When you picture agriculture, a podcast probably is not what comes to mind. For the Berks County Department of Agriculture, they saw Discover Ag, a millennial-ran podcast, as a way to expand what agriculture means and to look at it from a different lens. On September 26th, the Berks County Department of Agriculture and Discover Ag podcast held a live event at Reading Area Community College’s Miller Center. This event focused on what makes Berks County special for agriculture and celebrating the foods and traditions found here. The event had over 100 attendees and various exhibitors were set up offering traditional Berks foods and treats. From Pure Wild Tea to the Dairy Princesses, various local companies and farms were featured. Being the “Snack Food Capital” Deiffenbach’s, Unique, Tom Sturgis and others shared their salty treats before the live show started.
During the show, the Discover Ag Podcast hosts, Natalie Kovarik and Tara Vander Dussen, two female millennial farmers (cattle rancher and dairy farmer respectively), were given a culinary tour of Berks County by Pamela Menet, Director of Community and Economic Development and 4th? Generation Berks Countian. Stops along the tour featured a Berks County Cheesesteak (notable for its inclusion of red sauce), Snack foods (Chips, pretzels, locally-made mustard), Reading Draft Soda, and Wet-bottom Shoe-fly Pie.
The event was a love letter to the area we call home and all of the food, fun, and memories that are made here. Berks County’s rich soil helps grow some of the finest foods in the country.
Stay connected for the upcoming release of the Berks County Department of Agriculture “Impact of Agriculture Report” coming later this fall. Check out the Discover Ag Podcast on https://discoverag.com/