EVANS CITY — About 30 people in the farming industry on Wednesday voiced their concerns to the secretary of the state Department of Agriculture, putting their two cents into a report that will eventually go to a federal agriculture committee.

Secretary Dennis Wolff listened to their concerns as part of his annual September tour of Pennsylvania's seven agricultural regions.

Farmers from Butler, Venango, Washington, Lawrence and Mercer counties spoke up at the Marburger Dairy Farm about a lack of incentives for young farmers, increasing gas costs, decreasing farm services and other issues facing farms.

Wolff will consider these issues when he puts together a report for Gov. Ed Rendell early in 2006. Rendell will eventually take the concerns to Washington D.C. to be considered in the 2007 Federal Farm Bill, which will outline federal subsidies, healthy food programs and food production regulations.

"Farmers are really hurting. It's easy to get discouraged," said Rita Reifenstein, part of the Marburger family that runs the dairy farm.

Wolff assured the group that solutions are in the works for agriculture issues, but acknowledged the concerns raised are serious.

Wolff answered property tax concerns by stating Rendell's plan to offset property taxes with slot machine revenues, possibly providing relief

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But the cost of farmland for farmers looking to start off or expand will remain high, and that makes it tough for new farmers. The average cost of farmland in Pennsylvania is $4,000 per acre, falling between $1,800 per acre in New York and $10,000 per acre in New Jersey, Wolff said.

Reifenstein said a Lancaster County farmer, who had operated a dairy farm for more than 20 years, could not afford to stay in Pennsylvania. Last year he sold it and moved to Missouri.

She said, in that state, the farmer received a lot of help from the state agriculture department and a cooperative extension there.

"They even took him around for three days showing him where he could buy a farm," she said. "This was more help then he received in Pennsylvania, where we are known for farming."

Wolff said in this case, Pennsylvania had "seriously failed" to keep a good farmer in the state.

Another concern raised is farmers being pushed out of urbanized areas.

"People don't understand where the food in the grocery store comes from. While more people want areas to be urbanized, they do not see they are driving away an important piece of the economy," Wolff said.

Marge Wearing, Reifenstein's sister, said labeling regulations for milk containers hinders farms' ability to compete in the school cafeteria milk market. It costs about $500,000 to invest in equipment that labels each plastic milk container, so every time labeling regulations change, it hits smaller dairy farms hard.

Wolff also discussed the statewide problem of fewer farm equipment distributors and less professional services in place to help farmers, such as sanitarians and veterinarians.

"Farmers are driving farther for farm machinery parts and to get the help they need," he said, adding that this increases their fuel costs.

But there is some good news.

Wolff reported the milk production industry has grown each month for the past year. He also said 2,717 farms in the state are now part of a farm preservation program that ensures existing farms will continue to be farms. This helps farmland from losing out to urbanization.

Also, 38 low-interest state loans totaling $6.8 million have been given since April 2005 to farms, money that encouraged $15.4 million worth of private investment in those farms, according to agriculture department spokesperson Michael Smith, who also attended the event.

Wolff said the listening sessions were going well.

"Most people appreciate the hard work we're doing," he said.