What Crops Grow in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania’s combination of fertile valleys, varied terrain, and a humid continental climate supports a surprisingly wide range of crops, from large-scale field corn and soybeans to specialty products like mushrooms and wine grapes. The state spans USDA hardiness zones 5b through 7a, giving growers in the southeastern lowlands a noticeably longer frost-free season than farmers in the northern tier or the Allegheny Plateau. That geographic diversity, along with deep agricultural traditions dating to the colonial era, means Pennsylvania produces everything from hay and small grains to tree fruits, leafy greens, and even a modest amount of tobacco.

Corn, Soybeans, and Other Major Field Crops

Corn is the single largest crop by acreage in Pennsylvania. Most of it is field corn grown for livestock feed and silage rather than sweet corn for the table, which makes sense given the state’s large dairy industry. The limestone-rich soils of the Great Valley running through the south-central counties are particularly well suited to corn, though you will find it planted in nearly every county. Soybeans are the second major row crop, and their acreage has grown steadily over the past few decades as market demand increased and newer varieties adapted to shorter growing seasons became available.

Winter wheat is sown in the fall and harvested in early summer, fitting neatly into a rotation with corn or soybeans. Barley and oats also grow in the state, often as cover crops or livestock feed rather than cash grain. Hay, including alfalfa and mixed-grass hay, occupies substantial acreage because so many Pennsylvania farms are dairy or livestock operations. In the southeastern corner, Lancaster County still supports a small but historically significant tobacco crop, a holdover from centuries of cultivation by Amish and Mennonite farming communities. The acreage devoted to tobacco has declined sharply from its peak, but some growers continue to raise cigar-wrapper and pipe-tobacco varieties.

Organic grain production in the state comes with its own challenges. Most organic corn and soybean growers rely on repeated tillage to control weeds in place of herbicides, which can cause soil erosion rates that push against what regulators consider sustainable. In Pennsylvania, all farms are expected to keep soil loss at or below a threshold the USDA calls the “T-value,” essentially the maximum amount of erosion a field can sustain without degrading its long-term productivity.¹ Research into organic no-till methods aims to solve that tension, letting growers skip the plow while still managing weeds without chemicals.

Mushrooms

Pennsylvania dominates commercial mushroom production in the United States, and the epicenter is Chester County in the southeastern part of the state. The borough of Kennett Square has long called itself the “Mushroom Capital of the World,” and while that is marketing, the underlying reality is genuine: the cluster of farms in that area produces a huge share of the country’s white button, cremini, and portobello mushrooms. All three are actually the same species, Agaricus bisporus, harvested at different stages of maturity.

Mushroom farming took root in Chester County in the late nineteenth century, partly because the area had a supply of spent horse bedding from nearby cities that made excellent growing substrate, and partly because abandoned stone quarries and naturally cool buildings provided the dark, humid conditions the crop requires. Modern mushroom houses are climate-controlled and bear little resemblance to those early caves, but the concentration of expertise, labor, and infrastructure has kept the region dominant. Specialty varieties like shiitake, maitake, and oyster mushrooms are also cultivated by smaller farms across the state, sometimes on hardwood logs in forested settings.

Tree Fruits and Berries

Apples are Pennsylvania’s leading tree fruit. Adams County in the south-central part of the state is the heart of apple country, with orchards stretching across rolling hills that benefit from good cold-air drainage and deep, well-drained soils. Popular commercial varieties include Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, and the older standards like Red Delicious and Golden Delicious. Pennsylvania’s climate provides the winter chill hours that apple trees need to set fruit properly, and the long, warm autumns allow later varieties to develop full flavor.

Peaches are the second major tree fruit, though they are more climate-sensitive than apples. A late spring frost can devastate a peach crop because the trees bloom early, and growers in northern counties face a higher risk of this than those in the warmer southeast. Still, peach orchards are scattered throughout the southern tier, and the fruit sells briskly at roadside stands and farmers’ markets from July into September. Cherries, pears, and plums round out the tree fruit picture in smaller quantities.

Berry production is significant, too. Strawberries grow well across much of the state and are a staple of pick-your-own operations. Blueberries prefer the more acidic soils found in some parts of northeastern Pennsylvania, while raspberries and blackberries are common on diversified farms. Blueberry acreage has expanded as consumer demand for the fruit has grown, and some growers have invested in high-tunnel structures to extend the harvest window.

Wine Grapes Along Lake Erie

Pennsylvania has a grape-growing tradition that goes back further than many people realize. Commercial wine grape production began along the southern shore of Lake Erie in the mid-1800s, and the principal cultivars at that time were Delaware and Catawba, both American varieties suited to the region’s cold winters.² The lake moderates temperatures along the narrow strip of land closest to the shore, delaying fall frosts and buffering against the harshest winter cold. That microclimate, sometimes called Pennsylvania’s “grape belt,” remains the state’s primary wine grape region.

As interest in European-style wines grew in the twentieth century, growers began experimenting with French-American hybrid cultivars and eventually with Vitis vinifera varieties like Chardonnay, Riesling, and Cabernet Franc. Hybrid grapes like DeChaunac were planted in Erie County as early as the late 1960s to test whether they could thrive commercially in the region’s conditions.² Today, Pennsylvania’s wine industry has expanded well beyond Erie County. Vineyards dot the southeastern piedmont, the Lehigh Valley, and the central highlands, growing a mix of hybrids and cold-hardy vinifera. The state now has hundreds of licensed wineries, though most are small-scale compared to operations in California or the Pacific Northwest.

Vegetables and Market Crops

Pennsylvania’s vegetable sector is diverse and tilted toward fresh-market sales rather than processing. Sweet corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, snap beans, and potatoes are all commonly grown. Lancaster County and the surrounding region are particularly productive, benefiting from rich limestone soils, a relatively long frost-free period, and deep Amish and Mennonite farming traditions that emphasize diversified, intensive vegetable production.

Potatoes deserve a special mention. While Pennsylvania is not a top-five potato state by national standards, it produces a considerable crop, especially in the northeastern counties where cooler temperatures and lighter soils favor tuber development. The Lehigh Valley and parts of the Pocono region have a long potato-farming history. Sweet potatoes, by contrast, are marginal in the state; they need a longer, hotter summer than most Pennsylvania locations reliably provide, though a few growers in the warmest southern areas manage small plantings.

Pumpkins and other winter squash are increasingly important cash crops, driven by fall agritourism. Many farms combine pumpkin patches with corn mazes and hayrides, turning what was once a modest harvest item into a significant revenue stream. Smaller-acreage organic vegetable farms, which are common throughout the state, manage weed and erosion challenges by planting on flatter fields, maintaining permanent grass strips between crop rows, and building up soil organic matter with compost and manure.¹ These practices are easier to implement on smaller plots than on broad-acre grain farms.

High Tunnels and Season Extension

One of the most significant trends in Pennsylvania crop production over the past couple of decades is the adoption of high tunnels, sometimes called hoop houses. These are unheated, plastic-covered structures that act as passive greenhouses, warming the soil and sheltering crops from wind, rain, and frost. They do not have the full climate control of a heated greenhouse, but they cost a fraction of the price and can dramatically extend the growing season at both ends.

Research has shown that high tunnels increase the marketability and yield of crops like tomato and lettuce compared with open-field growing.³ For tomatoes, the protection from rain splash reduces disease pressure from fungal blights that thrive in Pennsylvania’s humid summers. For lettuce and other greens, high tunnels allow growers to harvest well into late fall and start again in early spring, months when open-field production would be impossible. Some farmers produce salad greens through much of the winter under double-layered tunnel coverings with row covers inside.

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has offered cost-share programs to help farmers install high tunnels, and uptake in Pennsylvania has been enthusiastic. For small and mid-sized diversified farms selling through farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture subscriptions, and restaurant accounts, being able to offer fresh produce outside the normal outdoor season is a real competitive advantage. Crops commonly grown under tunnels in the state include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, strawberries, leafy greens, and cut flowers.

Christmas Trees and Nursery Stock

Pennsylvania is one of the leading Christmas tree producing states. The cooler northern counties and the higher elevations of the Allegheny Plateau are prime territory for species like Douglas fir, Fraser fir, blue spruce, and Scotch pine. Christmas tree farming suits land that might be too steep, rocky, or acidic for conventional row crops, and rotations of six to twelve years between planting and harvest mean these farms occupy a different economic rhythm than annual crop operations.

Nursery and greenhouse crops more broadly represent a large share of agricultural sales. Ornamental trees, shrubs, perennials, and bedding plants are grown across the state and shipped to garden centers and landscapers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. These operations often cluster near population centers where demand is strong and transportation costs are lower. In dollar terms, the nursery and greenhouse sector consistently ranks among the top agricultural commodities in the state, even though it does not occupy as much land as corn or hay.

Maple Syrup and Other Niche Products

The northern tier of Pennsylvania, where sugar maple trees are abundant in the hardwood forests, supports a modest maple syrup industry. Production is small compared to Vermont or New York, but it is culturally important in counties like Potter, Tioga, and Sullivan, where maple festivals in late winter draw visitors and local producers sell syrup, cream, and candy. The season depends on freeze-thaw cycles, typically running from late February into March or early April, and a warming climate has been gradually shifting the tapping window earlier.

Other niche crops include hops, which have seen a revival tied to the craft beer movement; hemp, which became legal to grow commercially after the 2018 Farm Bill; and lavender, grown on small farms for essential oils, sachets, and agritourism. Ginseng, both cultivated and wild-simulated, grows in shaded woodland settings in several parts of the state. None of these crops occupy large acreages, but they represent the entrepreneurial fringe of Pennsylvania agriculture, where farmers look for high-value products that can make a small operation financially viable.

How Geography Shapes What Grows Where

Pennsylvania covers enough latitude and elevation to create meaningfully different growing conditions from one region to another. The southeast, including Chester, Lancaster, and Berks counties, is the warmest part of the state. Frost-free seasons there can run 180 days or more, and the soil tends to be deep and fertile, making it suitable for the widest range of crops: vegetables, mushrooms, grain, tree fruit, and nursery stock all thrive. This region also has the densest concentration of farms and the closest access to the Philadelphia metropolitan market.

The Ridge and Valley province running through the center of the state has productive valley floors where corn, hay, and small grains do well, but the ridgetops are forested and largely unsuitable for cultivation. The Allegheny Plateau in the north and west is cooler and wetter, with shorter growing seasons and often heavier, less-drained soils. Dairy farming, hay production, and forest products dominate there, along with crops that tolerate cooler conditions like potatoes, cabbage, and Christmas trees. The Lake Erie shore is its own microclimate, narrow but critical for grape growing as described above.

Elevation matters as much as latitude. A farm at 2,000 feet in the Poconos can have frost-free seasons 30 to 40 days shorter than a farm at 400 feet in the Susquehanna Valley just 60 miles to the south. That difference determines not just what you can plant but which varieties will mature in time. Growers in higher-elevation areas lean toward shorter-season corn hybrids, cold-tolerant brassicas like cabbage and broccoli, and root crops like carrots and beets that handle cool nights without complaint. In the warmest pockets of the state, farmers can even grow crops like watermelon, cantaloupe, and eggplant that need sustained summer heat to produce well.