{"id":58246,"date":"2026-05-01T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T11:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foodtank.com\/?p=58246"},"modified":"2026-04-23T14:00:03","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T19:00:03","slug":"agriculture-is-the-culture-at-pennsylvanias-largest-black-owned-farm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foodtank.com\/news\/2026\/05\/agriculture-is-the-culture-at-pennsylvanias-largest-black-owned-farm\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Agriculture Is the Culture’ at Pennsylvania\u2019s Largest Black-Owned Farm"},"content":{"rendered":"

On 128 acres in Pennsylvania, Christa Barfield is building something bigger than a farm. She founded FarmerJawn<\/a>, now the largest Black-owned farm in the state, with a vision of agriculture rooted in equity, access, and care for the land. Today, the farm is a model for regenerative organic food production that is by and for underserved communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barfield returns to her central philosophy often: \u201cAgriculture is the culture.\u201d This means that farming is not separate from daily life. From food to clothing to building materials, agriculture underpins the systems people rely on, even if they rarely see it, she says: \u201cEverything you touch on a daily basis\u2026that is thanks to a farmer somewhere sometime.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Barfield did not set out to become a farmer. But after spending her early career in a high-volume medical office in Philadelphia, she took a trip to the island of Martinique. There, she encountered a community-based model of food production, where people sourced food directly and regularly from those growing it. The experience shifted her perspective on what food systems could look like.<\/span><\/p>\n

Barfield describes drinking tea picked fresh from her hosts\u2019 backyard garden and joining community members distributing boxes of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs for their neighbors. These were direct, human-to-human transactions paid in cash\u2014something she rarely saw at home.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe real magic of that moment was that I then was able to see these multicultural people walking in, and they were coming in and taking these boxes,\u201d says Barfield. She remembers thinking, \u201cWhat is this that I’m seeing?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

She was hooked, deciding shortly after that she would become a farmer. \u201cI was going to start a tea company, and I was going to start a farm,\u201d Barfield says. \u201cAnd that’s exactly what we did.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But bringing FarmerJawn to life required a period of intense work and instability. Barfield says she would drive for ride-share companies from 5 to 9 a.m., manage her business all day, then make grocery deliveries from 5 to 9 p.m. to make ends meet. She experienced housing insecurity for years.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI built it brick by brick,\u201d says Barfield.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now FarmerJawn is expanding its impact, with the farm now eligible for regenerative organic certification. Barfield is prioritizing stable, well-paying jobs\u2014an approach she sees as essential to building a more just food system.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe only way that businesses can actually grow the right way is if you’re paying and taking care of your team,\u201d says Barfield.<\/span><\/p>\n

Her work has earned national recognition, including a James Beard Award in 2024 and a role in state-level agricultural leadership. But Barfield says visibility does not shield her from the challenges facing Black farmers: \u201cJust a few months after winning that James Beard award, there was an eight-foot swastika painted on my barn. It reminded me and my team that our safety was in question.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Barfield, these experiences reinforce the urgency of her work. She sees agriculture as a critical front line in addressing interconnected crises, from climate change to public health.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I’m getting to do is really just be used as a tool to tell the story that the Earth can’t,\u201d she says. \u201cThat it’s literally dying right before our eyes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Barfield believes, however,\u00a0 that agricultural systems can reconnect people to land, food, and each other. She believes that transforming agriculture can help transform broader systems of health and equity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I think about, is it worth it?\u201d Barfield says. \u201cHonestly, the only answer, it is.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Watch Barfield’s story below and find others from our farmer storytelling events on <\/span><\/i>Food Tank\u2019s YouTube channel<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n