Have you ever noticed a little yellow check mark logo on packaged foods, farm and artisanal products and local business websites? That little logo is your key to unlocking some of the best Pennsylvania grown and processed agricultural products. It’s the sign of a PA Preferred® member.
PA Preferred farms and businesses grow and create products with 75 percent of the ingredients grown or harvested in Pennsylvania. Every time you buy a PA Preferred item, you’re investing right into Pennsylvania agriculture, farmers and producers. It’s the ultimate “Buy Local” designation and a game-changing state branding program.
We spoke with Gwyn Rowland, PA Preferred Program Manager, and Patrick Andrews, Division Chief of Markets at the PA Department of Agriculture, who told us all about the program, its development and its mission for Pennsylvania agribusiness owners and consumers.
Andeana Gonzales of Crooked Row Farm in Orefield with fresh-cut greens
PA Preferred’s Creation and Growth
PA Preferred is a trademarked, statewide branding program with the goal of promoting and bolstering Pennsylvania agriculture. Its dual focus includes the businesses who bear the logo, typically farmers and producers, and the consumers who benefit from finding and purchasing PA Preferred goods.
Andrews explains, “Boiled down, PA Preferred is two things. To the consumer, it’s a guarantee of origin. This product is 75 percent produced by a Pennsylvania farmer or with ingredients from Pennsylvania. This comes from your community, your state, your local economy. For farmers, it’s an economic driver of dollars back to their farm. Farms don’t receive a big enough slice of wealth from the food system. It’s going too far down the stream. The point of the program is that it’s 100 percent about the farm and driving dollars to the farmer.”
Dustin Butler and family of Butler Hill Beef Farm in Knoxville
PA Preferred was launched in 2004 by the PA Department of Agriculture and has changed shape somewhat in the 20 years since. Most notably, the program became a law in 2011 with the passing of the PA Preferred Act. This defined its focus while making PA Preferred the official, trademarked branding program for local foods and farms statewide.
Andrews says, “It’s enacted in law, and represents the Commonwealth’s commitment to the agricultural industry. Compared to other states, PA Preferred receives more funding and more support from the Governor, General Assembly and stakeholders, all focused on supporting PA farmers.”
Rowland adds, “Out of all the state branding programs, PA Preferred is one of the ones that has the most structure and also tells consumers, ‘When you’re buying this product, whether it be an apple, pear, a jar of jam or a pound of hamburger, it meets a standard.’ I think that, for me anyway, is what makes this program really special.”
Jubilee Heritage Cheese in Middletown
Rowland explains that the narrowing of the program’s scope under the PA Preferred Act created something of a challenge at first. PA Preferred was originally a “pretty big tent,” under which you could find a vast array of food producers. Since 2011, the scope has focused on agricultural commodities, which still includes a wide variety of businesses like an alpaca farm and a woodworker, but excludes businesses not sourcing and using primarily Pennsylvania-grown and harvested ingredients. While more stringent, this newer eligibility criteria creates a trusted, quality brand. Rowland says, “We have the qualification of 75 percent or more of the product or ingredients being from PA, which tells the consumer that it’s a bit more than buying local. It’s a standard we work really hard to uphold so that we gain consumer confidence in the products and the program.”
The PA Preferred program includes more than 1,000 members across the state. The large majority are family farms while the others are processors, farmers’ markets/retail businesses, restaurants and /dining establishments, and commodity groups and agricultural trade associations who help bring the program to a wider audience.
Another way that PA Preferred has expanded its reach and visibility is through a statewide marketing program, now in its fifth year, promoting brand recognition through a new public-facing, optimized website, special events and billboards, social platforms and other media channels.
PA Preferred also has two additional program arms, Homegrown by Heroes, which focuses on veteran farmers and PA Preferred Organic, set to focus on organic agriculture.
Benefits to Members & Consumers
For the past four years, Rowland and the PA Preferred team have led the program through a rebuilding phase, resulting in expanded benefits for its members. “We’ve taken the program to a place where it can really start to grow in ways we’ve talked about internally, but didn’t have the bandwidth to do, yet. It’s in a really good place to start a lot more recruitment and to see what members want out of the program.”
One point of growth was an overhaul of the website and developing an online data management system launched in 2022, enabling online (and streamlined) membership applications and the creation of a searchable database of members. It also provides businesses with the opportunity to showcase their produce and products through the website. “Once they’re approved, businesses can upload pictures, write a story and tell the world where they have their products for sale. I look at that as one more marketing channel,” says Rowland.
Ken and Dawn Ogburn and family of Pond Bank Farm in Gettysburg
Businesses have access to free point of purchase materials and are also part of the statewide marketing campaign aimed at bolstering the viability and vitality of PA Preferred member businesses.
And, of course, there’s the cache of the logo, itself, which adds a layer of eye-catching validity to homegrown products and produce.
Consumers benefit from the growth and development of PA Preferred as well. The user-friendly website allows you to easily search and find products, farms, stores, CSAs and more, learning all about them in a couple of clicks.
Rowland says the mission of the PA Preferred Program extends beyond “Buy Local” to directly connecting consumers with their food sources. “As we all know, COVID kind of laid bare the ills with our food system. Some have been corrected, some have not and are still trying to find their way. As a farmers’ market groupie, I’ve been going to farmers markets for decades. You get to develop a relationship with a farmer or processor and it’s kind of special. I love to get to know the farmers and what they grow through the harvest seasons and the different things they bring to market. It’s really nice to watch nature unfold. I want to light that imagination in other people who may be far, far away from where their food comes from. How do we work with a variety of people in communities that are far away from food sources and food choices, and what can we do to bridge that gap?”
PA Preferred’s Next Steps
Rowland and the PA Preferred team have goals in mind for shaping the direction of the program. “Knowing that we have so many farms and agribusiness in Pennsylvania, increasing our membership is definitely a goal that we’ve had all along. Now that the big lift around rebuilding the program’s foundation has been completed, I hope we continue to grow as a program, and encourage more member recruitment.”
She’d also like to zero in on the needs and wishes of current members through conversations, surveys and needs assessments. “That’s where the growing edge is,” she says. “Asking more of our members, ‘What’s next? What do you need from the department?’”
There are also initiatives in the works to get the check mark logo on more packaging, websites, farmers market signs and other marketing materials. “We have a statewide marketing campaign, but if people can’t see the logo on products in farm and retail markets, how are they going to identify and find the PA Preferred goods? There need to be a lot of layers for people to find farmers and processors.”
Liz Wagner, owner-operator of Crooked Row Farm with eggs
How to Find or Become “PA Preferred”
Rowland encourages any interested businesses to head to the PA Preferred website. There, they’ll find eligibility requirements, an application and other useful information. Most PA farms and producers will meet the requirements and are always welcome to apply. The program is free and offers a net positive to your business, so why not check it out?
If you’re looking for PA Preferred products near you, head to the website’s searchable database, where you can track down farmers and producers by product type or location. And, “check for the check” logo the next time you shop!
Visit the PA Preferred website anytime for more information on the program, and follow its Instagram page to stay in the loop on all the latest.
This series was created in collaboration with PA Preferred.
PA Preferred® is Pennsylvania’s statewide branding program that promotes locally grown and processed food and other agricultural products.
- Photos: PA Preferred
