Century Farm

A century farm sign for Williamson Farm in Oregon, United States (Founded in 1889;136 years ago (1889))

A Century Farm or Centennial Farm is a farm or ranch in the United States or Canada that has been officially recognized by a regional program documenting the farm has been continuously owned by a single family for 100 years or more. Some regions also have Sesquicentennial Farm (150 years) and Bicentennial Farm (200 years) programs.

In most states and provinces, the essential requirement for the award is that the property must have remained in the same family continuously for 100 years or more and currently be a working farm or ranch. ^[1] Some states stipulate a minimum number of acres or annual agricultural sales. ^[1]

Background

Canada

In Canada, Century Farm recognition in the province of Ontario was initiated as a Canadian Centennial project of the Junior Farmers' Association of Ontario (JFAO) in 1967. ^[2] In Alberta the Alberta Century Farm & Ranch Award is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ^[3] and similar programs are run by individual counties and municipalities. ^[4]

United States

In the United States, one of the first organizations to begin officially recognizing the farms was the New York State Agricultural Society in 1937. Several states began their programs during the United States Bicentennial in 1976. Recognition from state to state varies. It is usually handled by the state's agriculture or natural resources department in conjunction with the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Cooperative extension service of the United States Department of Agriculture, or the state's historical society. In other states, civic groups such as the Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben perform the function. The awards are frequently done at the state fair.

The award typically defines a farm as 40 acres (16 ha) or more and consists of a plaque and a sign as well as formal listing.

In Oregon, in addition to century farms and ranches, the Department of Agriculture began to recognize sesquicentennial farms and ranches in 2008. ^[5]

State	Program	Founded	Min. acres	Oversight	Notes
Alabama	Century and Heritage Farm Program [6]	1976	40	Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries
Arkansas	Arkansas Century Farm Program [7]	2012	10	Arkansas Agriculture Department
California	CACenturyFarms	2018	N/A	Private entity	https://cacenturyfarms.org
Colorado	Centennial Farms [1]	1986	160	History Colorado
Connecticut	Century Farm Award [8]	2011		Connecticut Agricultural Information Council
Delaware	Century Farm Program	1987	10	Dept. of Ag.
Florida	Century Pioneer Family Farm Program [9]	1985		Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services	To qualify, a farm must be owned by a family for at least 100 continuous years. [9]
Georgia	Centennial Farms [10]	1993	10	Historic Preservation Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, in cooperation with the Georgia Farm Bureau Federation; the Georgia Department of Agriculture; the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; the Georgia Forestry Commission; and the Georgia National Fairgrounds and Agricenter
Idaho	Century Farm and Ranch Program [11]	1972	40	Idaho State Historical Society
Illinois	Centennial and Sesquicentennial Farms [12]	1972		Illinois Department of Agriculture
Indiana	Hoosier Homestead Award Program [13]	1976	20	Indiana State Department of Agriculture
Iowa	Century Farms [14]	1976		Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
Kansas	Century Farms [15]	2000	80	Kansas Farm Bureau
Kentucky	Historic Farms Program [16]	1992		Kentucky Heritage Council and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture
Louisiana	Louisiana Century Farm Program [17]		20	Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation, and Louisiana Land Bank
Maryland	Century Farm Award [18]		10	Maryland Department of Agriculture
Massachusetts	Massachusetts Century Farms [19]			Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation	To qualify, a farm must have been in the same family for 100 years or more and is currently being farmed. [19]
Michigan	Centennial Farms [20]	1948	10	Historical Society of Michigan
Minnesota	Century and Sesquicentennial Farms [21]	1976		Minnesota Farm Bureau
Mississippi	Centennial Farm Program [22]			Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce
Missouri	Century Farm Program [23]	1976	40	University of Missouri Extension
Montana	Centennial Farm and Ranch Program [24]	2009		Montana Historical Society
Nebraska	Pioneer Farm Family Awards [25]	1961 (approx.)		Knights of Ak-Sar-Ben Foundation, Nebraska Farm Bureau
Nevada	Centennial Ranch and Farm Awards Program [26]	2004	160	Agricultural Council of Nevada, Nevada Agricultural Foundation, Cattlemen's Association, Nevada Farm Bureau, Heritage Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
New Hampshire	Century Farm Book [27]	2016		New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation
New Jersey	Century Farm Award [28]			New Jersey Agricultural Society	To qualify, a farm must have been in the same family and been operational for at least 100 years.
New York	Century Farm Award [29]	1937		New York State Agricultural Society
North Carolina	Century Farm Family Program [30]	1970		North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
North Dakota	Centennial Farms [31]	1988		Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation
Ohio	Century Farms [32]	1993		Ohio Department of Agriculture	Also has a Bicentennial Farm program. [32] Not to be confused with Ohio Bicentennial barns; see Barn advertisement.
Oklahoma	Centennial Farm and Ranch Program [33]	1993	40	Oklahoma State Historic Preservation Office, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma Department of Agriculture
Oregon	Century Farm and Ranch Program [34]	1958		Oregon Agricultural Education Foundation, Oregon Farm Bureau, Oregon State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Travel Information Council	Also has a Sesquicentennial Farm program
Pennsylvania	Century and Bicentennial Farm Program [35]	1937	10	Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
South Carolina	South Carolina Century Farms Program [36]	1974		Pendleton District South Carolina
South Dakota	Century Farms [37]	2000	80	South Dakota Department of Agriculture	Also has a Quasquicentennial (125 years) Farm program
Tennessee	Century Farms [38]	1975	10	Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee State University, formerly Tennessee Department of Agriculture	Also recognizes Pioneer Century Farms (established in or before 1796), and African American Century Farms (farms founded by emancipated slaves and their children)
Texas	Family Land Heritage Program [39]	1974	10	Texas Department of Agriculture
Utah	Century Farms & Ranches [40]	1995		Utah Department of Agriculture and Food	Nearly 500 farms have been recognized.
Vermont	Vermont Century Farms Program [41]	1953		Vermont State Grange and Vermont Farm Bureau
Virginia	Virginia Century Farm Program [42]	1997		Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services	There are 1,332 Virginia Century Farms. [42]
West Virginia	West Virginia Century Farm Program [43]	2015	10	West Virginia Association of Conservation Districts
Wisconsin	Century and Sesquicentennial Farm and Home Program [44]	1948			8,583 century farms or homes 616 sesquicentennial farms or homes [45]
Wyoming	Centennial Farm and Ranch program [46]	2006 (reestablished)	160	Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office, Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Wyoming Stock Growers Association, Wyoming Wool Growers Association, Wyoming Rural Electric Association

References

1. "Colorado Centennial Farms". Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
2. "The Century Farm Sign Project". Junior Farmers' Association of Ontario. Archived from the original on 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
3. Government of Alberta, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. "Alberta Century Farm & Ranch Award". gov.ab.ca. Archived from the original on 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
4. "Farm Family Awards". Archived from the original on 15 January 2013.
5. "Congratulations to the 2009 Sesquicentennial Award honorees". Oregon Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original on 2009-12-17. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
6. "Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries". Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2011-08-26.
7. "AAD | Century Farm List". Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
8. "Connecticut Agriculture Information Council - Century Farm Award". Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
9. "Florida Century Pioneer Family Farms - Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services". Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
10. "Centennial Farms - Historic Preservation Division -- Georgia Department of Natural Resources". georgiashpo.org. Archived from the original on 2011-09-06. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
11. "Idaho Century Farm & Ranch Program". Archived from the original on 2011-02-03. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
12. "Marketing - Centennial & Sesquicentennial Farms Programs - Illinois Department of Agriculture". state.il.us. Archived from the original on 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
13. "ISDA: Hoosier Homestead". Archived from the original on 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
14. "Century Farms Program". Archived from the original on 2011-03-19. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
15. "Kansas Farm Bureau". Archived from the original on 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
16. "Kentucky: Heritage Council - Historic Farms Program". Archived from the original on 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
17. "Century Farms Program - LSU AgCenter". Archived from the original on 2015-09-05. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
18. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
19. "Mass Farm Bureau". Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
20. "Centennial Farm Application". hsmichigan.org. Archived from the original on 2011-08-17. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
21. "Home". fbmn.org. Archived from the original on 2010-10-06.
22. Centennial Farm Program Archived September 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
23. "Missouri Century Farms". missouri.edu. Archived from the original on 2006-08-31. Retrieved 2006-10-04.
24. "Montana Centennial Farm and Ranch Program". Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
25. "Ak-Sar-Ben - Recognition Programs". Archived from the original on 2006-10-08. Retrieved 2006-10-04.
26. "Nevada Centennial Awards Program". Archived from the original on 2011-10-02. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
27. "Century Farm Book | New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation". Archived from the original on 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
28. "Century Farm Award - New Jersey Agricultural Society". Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
29. "Cen Farms". Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2006-10-04.
30. "NCDA&CS - Public Affairs Century Farm Families". Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
31. "Lewis & Clark Fort Mandan Foundation". Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
32. "Ohio Department of Agriculture - Century Farm and Bicentennial Farm". ohio.gov. Archived from the original on 2011-08-12. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
33. "Certified Local Governments - SHPO". okhistory.org. Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
34. "Oregon Department of Agriculture". oregon.gov. Archived from the original on 2009-01-16.
35. "Century and Bicentennial Farm Program". Archived from the original on 2011-07-19. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
36. "South Carolina Century Farms Program - Pendleton District Commission". Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
37. "Century-Quasquicentennial Farm & Ranch Recognition Program". sd.gov. Archived from the original on 2015-11-24.
38. "Tennessee Century Farms". Archived from the original on 2009-07-04. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
39. "Home". state.tx.us. Archived from the original on 2011-02-19. Retrieved 2011-02-25.
40. "HomeUtah Century Farms & Ranches Designation Program". Archived from the original on 2012-04-25.
41. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
42. "VDACS - Special Programs and Links - Virginia Century Farm Program". Archived from the original on 2015-11-19. Retrieved 2015-11-18.
43. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-11-24. Retrieved 2015-11-23.
44. "2015 Century Farm or Home Application" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05.
45. "Farm News: Sesquicentennial And Century Farms Apps Due," Farm Report with Pam Jahnke, February 16, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
46. "Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office - Centennial Farm and Ranch". state.wy.us. Archived from the original on 2012-06-01. Retrieved 2011-08-23.

External links

• Century Farms and Ranches Web Exhibit from the Oregon Secretary of State