Janet Hogue and her son, Ron Hogue, are pictured at their Century Farm at 3624 Munster Road in Ebensburg. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

EBENSBURG — A Cambria County family farm now in its fifth generation is one of the latest Pennsylvania farms to be recognized as a Century Farm.

The Hogue Farm, along Munster Road between Cresson and Ebensburg, received recognition from the state Department of Agriculture in July.

Janet Hogue, who today owns the farm with her son Ron, said she knew about the Century Farm program and often saw signs on other farms.

“It is nice for the family to be recognized for being in the area for a long time and continuing with farming,” she said of Hogue Farm.

Since the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture started the Century Farm program in 1977 and the Bicentennial Farm program in 2004, more than 2,332 Century and Bicentennial Farms have received the honors.

In Pennsylvania, a Century Farm is a farm that has been owned by the same family for at least 100 years, and where a family member still lives on the property. The farm must also have at least 10 acres of the original holding and gross more than $1,000 annually from the sale of farm products.

“It is great when any farm, or any business for that matter, can be in the same family for a century or more. I congratulate Ron and his family. His dad, Ed, passed away when Ron was young, so that made it even more difficult to keep the dairy farm going,” said Marty Yahner, Cambria County Farm Bureau president. “Ninety-eight percent of all the farms in this nation, whether they be a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship or an LLC, are family owned and family controlled. U.S. family farms provide safe, affordable food, feed, fiber and fuel for the nation and the world.”

Joseph Hogue was the first family member to farm in 1865. He purchased three tracts of land totaling 291 acres in 1865 and 1867. He was the son of Sebastian Hogue and Mary Magdalen Young, who reportedly came to the United States from the Netherlands, Janet Hogue said.

Joseph had cows, horses, chickens and pigs and planted some crops. He died at the age of 74 and his son, William “Bill,” took over the farm.

In 1894, William saw a bolt of lightning strike the barn. He and his sister Regina entered the burning building and saved the animals. The barn, however, burned to the ground. The local farmers gathered and held the biggest barn raising ever. He died at age 87 and his son, Cyril, continued the family farming tradition, Janet Hogue said.

Cyril and his wife, Camilla Itle Hogue, brought the farm into the 20th century. There were tremendous new innovations in farming practices and equipment.

Cyril believed and participated in soil conservation practices and was among the first to learn how to artificially inseminate cows. He died at age 63, and his son, Edward, was the next to take over the farm.

Edward married Janet McGough and they raised five children. He was a staunch believer in education and went to many meetings to learn how to farm more progressively.

Like his father, he had one of the highest producing dairy farms in Cambria County. In 1984, he had the highest producing herd of cows in Pennsylvania. The farm prospered under Ed’s guidance. He died at the age of 58, leaving the future of the farm in the hands of his wife and sons, Jerry and Ron.

“When Ed and I took over (in 1967) that was in the heyday of farming. Ed was very dedicated to farming,” Janet Hogue said.

The Hogue Farm was a dairy farm for years before Ron started transitioning to beef about three years ago.

“We are doing beef and crops,” Janet Hogue said, noting the farm quit milking on Jan. 1, 2024, due to labor shortages.

“We were running out of help, it wasn’t viable,” she said, adding that transitioning the farm has been a slow process.

“Today we have about 100 cows, calves and steers. We grow hay and corn to feed the animals. We sell beef at markets such as the Morrisons Cove Livestock Auction,” Ron Hogue said.

Ron Hogue said few dairy farms remain in Cambria County today.

“There are just eight dairy farms left in Cambria County today. At one time, there were at least 40,” he said, noting that a lot of farmers are transitioning to grain.

Ron Hogue, 60, has worked on the farm his entire life.

“You just get up and do it every day,” he said. “The farm has transitioned from generation to generation without conflicts.”

Both Ron and Janet said keeping up with technology and modern equipment are big challenges.

“It takes a lot of money to make the ball roll, our margins are fine, there are not a lot of profits,” Ron Hogue said. “You need to do a lot of work to make a profit. … (It) can be close to one $1 million for a piece of equipment.”

“Back in my husband’s day, if a tractor broke down, you fixed it. Now you have to call a technician,” Janet Hogue said.

“You are not allowed to touch it or do it yourself. If you screw up the programming, it is done,” Ron Hogue said.

Ron Hogue said he isn’t sure what the future holds for the farm.

“I have three sons and they all have jobs. They may own it, but may not run it; they may rent it out,” Ron Hogue said.

Janet Hogue is proud her sons have carried on the family farm.

“I am so proud of these guys for taking over everything. When Ed got sick (with pancreatic cancer), we knew he wasn’t going to make it,” Janet Hogue said. “Ron and his brother Jerry ran the farm until about five years ago when Jerry had to retire on disability.”

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.