HARRISBURG – PA Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding honored six families whose farms had been in the same family for over 100 years. One farm recognized was the Robert Cochran farm in Chester County, only the second in the state to reach the Tricentennial Farm milestone. The Cochran farm was established 1724. Today, 120 acres of the original farm remain in the Cochran family, who preserved the farmland in 2003, ensuring that the farm will remain a farm and not be sold to developers. Other farms recognized were in Lehigh, Montgomery, Perry, and Union Counties. Since the PA Department of Agriculture started the Century Farm program in 1977 and the Bicentennial Farm program in 2004, over 2,300 Century and Bicentennial Farms have received the honor. Farms owned by the same family for at least 100 consecutive years are eligible to be named a PA 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.
