Ag Progress Days is an agricultural exposition that has been held annually by Penn State for more than fifty years. Sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences, the three-day outreach event is one of three held by a major university in the United States.
In the 1880s, as Pennsylvania State College, the university worked in partnership with state agricultural officials to organize county Farmer Institutes, the precursor to Ag Progress Days. Agricultural specialists from the college demonstrated the latest practices of the time.
Starting in 1907, Penn State invited farmers to the campus annually. The university held a Farmers’ Week in January to educate farmers on dairying and agricultural subjects.
However, with the debut of the Pennsylvania State Farm Show in Harrisburg in 1917, organized with the help of Penn State’s School of Agriculture, Farmers’ Week was discontinued. The State Farm Show included exhibits and competitions based on the work of Pennsylvania farmers and high schoolers enrolled in agriculture courses. It also included exhibits from Penn State.
Although Farmers’ Week had ended, Penn State agricultural faculty and staff held annual field days at collegiate facilities and local farms. Sponsors of the field days included the university, local farm organizations, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
In 1951, Grassland Field Days began, with attention paid to equipment, pasture renovation, and forage production. One of the highlights of the Field Days was the annual plowing contest. Between 1965 and 1968, the event was renamed to Forage Field Days due to the emphasis on forage production.
As Field Days grew, there was increasing attention on technological advancements in farming methods, equipment, and technology. The name of the event was changed to Ag Progress Days in 1969.
Ag Progress Days moved to various locations around the state over the next several years. In 1976, the College of Agriculture’s Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center, located in Rock Springs along State Route 45 in Centre and Huntingdon counties, became the permanent home.
Today, Ag Progress Days includes 150 acres of demonstrations and exhibitions by companies and organizations from thirty-five states and four Canadian provinces. The event also includes educational presentations, tours, family activities, and meetings of agricultural associations.
Julia Kushner
Sources:
Ag Progress Days Oral History Project, https://agsci.psu.edu/pasto/oral-history-project/oral-history-project (Accessed July 31, 2025).
Bezilla, Michael. The College of Agriculture at Penn State, A Tradition of Excellence. University Park: Penn State University Press, 1987.
Penn State’s Ag Progress Days, https://agsci.psu.edu/apd (Accessed July 31, 2025).
First Published: August 6, 2025
Last Modified: September 25, 2025