Michael and Deborah Oesterling, of Butler, were among four families receiving 100-year distinction as a family-owned farm.

“It means a lot to my husband because he is all about family,” Deborah Oesterling said. “Today, there's so much farmland going away, and to him, he's trying to preserve the farmland.”

The Oesterlings and three other families were celebrated on Thursday in Harrisburg by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Century Farm Program for continuing to operate their family farm on the same land for more than 100 years.

The program recognizes Pennsylvania farm families who have owned and operated a farm with at least 10 acres or $1,000 in gross annual sales for 100 years or more on an ongoing basis. A family member must live on the farm on a permanent basis to be recognized.

Deborah Oesterling said the family farm started in 1890, and it has survived by evolving with technology and inspiring their future generations with a love of farming.

“There is some tradition, but each generation has changed with the times,” Oesterling said. “You can see it instilled in my husband and kids. You can see the love of animals. They have always raised animals on this farm.”

Deborah Oesterling said family farms often encounter hard times and need to sell off pieces of their land to survive, but by doing so they infringe on their ability to grow and succeed in the long-term.

“Being able to keep this land, it just really means a lot to us,” Deborah Oesterling said. “It was really just an honor to receive it and keep the farm going without having to sell it.”

She said she hopes her two sons, Joseph and Benjamin, will continue to learn how to be great farmers. She said the two boys have been working on the farm since they were young.

“I'm hoping my two sons will be able to carry it on and keep it going,” Deborah Oesterling said.

Deborah Oesterling said she also enjoyed being around other successful family farm owners at Thursday's event in Harrisburg. She said it's inspiring to meet others who are resilient.

“Everybody is all about family and community and about the love and the accomplishment of keeping the farm,” she said.

Also recognized were Mahoning Creek Farm, owned by the Livingston family of Indiana County; the Yeatmans, who own a mushroom farm in Chester County; and Junell Farms, owned by state Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R-47th.

Vogel and his wife, Sue, were awarded for their farm that originated in 1873 in New Sewickley Township, Beaver County.

Vogel said the fact that there were only a few honored is a testament to the perseverance required in farming.

“Sometimes you have good years, and sometimes you have bad years,” Vogel said. “It takes a lot of perseverance and caring about the land.”

Sue Vogel said the recognition is about legacy and honor and was worth the effort.

“It's very gratifying to see any farm stay within a family,” Sue Vogel said. “They've never moved, and history has stayed in one location. Not many families get that opportunity.”

Sue Vogel said she grew up on a 140-year old farm.

“My mother, my aunt and myself would take her (grandmother) every week to deliver milk, to deliver eggs, to deliver produce,” she said. “That was her main source of income.”

Elder Vogel said that working on a farm humbled him and was vital in molding him as a child.

Vogel also valued the opportunity to work on the farm alongside his father and grandfather, adding how the experience will always be imprinted in his memories.

“You get to work with your dad and your grandfather every day,” Vogel said. “Not a lot of people get to do that.”

Farming has taken precedence in the Vogels' lives, and Elder Vogel focused some of his effort in the Senate toward helping farming culture and future generations of farmers.

“My thanks goes out to the Department of Agriculture for this historic recognition,” Vogel said. “Farming isn't just how our family makes a living; it is a way of life. It is a legacy my family shares with the thousands of other farm families throughout Pennsylvania, and it is why I continue to work in the Senate to protect this critical part of our history, our economy and our heritage.”