PennAg Industries Association announced Delvin Martin and the team of Stevens Feed and Senator Scott Martin as its 2024 Distinguished Service Award winners at the annual Spring Banquet on March 27 at the Spooky Nook Sports Complex Center, Manheim, Pennsylvania.
Hailed as Pennsylvania’s highest honor in agriculture, PennAg’s Distinguished Service Award is presented by the organization’s membership in leading animal ag and agribusinesses. It honors excellence in service to agriculture, including policy, communications, and aid to support farmers.
“Our membership appreciates the drive of these individuals, either PennAg members or supporters, who go above and beyond for the animal and agribusiness community. Many of these individuals have made a difference and aided the progress of Pennsylvania agriculture,” said Chris Herr, executive Vice president of PennAg Industries Association.
The Board of Directors of the PennAg- Distinguished Service Award committee nominates and selects The Distinguished Service Award Winners. The committee is comprised of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of the agricultural industry.
The committee selected Delvin Martin, the Team at Stevens Feed Mill, and Senator Scott Martin for their unwavering support of the Pennsylvania poultry industry during the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza outbreaks in the last three years.
Martin and his team at Stevens Feed Mill were indispensable in connecting independent and plain community poultry farmers with PennAg, the Center for Poultry and Livestock Excellence, and the Department of Agriculture. This allowed for communication and support with biosecurity tools and practices on those farms.
“During the Avian Influenza outbreak, we were exposed to the fact that each organization and segment within the poultry industry spoke a different language, literal and figural. As a member, Delvin and his Team at Stevens were vital to PennAg and the Department of Agriculture’s communication successes with parts of the poultry industry that we were having trouble reaching at the height of the outbreak,” said Herr.
Senator Scott Martin, the Senate Appropriations Committee chairman, was instrumental to the poultry industry by securing bipartisan support with Governor Shapiro and his administration. By working together, Senator Martin and Gov. Shapiro were able to give aid to farmers by deploying a response team made up of hundreds of veterinarians and specialists from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Penn State Extension, and PennAg Industries, including over 170 experts to help conduct testing and improve security measures on farms across the state.
“PennAg and Senator Scott Martin have always had a great working relationship, but poultry farmers and the agricultural community got to see the benefits of that relationship during one of Pennsylvania’s most urgent animal health emergencies. We are grateful to have a friend of agriculture in Senator Martin and his team and look forward to working with him for many more years on behalf of the farming community,” said Herr.
For over twenty years, PennAg has recognized over 50 pioneers in service to animal agriculture, agribusiness, the agricultural community, and agriculture and environmental policy. During the Spring Banquet, winners are presented with a plaque and a video showcasing their contributions to the farming community.
