Yes, Penn State provides events for local farmers and food producers in order to connect and transfer knowledge by offering many different programs. These include:

• The College of Agricultural Science offers an annual “Ag Progress Days” (short for Agricultural Progress Days) where local farmers can learn more about new innovations and transfer knowledge/best practices. In addition to the in-person experiences Ag Progress Days includes virtual experiences featuring exhibitors and Penn State Extension programs through on-demand webinars and Public Cable Network television coverage.
• The College of Agricultural Science Extension Office offers free educational tools and programs to support local farmers, including workshops, conferences, on-site consultation, and on-demand access to articles, videos, and online courses.
• The Penn State Student Farm hosts regular events and webinars to provide information about sustainable agriculture.
• The Department of Food Sciences annually hosts a variety of annual courses including:
  • Cultured Dairy Products: provides participants with an overview of basic dairy technology and the manufacture of cultured dairy products, including buttermilk, sour cream, cottage cheese, yogurt, and cream cheese.
  • Mushroom Food Safety: focuses on the food safety risks associated with the production of whole and sliced mushrooms and control measures that prevent these risks.
• allinfoodz, a podcast managed by the Penn State Food Decisions Research Laboratory team, features a variety of topics including “Community-Driven Efforts to Reduce Food Insecurity” and “Rethinking Institutional Food: Local, Nutritious, and Sustainable?“

 

Learn more about Penn State’s progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals HERE and on SDG 2 HERE.