Ag Progress Days Booth
Serves Up Plenty of Stir-Fry
PVGA and the Pennsylvania Sheep and Wool Growers Association (PSWGA) teamed up for the eighth year to operate a full-menu food booth at Penn State’s Ag Progress Days. Total sales for both groups was the third highest sales. PVGA sales were over $7,400, also the third highest for the 22 years the Association has operated the booth at Ag Progress Days. This year’s efforts earned a gross profit of about $3,800.
Over half of the Association sales are its popular vegetable stir-fry – offered with and without lamb meat. The stir-fry is prepared with nearly all fresh Pennsylvania vegetables – broccoli, onions, peppers, cabbage, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes plus carrots, garlic and sugar snap peas from elsewhere. Melon cups of diced watermelon and cantaloupe are also popular. Strawberry Surprises, the Association’s popular slush drink, and raspberry lemonade, along with corn-on-the-cob, whoopee pies (chocolate zucchini, blueberry, and pumpkin) and blueberry pie round out the menu. The PSWGA offered delicious American lamb gyros, lamb sandwiches, lamb pita salads and bottled water.
Like the profits from the Association’s booth at the Farm Show, the profits from the Ag Progress Days booth enable PVGA to contribute funds for vegetable and small fruit research and promotion. And volunteer help from PVGA members and friends is the only reason these kinds of profits are possible. The Association was especially blessed with help from the Penn State Horticulture Research Farm staff in Rock Springs and four interns/staff at the Southeast Research and Extension Center in Landisville. The Penn State Horticulture Farm supplied tomatoes, peppers,
onions, sweet corn, cantaloupe, zucchini and summer squash. Watermelons, broccoli, zucchini, and cabbage were secured through Harner’s Farm. Jacob Graybill supplied cabbage and Brian Campbell supplied broccoli.