HARRISBURG, Pa. — A 100-year-old Lehigh County hay and straw farm was honored by state officials as part of the Pennsylvania Farm Show.
“I farmed this land a long time,” said Dennis Klusaritz, his speech faltering from time to time Friday and tears threatening to fall. “ … We take care of it very well — the land and the buildings. My parents would be very proud of us.”
The North Whitehall Township farm is 10 miles north of Allentown, he said, adding a nearby farm recently sold for more than $6 million.
“We’re not going to sell this farm,” said Klusaritz, a township supervisor. “I’m going to farm it until I drop over.”
The Klusaritz Family Farm was recognized as one of six farms across the state that had been in the same family for more than 100 years.
It was the only Lehigh Valley farm to be honored as a centennial farm this year at the commonwealth’s 108th Farm Show, a weeklong event at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center, which typically attracts around or more than 500,000 people.
“These families represent the best in Pennsylvania agriculture,” said Russell Redding, the state’s secretary of agriculture, in a news release. “Reflecting the 2024 Farm Show theme, “Connecting Our Communities,” they have been uniting and feeding our communities for generations.
“They are connecting future generations to their legacy.”
In addition to farming 65.8 of the original 75 acres of their farm, established in 1923, the Klusaritz family maintains many of the 100-year-old buildings for their hay and straw operation, officials said in the release.
Other farms honored included a 100-year-old Montgomery County corn, soybean and pumpkin farm, as well as a Chester County farm established in 1724. The latter is only the second in the state to reach the tricentennial farm milestone.
There are 19 century and 6 bicentennial farms in Lehigh County.
More than 2,300 century and bicentennial farms have been recognized through the state Department of Agriculture’s farm programs. In order to be eligible, farms must be owned by the same family for at least 100 consecutive years, 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.
The Century Farm program began in 1977, with the Bicentennial Farm program following in 2004.
For more information, go to www.farmshow.pa.gov.
