PA Preferred® member Lengel Brothers Farm in Western Pennsylvania is a third generation, sibling-run farm offering fresh produce and products all year round. Owners David and Elliott Lengel grew up helping their father and uncle manage their massive dairy farm, which has taken on new forms and functions in recent years.
The Lengel brothers grow over 50 varieties of vegetables including great quantities of pumpkins and sweet corn. They utilize high tunnels to grow crops like cucumbers, squash, and tomatoes late into the season, raise beef and hogs for meat and maintain pollinator fields for bees. You can join the Lengel Brothers CSA for its 20-week season, running July through November for a rainbow of produce spanning brassica crops, honey, sweet corn, microgreens and much more.
Elliott Lengel describes being a member of PA Preferred as “an honor.” He says, “It’s all about farm to table meals grown in Pennsylvania by farmers who take pride in their agricultural businesses.”
Read more to learn what Lengel shared about the farm and what makes it special:
PA Eats: What do you love about what you do?
Elliott Lengel: We are a third generation farm that believes in the golden rule when it comes to our customers. We are innovative, when it comes to growing in high tunnels and open fields using cover crop clover between our rows to create a natural integrated pest management program.
What excites you about the future?
With four grants over the past few years, including three large ones this year, it is allowing us to grow with the demands of a changing fresh and local community. The demands for food biosecurity and for safer local produce and agricultural products that use less pesticides are reaching greater levels.
The first grant, only a few years ago, was a USDA COVID food safety grant to improve food insecurities. We received a grant for a 7’ by 16’ box trailer for going to farm markets. This year, we received an ACAP grant through the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture that is administered through the country’s conservation districts. In July, we received a grant for a 30’ by 72’ high tunnel through the NRCS EQIP GRANT. We are chipping in the rest to make the high tunnel a 30’ by 96’ to match the other four we already have.
What sets your farm apart?
Five high tunnels with a strong emphasis on extending our growing season. With our two 20′ by 100′ and two 30′ by 100,’ we can double or triple crop in them. We just received another grant through the EQIP high tunnel program so that, next year, we will be building another 30′ by 100′ high tunnel with a solar watering system in the near future.
Find Lengel Brothers Farm at 1346 Mercer Grove City Rd., Mercer; (724) 967-1789, where you can shop its goods, along with at farmers markets throughout Western PA. Its 2025 CSA season will kick off soon with a discounted sale.
This series was created in collaboration with PA Preferred.
PA Preferred® is Pennsylvania’s statewide branding program that promotes locally grown and processed food and other agricultural products.
- Photos: Elliott Lengel of Lengel Brothers Farm
