Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Committee Leadership News Events Contact

CSG East’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee grew out of the Northeast States Association for Agricultural Stewardship (NSAAS), which was created in 1999 to provide a unified voice for northeast agriculture in the development of the 2002 Farm Bill. Committee members promote the importance of agriculture in the Northeast and to the U.S. economy, and focus of issues of concern to the rural economy. The committee has recently held seminars focusing on rural broadband, the right to farm, and agritourism.

Committee Leadership

Judy Schwank

Senator, Pennsylvania

Senator Judy Schwank studied at Pennsylvania State University where she received her bachelor of science degree in agricultural education, and a master's degree in agricultural education with a horticulture minor. She went on to become an agriculture extension agent with

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the Cooperative Extension, and then dean of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences at Delaware Valley College. Judy Schwank was elected county commissioner for Berks County in 2002, and was first elected to the Pennsylvania Senate in 2011, where she has served as minority chair of the Agriculture Committee. Senator Schwank was appointed as co-chair of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee for CSG East in 2020.

Brian Pettyjohn

Senator, Delaware

State Senator Brian Pettyjohn of Georgetown was first elected to the Senate in 2012. He proudly represents Delaware’s 19th Senatorial District which spans from the Delaware/Maryland border west of Seaford and Bridgeville to Massey's Landing on the Rehoboth and Indian

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River Bays. Senator Pettyjohn speaks at the session titled Rural Broadband: Helping States Fund the Final Mile on Tuesday, August 16 at 8 a.m. Before his current seat in the Delaware State Senate, Senator Pettyjohn served as councilman of Georgetown from 2008-2010 and Mayor from 2010-2012. In the 2021-2022 Senate Term, Senator Brian Pettyjohn’s committee assignments include the Corrections and Public Safety, Executive, Health and Social Services, Housing, Judiciary, Legislative Council, Legislative Oversight, and Sunset, and Rules and Ethics committees. He has also been named to several other boards and committees, including the Delaware Prosperity Partnership and Non-Acute Patient Medical Guardianship Task Force. Continuing in his commitment to his community, Senator Brian Pettyjohn has served on several organizations including the Greater Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, The Chad Spicer Foundation, and the Sussex County Sports Foundation. Outside of his legislative and community involvement, Senator Pettyjohn manages his family's farm south of Georgetown, and is a project manager and auditor with an information technology firm.

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