Brubaker Farms in Pennsylvania: History, What It Raises, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Brubaker Farms is a multi-generation dairy and broiler operation near Mount Joy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It won the 2021 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award, and a published profile describes about 1,800 acres, 1,300 dairy cows and 52,000 broilers. It pairs large-scale milk production with a manure digester, solar panels and nutrient-credit trading.
| Location | Near Mount Joy, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Sectors | Dairy; broiler chickens; on-farm energy |
| Scale | About 1,800 acres, 1,300 dairy cows and 52,000 broilers, as published in the 2021 award announcement |
| Why it is elite | 2021 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award ($10,000 and a crystal award) |
| Energy | Manure digester running since December 2007, plus rooftop solar on barns |
| Ownership | Family operation; Josh Brubaker is described as the fourth generation with an ownership stake |
| Official website | Brubaker Farms Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award announcement (no official website found in research) |
History of Brubaker Farms
Brubaker Farms sits near Mount Joy in Lancaster County, one of the most productive and most developed farm counties in the state. Residential subdivisions border its land, which shapes decisions on manure, odor, traffic and water. The 2021 award announcement notes that Josh Brubaker recently became the fourth generation with an ownership stake alongside his father Luke and his brothers Mike and Tony.
The farm is also a case study in doing something new early. A 2010 Progressive Dairy profile reported that the methane digester started operating in December 2007 at a cost of about $1 million, helped by a Pennsylvania Energy Harvest grant and USDA loan assistance. A later Farm Progress report described an upgrade to a 335-kilowatt system with a new engine and gas scrubber.
What Brubaker Farms Grows and Raises
The core of the business is milk. The farm works about 1,800 acres and milks about 1,300 cows. Management splits young milking cows from older cows so rations can be tuned for each group, and ear-tag monitoring from CowManager helps the team time breeding. A broiler operation of 52,000 birds adds a second livestock enterprise, and part of the poultry manure has gone to a nearby mushroom farm.
Conservation is built into the system. The award announcement lists cover crops and no-till, cattle fenced away from streams, 15 acres of riparian buffers planted with help from the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, a buried manure pipeline between dairy locations, and dragline manure application on 500 acres to limit compaction. The digester kills pathogens and captures methane, and a separator produces clean solids used as bedding.
How Brubaker Farms Makes Money
Milk and dairy cattle
Milk is the main product, and the herd, yield per cow and breeding program are all aimed at more pounds per cow and fewer lost days. Pennsylvania's average farm is 144 acres in the 2022 Census of Agriculture, so this herd is very large for the state.
Electricity, carbon and bedding
The digester sends power to the local utility, and the award announcement says output covers the farm plus about 325 homes. The 2010 profile reported that carbon credits were sold through NativeEnergy and that digested solids replaced sawdust and shavings, saving about $30,000 a year then.
Solar and nutrient credits
Rooftop solar on barns supplies the farm and the grid. The award announcement adds that the farm trades nutrient credits with local wastewater treatment plants, turning manure management into a service other businesses pay for.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Brubaker Farms
The first lesson is that manure can be an asset. Brubaker Farms stacked several small returns from one digester: power sales, carbon credits, bedding savings, odor control and nutrient credits. Operators weighing a digester can list every output before running the numbers, and check grants and USDA loan help first, as this farm did.
The second lesson is that neighbors matter: odor reduction, buried pipelines and dragline application keep heavy tankers off roads beside new homes. The third is to treat extension and university partners as part of the team, because Penn State Extension and industry partners have contributed to the upgrades.
Few farms can say their cows power the porch lights of hundreds of neighbors, and Brubaker Farms earns that boast fair and square. The team at farm.FM reads digester stories with delight, because farm satire struggles to improve on a barn that sells electricity. Our farm humor desk knows ranch humor about manure has a long and noble history, and that the best farm jokes here would be paid in kilowatts. We tip our caps and keep the punchlines clean.
farm.FM calls itself the nation's first satirical farm site, and between the headlines it spins Tractor Tunes, country music for farmers; a good place to start reading is this farm.FM columnist's archive.
How to Contact Brubaker Farms
No official website, phone or address for Brubaker Farms was found in the sources used for this page, so none is listed. Contact details may be available through the Lancaster County dairy community or Pennsylvania Farm Bureau; confirm before visiting a working farm.
Brubaker Farms Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Leopold award announcement - Details of the 2021 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award for Brubaker Farms
- Research leads to upgrades at Brubaker Farms - Farm Progress report on the digester upgrade, herd management and manure handling
- Brubakers find many benefits with methane digester - Progressive Dairy profile of the digester's costs, power, carbon credits and bedding savings
- USDA NASS Pennsylvania 2022 Census profile - State farm counts, sales and livestock figures
- Pennsylvania Farm Bureau - State producer association and co-sponsor of the Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award
Brubaker Farms FAQ
Where is Brubaker Farms?
Near Mount Joy in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
What won the Leopold award?
The 2021 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award recognized no-till, cover crops, buffers, a manure digester, solar and nutrient-credit trading.
How big is the operation?
The award announcement describes about 1,800 acres, 1,300 dairy cows and 52,000 broilers.
How can I contact Brubaker Farms?
No official website or phone was found, so the award announcement is the best verified public source.
Brubaker Farms shows how a large Pennsylvania dairy can turn manure, sunshine and neighbor relations into extra income and a Leopold award. For climate, soils, programs and markets across the state, read our Pennsylvania farms guide and the other profiled operations.