WEST GROVE, PA — Two figures shaping the future of Chester County agriculture were honored this week as AgConnect recognized a fifth-generation mushroom grower for innovation in farming and a longtime state lawmaker for decades of service to the agricultural community.
At a presentation hosted at Mother Earth Organic Mushrooms in southern Chester County, AgConnect named Meghan Klotzbach its 2025 Chester County Farmer of the Year and awarded Pennsylvania State Representative John Lawrence the Duncan Allison Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award.
Chester County Commissioners Marian Moskowitz and Eric Roe joined AgConnect leaders, staff, and guests in celebrating the honorees, calling their work vital to sustaining farming in one of Pennsylvania’s most productive agricultural regions.
Klotzbach, vice president of sales, marketing, and operations at Mother Earth Organic Mushrooms, was recognized for carrying forward her family’s century-old mushroom-growing legacy while pushing the industry toward innovation and organic production. Her family’s farm, C.P. Yeatman & Sons Inc. and Mother Earth LLC, became the nation’s first commercial mushroom operation to earn organic certification. Today, all mushrooms produced at the farm are certified organic.
AgConnect cited Klotzbach’s leadership in modernizing operations, strengthening food safety and traceability, expanding product offerings, and engaging the community through education and outreach. She also advocates for the mushroom industry at both the state and national levels. Klotzbach described the honor as humbling, noting her commitment to preserving the family farm for future generations.
Representative Lawrence, who serves the 13th Legislative District, was honored for more than two decades of work advancing agriculture-focused legislation in Harrisburg. A member of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, Lawrence has supported policies aimed at strengthening dairy transparency, protecting the equine industry, assisting small processors, and preserving farmland across the Commonwealth.
Lawrence has often pointed to time spent on his grandfather’s dairy farm as formative in shaping his understanding of the pressures facing family farms. In accepting the award, he emphasized that agriculture depends not only on land preservation but also on protecting the people who work it.
AgConnect officials said the dual honors reflect the organization’s mission to highlight both innovation on the farm and leadership in public service as Chester County agriculture navigates growth, development pressures, and generational change.
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