LOCAL BUSINESS

About 50,000 Christmas trees and enough wreaths, crafts and other seasonal items to fill an airplane hangar were bought and sold by lots and on consignment at the annual two-day event put on at the Buffalo Valley Produce Auction in Mifflinburg.

In 2024, SNAP recipients redeemed a little more than $96 billion in benefits, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the program. The majority – 74% — was spent at superstores and supermarkets, a category that includes big chains like Walmart and Kroger but also some independent stores like Ryan Sprankle’s.

This holiday season, ditch the big box store’s shriveled green beans and canned cranberry sauce and keep it local.

The Pretzel Company’s Pretzel Classics Gift Box, recognized by Oprah as “an excellent hostess gift,” includes eight of the original, hand-twisted soft pretzels, paired with a nine-ounce jar of its classic Original Polish Style Mustard and a nine-ounce jar of savory Sweet Hot Honey Mustard.

A Chinese boycott of U.S. soybeans is only the latest issue facing farmers. Labor shortages, soaring equipment costs and unpredictable weather have also taken their toll.

The Beaver County plant was once projected to bring in $1.5 billion a year, but its cost has exceeded more than double its original $6 billion estimate.

The fatal explosion at U.S. Steel’s Pittsburgh-area coal-processing plant has revived debate about its future just as the iconic American company was emerging from a long period of uncertainty.

Climate change, tariffs, and immigration are also key issues putting pressure on their businesses.

Corporation Applegreen wants travelers along the Pennsylvania Turnpike to pay the burden of  wages it cut for rest stop employees.

U.S. beef prices have been steadily rising over the past 20 years because the supply of cattle remains tight while beef remains popular.