Powell Farm: Inside Cranberry Township's Quiet Agricultural Experiment

On a stretch of Goehring Road where Butler County's remaining farmland gives way to subdivisions, Cranberry Township is conducting an experiment that has no real precedent in western Pennsylvania municipal government: it is building a working farm from scratch on public land.

Since March 2023, the township has owned Powell Farm, a 71-acre agricultural property at 9600 Goehring Road. ¹ In February 2026, the Board of Supervisors unanimously authorized a waterline extension along Goehring Road to provide the farm with municipal water access ² and approved the purchase of a $60,976 John Deere utility tractor for farm operations. ³ In January, supervisors considered buying a dedicated Ford F-350 pickup truck for the property at $53,535 before deciding instead to transfer an existing vehicle from the Sewer and Water division. ⁴

A municipality buying tractors and extending water mains to support its own agricultural operation is unusual. But the story of how Cranberry Township came to own a farm — and what it plans to do with it — begins with a man named Denton Powell and the will he left behind.

FROM WILLIAM TO DENTON: A FAMILY FARM IN A SUBURB

William Powell purchased the Goehring Road property in 1945. ⁵ His son, Denton, worked the land for decades, even as Cranberry Township transformed around him from one of Butler County's best agricultural townships into one of Pennsylvania's fastest-growing suburban communities. ⁶ The township's population surged from fewer than 15,000 in 1990 to 33,185 by the 2020 census, driven by successive waves of highway construction — the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-79, and I-279 — that cut commuting time to downtown Pittsburgh to under 30 minutes. ⁷

As development swallowed neighboring farms, Denton Powell went the other direction. In the early 2000s, he approached the Butler County Agricultural Land Preservation Board and secured an agricultural easement on the property, permanently restricting it from residential or commercial development. ⁸ The farm was later identified as a top-10 historic preservation opportunity by the Young Preservationists of Pittsburgh. ⁹

Denton Powell died in December 2021. ⁵ His will stipulated that the farm go to an entity willing to preserve it as agricultural land and honor the restrictions of the easement. ¹⁰ Andy Hack, Powell's lifelong friend and the executor of his estate, approached the township about accepting the property as a gift. ⁵

On March 2, 2023, Hack formally gifted the 71-acre farm to Cranberry Township at a Board of Supervisors meeting. ⁵ The township paid nothing for the land but accepted a binding obligation: the property must remain a working agricultural space in perpetuity. ¹⁰

THE STARTUP PHASE

What the township received was not a turnkey operation. Building a functional public farm has required significant capital investment.

The Board of Supervisors' actions in early 2026 reflect a property in what official documents describe as its "startup phase." ³ The waterline extension project, designated Contract Order #2026-383, involves tapping into the existing water system along Goehring Road and installing infrastructure for "reliable water access for the farm." ² The project description notes it "aligns with the Township's commitment to expanding utility services in this part of the Township to improve water quality." ² Authorization to bid passed 5-0 on February 26, 2026. ²

The utility tractor purchase — approved the same evening, also 5-0 — was justified as essential for a property that "requires a reliable, versatile machine to handle essential tasks." ³ The purchase was made through the Co-Stars cooperative purchasing program, a state contract vehicle that allows municipalities to bypass individual competitive bidding. ³

The township also hired Noah Petronic as farm manager and program supervisor, a position funded with $105,504 set aside in the 2025 budget. ¹¹ Petronic has outlined plans to plant 1,700 apple trees, 500 peach trees of 10 to 12 varieties, and strawberry fields. ¹² A $30,000 grant from the Arconic Foundation is funding a portion of the apple orchard. ¹²

In December 2025, township officials approved the development of a formal master plan for the farm, being prepared by the engineering firm HRG, which will map out designated areas for orchards, vegetable fields, and educational programming spaces. ¹³

THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE

In October 2023, the township formed a Powell Farm Advisory Committee — a 10-person body whose composition reveals the breadth of the project's ambitions. ¹⁴

Members include Hack, the estate executor; Ken Moniot of the Butler County Agricultural Preservation Board; Dr. Sean McCarty, assistant superintendent of the Seneca Valley School District; Dana Hadley, a Seneca Valley environmental science teacher; Andy Zadnik of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy; Craig Conforti of Penn State Extension; Tim Casey from Cranberry Township's environmental advisory committee; Jim Halstead of the Butler County Farm Bureau; and residents Bret Lester and Brian Miller. ¹⁴

The committee's December 2024 presentation to supervisors outlined both short-term priorities — hiring a caretaker, launching initial agricultural operations — and long-term goals spanning seven to 10 years, including evaluating the potential for people to live and work on the farm. ¹¹

A December 2024 Butler Eagle editorial praised the township's approach, noting that the budgeted caretaker position "was a big step in setting the property on the path toward being a public amenity accessible for everyone." ¹⁵

THE HENRY FARM NEXT DOOR

Powell Farm does not exist in isolation. Directly adjacent, along Rochester Road, Powell Road, and Darlington Road, the Board of Supervisors on February 26, 2026 approved a tentative planned residential development called "Henry Farm" — a 114-lot, four-phase single-family home development on approximately 85.7 acres. ¹⁶

The Henry Farm plan, developed by Fox Lane with engineering by The Gateway Engineers, calls for 54 active adult homes and 60 large single-family homes, with 37% open space, a 50-foot perimeter setback, and pedestrian connections to the adjacent Orchard Park development. ¹⁷ The Planning Advisory Commission recommended approval 4-0 on February 2, 2026, after hearing public comment from neighboring residents who asked about home price points, stormwater management, and speed limits along Rochester Road. ¹⁸

The juxtaposition is striking: on one parcel, the township is investing in preserving agricultural heritage; on the adjoining land, it has approved the conversion of another legacy farm into more than 100 new homes. The Henry Farm plan passed the Board of Supervisors 5-0 on the same evening that supervisors authorized the Powell Farm waterline project and tractor purchase. ^{16 2 3}

AN UNUSUAL MUNICIPAL UNDERTAKING

Cranberry Township's venture into agriculture is uncommon among Pennsylvania municipalities. The state's farmland preservation efforts have historically focused on purchasing development rights from private landowners — Pennsylvania invested more than $50.1 million preserving 167 farms and 14,147 acres in 2025 alone — rather than on municipalities directly operating agricultural properties. ¹⁹

Some parallels exist elsewhere. The Snohomish County Public Utility District in Washington state has developed a food forest and sustainability center on utility-owned land. ²⁰ Olympia Parks and Recreation in Washington is pursuing a feasibility study for an urban farm park. ²⁰ But a suburban township of 33,000 residents operating a 71-acre farm as a permanent public agricultural center, complete with its own fleet of equipment and dedicated staff, is a model with few direct comparators.

The USDA's Farm to School Grant Program and urban agriculture initiatives support educational farming operations, but these are typically linked to institutions — schools, hospitals, or nonprofits — rather than run directly by municipal governments. ²¹

WHAT COMES NEXT

The total public investment in Powell Farm is not yet fully defined. The waterline extension has been authorized for bidding but not yet awarded, so its final cost is unknown. Equipment purchases to date — the tractor and the transferred truck — total at least $60,976 in new spending, plus the caretaker salary. The Arconic Foundation grant offsets $30,000 of the orchard planting costs.

The HRG master plan, once completed, will provide the most detailed picture yet of the township's vision. The advisory committee's long-term proposals — including the possibility of residential agricultural use — suggest ambitions that extend well beyond a simple community garden.

For now, Powell Farm sits at the intersection of Cranberry Township's past and its future: 71 acres of protected farmland in one of Pennsylvania's fastest-growing suburbs, owned by the public, bound by an easement, and slowly being planted with the first of 2,200 fruit trees.