State agriculture department officials recently honored seven farms — including one in Berks County — as centennial farms, meaning they have been in the same family for 100 years.
Also, a Perry County farm was named a bicentennial farm, honoring the Metz family who has passed down their farm within the family since 1825.
“We celebrate eight farm families who have made tremendous contributions to feeding Pennsylvanians and preserving our agricultural heritage,” Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said in a release. “These farms and families have varied histories, yet all have the common attributes of sustainability, durability, and perseverance as caretakers for the land.”
In Berks, El-Jon Farms in Oley Township received the centennial distinction.
Howard Snyder purchased El-Jon Farms on March 30, 1912, officials said. The family farm primarily grows corn, beans, wheat and hay. The original bank barn is still in use.
At one point, a sawmill was on the farm and the trolley from Boyertown to Oley went right through the pasture enroute to Reading. The farm was preserved in 1996 and 137 acres from the original farm are still in use.
Since the ag department started the Century Farm Program in 1977 and the Bicentennial Farm Program in 2004, more than 2,300 farms have been recognized. The state’s second tricentennial farm was recognized during the PA Farm Show in January 2024.
The program’s goal is to emphasize the importance of economic and rural heritage and traditions in the state, officials said.
Farms owned by the same family for at least 100 consecutive years are eligible to be named a Pennsylvania Century Farm. A family member must live on the farm, and the property must include at least 10 acres of the original farm or earn more than $1,000 annually from sales of farm products.