(5/2018) Last month Russell Williams of the Hanover Shoe Farm hosted a private farm tour to educate a small group of community leaders about the equine industry in Adams County. This tour marked the unofficial beginning of an Adams County equine industry economic impact study. A few years ago the county did a complete economic impact assessment of the fruit industry, which allowed us to quantify the value of the industry.

The fruit industry study assessed the total economic benefit to Adams County at $580,000,000 per year. As a part of this study the county planning office was able to create a digital tool to begin assessing other industries. Over the past few months staff and community partners have been winnowing down the options for future studies. While dairy and poultry are very high on our list for future study, staff determined that due to impact and ease of data collection the equine industry should be their first solo mission. After the brief tour at Hanover Shoe Farms I am excited to see this process unfold and to see the results for this important county industry.

The equine industry in Adams County currently ranks in the top ten of Pennsylvania counties for overall size according to the 2012 Census of Agriculture. Its influence and contribution on the county’s economy can be traced back to the early 1900’s. In recent years there have been proposed state budget cuts to the horse industry that have threatened the viability of the state’s industry. The proposed budget cuts made it necessary for Pennsylvania to better study and quantify the benefits of the equine industry for the Commonwealth.

The last statewide study of the equine industry was conducted and published by Penn State University in 2003. While it is great that Penn State has worked on a state wide impact study, there has never been a study focused exclusively on Adams County until now. The purpose of the study will be to determine the current total economic impact of the equine industry in Adams County, inclusive of the full range of equine-related activities contained within the county. This information will be provided to policy makers in legislature, local government officials, equine industry participants, and the general public to demonstrate the importance and contribution of the equine industry in Adams County.

In the early 1900’s Lawrence B. Sheppard of the Hanover Shoe Company was the driving force behind the modern equine industry in Adams County. The Hanover Shoe Farm is the largest breeder of Standardbred horses in the world. What started out as a small farm operation, has grown over time and now attracts buyers from around the world. Their annual foal sales bring millions of dollars into our local economy. Since the United States Trotters Association began compiling breeder's statistics, Hanover Shoe Farms has led the annual prize money earnings totals every year. If you ever have a chance to visit their farm on Hanover Pike between Hanover and Littlestown, it is well worth the visit. All they ask is that you check in at the main office before guiding yourself around the farm.

While the Hanover Shoe Farm is undoubtedly the largest horse farm in Adams County and contributes significantly to the economic impact of the industry, there is more to the industry than horses bred for racing. The county study will also consider horses working in the tourism industry, personal pleasure horses, therapy horses, and show horses. If you want to have a great discussion about the complexities of owning a horse, go no further than the owner of this paper. Mike Hillman gave me some good advice years ago when my daughter wanted to get into horse riding. He said that falling in love with horse riding is an expensive affair.

No matter the purpose of the horse, pleasure riding, carriage rides, battlefield tours, therapy, or for show they all require a lot of specific attention. Their healthcare and housing are expensive and there is a reason for the expression, "eats like a horse". Thankfully, my family learned this lesson before Kate fell in love with horses, and while our Great Dane, Bella, does eat like a horse, she doesn’t cost us a small fortune to keep and doesn’t require a barn.

While Mr. Hillman warned us of the costs to our family, he illustrated an important point about the hidden costs and benefits of any industry on our community. One of the lessons learned from the fruit industry study, is that the economic impact is much more than the direct benefit from the sale of the fruit itself. The economic benefit from indirect sources and the induced benefits are substantial.

An indirect benefit is anything that is necessary for the achievement of the direct benefit. An easy example of the indirect costs for the equine industry is that horses need to be fed and boarded. In the case of a large breeder, much of this cost is captured within their operations, i.e. they may grow their own feed and board their horses on site. Smaller scale operators and private owners of pleasure horses need to pay farmers for these services. These related businesses are also a benefit to our economy and community.

Induced benefits are not as large as direct and indirect, but they are important to capture. An induced benefit is a result of the increased money brought into a community because of an industry. Or in political campaigns, it’s why candidates always talk about "jobs, jobs, jobs". When a farmer pays another business for a service, the other business or their employees in turn spend those funds. This benefit is spread throughout the community at banks, restaurants, grocery stores, etc… In my opinion the benefit is best when the induced funds are spent locally.

If an employee uses funds at a local grocery store or restaurant, they too are adding to the local economy. This local spending is one of the reasons our planning office chose to focus on the equine industry. With the exception of horse race prize money, much of the money for the industry comes from outside of Adams County and most of the money earned from the industry is spent here. To me this represents a pretty good bang for our buck.

As a county it is important for us to have a better handle on the economic impacts of our various industries. No one expects a County Commissioner to learn how to breed and sell world renowned horses or work in a fruit packing house, but residents should expect us to know the value and impact of these industries. While many of the political decisions affecting our economy, come from Harrisburg and Washington, we can do our part locally. I firmly believe that the first step to improving our overall economy, is each county understanding the industries which comprise their local economy.

This helps us to first do no harm to these industries and second our own education helps us explain the value of an industry to those not involved in a specific industry. Secondly, the County can help to focus resources and infrastructure development into areas beneficial to each industry. In the case of our farm industry, this is a concerted effort to streamline preservation funds to improve the economic and preservation impact of those funds. I am excited to be involved in this process and to see the results of the first ever Adams County Equine economic impact study.

If you have any questions about this issue or other projects on which the county planning is working, check out their website at www.adamscounty.us. And if you have any questions for me, do not hesitate to contact me at 717-339-6514.