Chester, Berks, Montgomery Firms Win Agriculture Technology Grants

HARRISBURG PA – State grants to promote farm development and agriculture technology in Montgomery, Berks, and Chester counties were awarded Wednesday (Aug. 12, 2026) by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

The money being invested locally by the department is part of an overall $9.7 million distributed statewide. It is supplemented by another $4.8 million in required grant matches from farms and agriculture-related businesses.

There’s more money yet to come. Wednesday’s grants represented a second round of funding during 2026, the department says. Applications for a reported third round are being taken accepted Sept. 1 (Tuesday).

Grant Winners in Chester County

Chester County gained the most during the current grant round, with 12 businesses, farms, and individuals there receiving more than $1.78 million in funding. They include:

• Pietro Industries, $129,597 for an automated harvesting and control system for mushrooms;
• AgriGates, $59,400, to plan for on-site energy generation for a dairy AI system;
• Phillips Mushroom Farms, $129,800, for an automated weighing line;
• Gary Westlake Sr., $129,800, for an advanced Danish Christmas tree harvesting system;
• Megan Storm, $34,440, to provide water, energy, and automation modernization for specialty crop hoop house;
• MYCOguard, $33,800, for automated phorid fly-counting and monitoring systems;
• Chester County Economic Development Foundation, $50,000, which will pay for comprehensive strategic planning to determine the feasibility of a farm training facility on the campus of the Chester County Prison;
• Thomas D. Parsons, $31,500, for agro-energy solutions to power AI;
• American Mushroom Institute, $220,000, for phorid fly control technology;
• Laurel Valley Farms, $344,800, for an aeration system to mitigate hydrogen sulfide emissions on mushroom farms;
• Mushroom Supply & Services, $310,000, for an automated mushroom harvesting system; and
• Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, $310,000, for aquaculture automation and management system.

The projects at American Mushroom, Laurel Valley Mushroom Supply, and Cheney all were deemed by the state to have a regional impact beyond the county’s borders.

Grant Winners in Berks County

Seven businesses and organizations in Berks County received more than $699,000 in grants. They are:

• F.M. Brown’s Sons, $129,800, for a bin automation and ingredient-handling upgrade;
• Rodale Institute, $31,380, for scaling precision weed management for organic farmers with photo-guided cultivation systems;
• Third Place Processing, $34,405, for a sorting and quality control system for perennial nut processing;
• Alvernia University, $16,200, for a aeroponics greenhouse project;
• PA Hemp Industry Council, $50,000, to plan a hemp grain cooperative;
• Clover Farms Dairy, $310,000, for an automated milk-handling and tracking system; and
• Earthcare Bethel, $127,874, for a food-waste processing and reduction system.

Both the Clover Farms and Earthcare Bethel projects also were said to have regional impact beyond Berks.

Grant Winners in Montgomery County

The county’s two winners will receive more than $67,000 in funding. They are:

• Gather and Grow, $19,720, for a solar-powered, automated climate-control system for high tunnels greenhouses; and
• Lehigh Valley Dairy Farms, $47,448, for an optical sensor-based automation system.

Agriculture is considered critical to Pennsylvania’s economy. The state reports more than 48,800 farms support 600,000 jobs and annually contribute $132.5 billion in revenue.

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