Myers Family Farm in Pennsylvania: History, What It Grows, How It Makes Money and How to Contact It
Profile updated November 2026
Myers Family Farm in Spring Mills, Centre County, Pennsylvania, won the 2023 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award for decades of no-till farming, cover crops and habitat restoration on sloping ground. Brothers Joel and Don Myers own and operate the farm, and Joel co-founded the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance. The farm has long served as a teaching site for farmers, scientists and students.
| Location | Spring Mills, Centre County, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Family history | Joel Myers' father bought the farm in 1946 |
| Sectors | Grain and oilseed crops; conservation demonstration |
| Scale | 75 acres of oats and soybeans were planted in the spring covered by the announcement; total acreage not published |
| Why it is elite | 2023 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award ($10,000 and a crystal award) |
| Ownership | Brothers Joel and Don Myers |
| Official website | Farm and Dairy report on the 2023 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award |
History of Myers Family Farm
Joel Myers' father bought the farm in 1946. Joel and Don Myers now own and operate it, and Joel's career includes service as a Pennsylvania state agronomist and co-founding the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance, a farmer-led group promoting soil health practices.
The family experimented with contour farming, field borders and reduced tillage in the 1960s and 1970s, long before no-till was common. The Leopold award was presented at the Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg on January 8.
What Myers Family Farm Grows and Raises
The land is rolling, with deep soils in some places and ridge tops with rock outcrops in others. The farm works slopes up to 10 percent with no-till planting, extensive cover crops, crop rotations and planting green, which cut soil loss on ground that would erode under conventional tillage.
The Myers have also restored forest and stream habitat and host research trials, workshops and field days for farmers, scientists, FFA members, Penn State students and international groups.
How Myers Family Farm Makes Money
Oats and soybeans
Crop sales are the working income stream. The announcement mentions oats and soybeans on 75 acres in the latest spring, and no livestock.
Land rental plan
Joel expects 2024 to be his last year planting crops, after which the land is to be rented to a farmer with similar conservation goals. Leasing to a like-minded operator keeps income flowing while protecting the soil work.
Teaching and trials
The farm's trials and field days are described as a public service. They build the farm's reputation and relationships, though the announcement does not describe them as a revenue stream.
Farm Insight: What Other Operators Can Learn from Myers Family Farm
The first lesson is that soil health practices pay back slowly but compound: decades of cover crops and no-till are why the farm can work 10 percent slopes with low soil loss.
The second is succession by lease. A farmer who wants to step back can choose a tenant who shares conservation goals. The third is that hosting trials and field days earns credibility with researchers, agencies and award sponsors.
Joel Myers has been planting green since before many of us knew what the phrase meant, and at farm.FM we admire a farm where the cover crop gets as much respect as the cash crop. We say it with love: farm satire needs a field day, and the Myers hold lots of them. Our farm humor staff has debated whether a no-till drill counts as ranch humor, and the farm jokes we drafted about oats were quietly retired.
Readers who want the full experience can pair the jokes with Tractor Tunes, the country music for farmers that farm.FM, the nation's first satirical farm site, plays between stories. This author page is a fine starting point.
How to Contact Myers Family Farm
Website: https://www.farmanddairy.com/news/center-county-farm-wins-leopold-conservation-award/809304.html
No official website, address or phone for Myers Family Farm was found in the sources used, so none is listed. Contact the Pennsylvania No-Till Alliance or Penn State Extension in Centre County for field day information.
Myers Family Farm Sources and Agriculture Authority Links
- Centre County farm wins Leopold Conservation Award - Farm and Dairy report on the Myers award
- Myers Family Farm award announcement - Sand County Foundation release on the 2023 award
- Sand County Foundation Pennsylvania award page - Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award program
- USDA NASS Pennsylvania 2022 Census profile - State crop acres and farm counts
- Pennsylvania Farm Bureau - State producer association and award co-sponsor
Myers Family Farm FAQ
Where is Myers Family Farm?
In Spring Mills, Centre County, Pennsylvania.
What did it win?
The 2023 Pennsylvania Leopold Conservation Award.
What does the farm grow?
The announcement mentions oats and soybeans, grown with no-till and cover crops.
Can I visit?
The farm has hosted field days and workshops; no public contact details were found, so ask through local extension or the no-till alliance.
Myers Family Farm shows that careful soil work on steep Pennsylvania ground can earn a statewide honor. For the climate, programs and markets behind it, read our Pennsylvania farms guide and the other profiled operations.