The Poynter Institute Menu Donate State Editions * California * Florida * Iowa * Michigan * New Hampshire * New York * North Carolina * Pennsylvania * Texas * West Virginia * Wisconsin Issues * All Issues * Online hoaxes * Coronavirus * Health Care * Immigration * Extremism * Taxes * Marijuana * Environment * Crime * Guns * Foreign Policy * LGBTQ+ People * Joe Biden * Kamala Harris * Donald Trump * Mitch McConnell * Hakeem Jeffries * Ron DeSantis Media * PunditFact * Tucker Carlson * Sean Hannity * Rachel Maddow * Bloggers * PolitiFact Videos Campaigns * 2024 Elections Truth-o-Meter * True * Mostly True * Half True * Mostly False * False * Pants on Fire Promises * Biden Promise Tracker * Trump-O-Meter * Obameter * Latest Promises About Us * Our Process * Our Staff * En Español * Who pays for PolitiFact? * Advertise with Us * Suggest a Fact-check * Corrections and Updates * Newsletters Donate #### Follow us The Facts Newsletter Sign up English Español ### Get PolitiFact in your inbox. * Weekly Email Newsletter * Daily Email Newsletter Your Email Address Sign Up ![](\\" ![](\\" Kathy Barnette stated on May 12, 2022 in an interview with Glenn Beck: “Agriculture is the No. 1 industry here in Pennsylvania.” ![\\"true\\"](\\" false/33efdb6633e5e2fdc2d4e2f63383a1e0.jpg.\\") ![\\"false\\"](\\" false.jpg\\") * Agriculture * Kathy Barnette ![\\"Kathy](\\" Kathy Barnette, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, speaks with members of the media during in Newtown, Pa., on May 11, 2022. (AP) ![\\"Louis](\\" By Louis Jacobson May 13, 2022 # Kathy Barnette is wrong that agriculture is Pennsylvania’s No. 1 industry #### If Your Time is short • Agriculture in Pennsylvania accounted for $3.6 billion in economic activity in 2021, but that’s a tiny fraction of the state’s total economic output. • Agriculture ranks last among 14 major categories of private industry in the state, accounting for less than one-half of 1% of the state’s economic activity that year. See the sources for this fact-check In the final days of Pennsylvania’s GOP hotly contested Senate primary, a little-known candidate, Kathy Barnette, has risen in the polls, equaling two far better known and far better funded candidates: celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz and former hedge fund executive Dave McCormick. In an interview with conservative commentator Glenn Beck just days before the May 17 primary, Barnette said she was concerned about farmers in the state who are grappling with rising costs, as well as the consumers who will have to pay those costs in grocery stores. During the interview, which was posted to Barnette’s Facebook page on May 12, Barnette sought to put the plight of farmers in the statewide context. \"Agriculture is the No. 1 industry here in Pennsylvania,\" she said. But that’s not even close to accurate. Barnette’s campaign did not respond to an inquiry for this article. We turned to official federal data on Pennsylvania’s gross domestic product for 2021. The data details the gross domestic product for some 14 major industry sectors. #### Featured Fact-check ![](\\" ![](\\" Hank Gilbert stated on December 14, 2009 in in a press release Says a careless attitude and \"poor oversight by the Texas Department of Agriculture\" led to deaths and illnesses traced to a Texas peanut plant. ![\\"true\\"](\\" half-true/6479cbc723379f0ee49c269b0b9790b7.jpg.\\") ![\\"half- true\\"](\\" true.jpg\\") By W. Gardner Selby • January 12, 2010 It said the biggest industry sector in Pennsylvania in 2021 was finance, insurance, and real estate at almost 21%. That was followed by professional and business services (almost 15%); manufacturing (almost 14%); and education, health, and social services (about 13%). Way down the list — below utilities, energy drilling and mining, and even miscellaneous — is agriculture, at less than half of 1% of Pennsylvania’s total economic output. Agriculture did account for $3.6 billion in Pennsylvania in 2021, so it’s not peanuts. But in the context of a nearly $839 billion economy, agriculture accounts for only a small sliver of all economic activity in Pennsylvania. Our ruling Barnette said, \"Agriculture is the No. 1 industry here in Pennsylvania.\" Although agriculture in Pennsylvania accounted for $3.6 billion in economic activity in 2021, that’s a tiny fraction of the state’s total economic output. Agriculture ranks last among 14 major categories of private industry in the state, with less than one-half of 1% of the state’s economic activity that year. We rate the statement False. #### Read About Our Process The Principles of the Truth-O-Meter ### Our Sources Kathy Barnette, excerpt from interview with Glenn Beck, May 12, 2022 Bureau of Economic Analysis, gross domestic product by state and industry, accessed May 13, 2022 ## Browse the Truth-O-Meter ### More by Louis Jacobson ![](\\" ![](\\" Donald Trump stated on September 7, 2024 in a rally in Mosinee, Wis.: Vice President Kamala Harris “cast the tiebreaking votes that caused the worst inflation in American history, costing a typical American family $28,000.” ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" th.jpg\\") ![\\"barely-true\\"](\\" barely-true.jpg\\") By Louis Jacobson • September 8, 2024 ![](\\" ![](\\" Kamala Harris stated on August 22, 2024 in su discurso de aceptación en la Convención Nacional Demócrata: El expresidente Donald Trump “tiene la intención de promulgar lo que, en efecto, es un impuesto nacional sobre las ventas…que elevaría los precios para las familias de clase media a casi 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Agriculture is the No 1 industry here in Pennsylvania