal agriculture is directly impacted by feed production, weather, disease pressure, regulations, and trade. Few of these, if any, are easily predictable. Thus, thirty-five diverse stakeholders across the supply chain, including feed mills, producers, veterinarians, animal scientists, and policymakers, came together with twenty undergraduate students to scan how factors like political, economic, social, and technological issues impacted the current and future state of animal production in the Commonwealth. Stakeholders were grouped by sector resulting in seven groups (e.g., production, feed processors, meat processors, animal health, conservation, policy, and finance). Session One asked participants to answer, ‘How will the changing outside world affect animal agriculture in the Commonwealth?’ While Session Two asked participants to answer, ‘Does the Commonwealth have the people, practices, equipment, etc. to fight threats and seize opportunities?’ All groups reported their discussions of opportunities and threats. These points were captured and then coded by issue type (e.g., political or social). Across all groups (i.e., 100% of groups), the lack of agriculture literacy in the consumer base was identified as a major threat to animal production in the Commonwealth. Three of seven groups (43%) recognized the political and financial momentum for climate-smart agricultural research and practices as an opportunity for academia, industry, and farmer partnerships. Additionally, three of seven groups (43%) saw increasing markets and decreasing costs of alternative, cultured proteins as a threat to animal production. Groups were split on whether new agriculture technologies were an opportunity or a threat. Some saw new technologies as a threat given the aging farmer population in the Commonwealth, while others saw new technology as an opportunity for better resource use and combating labor shortages. Albeit being state-specific, when taken together these findings provide insight into national-level trends in opportunities and threats that the animal sciences can help to seize and combat. These findings highlight the importance of animal science exiting the benchtop, the farm, and the classroom to better engage consumers and decision-makers seeking information about animal agriculture.