The Century Farm Award is presented to a New Jersey farm that has been in the same family and operational for at least 100 years.
​This award is presented at the Society’s Annual Dinner Gala, held each spring.
2019 Century Farm Award
Pastore Orchards
Frank and Michelina Pastore established their family farm in 1906, with the purchase of 25 acres of farmland in Camden County, which included raspberries and peaches. Frank Pastore was a stonecutter by trade and did not farm full-time. Frank and Michelina’s son, Neil, took over the farm. Similar to his father, Neil did not work on the farm full-time. Neil graduated from Drexel University with an Electrical Engineering degree. During the Depression, Neil was laid off from his job at General Electric and went back to school for his teaching certificate. After finishing school, Neil became a high school Physics and Chemistry teacher in Hammonton, New Jersey and worked on the farm part-time. In the early 1940s, Neil expanded the farm to 35 acres, and with this acreage, he planted more peach trees.During this period, Neil and his wife, Eleanor, started a small roadside market where they sold strawberries and peaches.
 
Neil and Eleanor’s son, Neil Jr., continued the farming tradition. Neil Jr. graduated from Cornell University in 1955 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After college, he took a job at RCA in Camden, New Jersey and worked part-time on the family farm. In 1974, Neil Jr. left his engineering career to work full-time on the farm. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, peaches became a major crop for New Jersey. During this time, Neil and Neil Jr. expanded the farm to approximately 250 acres, and with this new land, planted more peaches.
 
There were many challenges for the farm from the late 1980s into the 1990s. New Jersey saw a decline in the peach industry due to bad weather and an increase in competition from other states. During this period, Neil Jr. and his wife Bonnie, who was born and raised in Philadelphia, focused their attention on expanding the roadside market. They hired outside help to improve the market and began selling local produce from other farmers.

​In the mid to late 1990s, Neil Jr. faced health problems that made him unable to manage the farm and the market. During this period, Bonnie began managing the market on her own and, with the help of her daughter Jennifer, the market continued to expand. In 1995, after working alongside his father through his childhood and adolescent years, Neil III at the age of 19, took over managing the day-to-day farm operations. During this time, the farm was experiencing extreme financial hardships. As a result of the declining peach industry, Neil III decided to diversify the farm operation by growing vegetables, while at the same time, decreasing peach acreage.
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In 2003, Neil III took the farm in a new direction and planted 10 acres of blueberries.In 2006, after successful seasons on the farm and at the market,
Neil III was able to pull the farm out of its financial hardships and secure a path for its future. In 2011, Jennifer came back to the farm full-time after completing an undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania.

​In recent years the farm has continued to expand. New technologies have been implemented, such as, GPS guided systems for tillage, planting and land leveling, modern fruit and vegetable packing lines, plant triggered automated irrigation and most recently, high tunnel blackberry production systems. These technologies have improved crop performance, quality and production efficiency on the farm. The farm has also continued to diversify and grow in size with the addition of both purchased and leased land. Currently, the farm consists of over 400 acres, including over 100 acres of blueberries and 255 acres of vegetables, with the primary crops consisting of sweet potatoes, tomatoes and sweet corn. In 2016, blackberries were planted and today 12 acres are grown on the farm. As for peaches, the initial crop for which the farm was named, 30 acres are still actively farmed for our roadside market.
 
Today, Pastore Orchards is a fourth-generation family owned and operated farm. A family member oversees every aspect of the business. Neil III manages the farm operations, while his wife Dawn manages the office and food safety programs. Jennifer and Bonnie manage the roadside market, which has grown in size over the years and continues to be an integral part of the farm. ​

Past Century Farm Award Recipients
​2018:  Fralinger Orchards, Hensel Farms
2017:  Battleview Orchards, Irick Farms
2016:  Ort Farms
2015:  Heritage Vineyards​
2014:  Capaldi Farm, Holtzhauser Farms
2013:  Hauser Hill Farms, VonThun Farms
2012: 
2011:   Dreyer Farms, Walker Brothers
2010:  Ware Farm
2009:  Fulper Farms
2008:  Cowtown Rodeo, Wm. Schober Sons Inc
2007:  Hanselmann Farm
2006:  Fernbrook Nursery
2005: 
2004:  Demarest Farms
2003:  Scott Farm Nursery
2002:  Bodine Farm
2001: ​ Brown Brothers Farms
2000:  ​Bitters Brothers
1999:  George A. Coombs & Sons
1998:  Hunt-Woodward Farm, Timothy Sheppard Farm
1997:  Dusty Lane Farm
1996:  Farms View Farm
1995:  ​Joseph J. White
1994:  Oakwood, TH Budd & Sons, Van Meter Farms
1993:  ​Elms Near Farm, Shady Brook Farm, Vanaman Farm
1992:  Haines & Haines, Lee Brothers, Parkhurst Farm
1991:  Beekman Homestead Farm, Glossy Fruit Farm, Stony Knoll Orchards,  Wilson Farm
1990:  Ashurst Farm, Dickinson Farm, English Farm Associates,  Ogston
1989:  Dawes Farm, J & J Burcham Farm, Joshua Lord's Plantation Farm, Rickey & Sons
1988:  Fischer Flowers & Greenhouses, Hendrickson Farm, Mount Carmel Farm, Oak Brook Farm
1987:  Old Acres Farm, Maplehurst Farm, Fertile Green Stock Farm, ​Hillview Farm
1986:  Craigmar Farm, Mood's Farm Market & Orchard, Sharp Farm, ​Watters Farm
1985:  Britton Farm, Mackey's Orchards, Merino Hill Farm, Wyckoff Farm
1984:  Hardin Farm, Newbold Farm, Oberly Farms, Phillips Farm
1983:  Couse Homestead & Mar-Mart, Suydam Farm, Tice Farm, Van Riper Farm
1982:  Moore Farm, Snook Farm, Taylor Farm
1981:  Landseair Farm, Lee Turkey Farm, Ovaltop Dairy Farm, Walnridge Farm
1980:  Killdee Farm, Kincaid Farm, Pitney Farm, Sickler Farm
1979:  Bockoven Farm, Brugler Farm, Rinehart Farm, Shafto Farm
1978:  Garrison Farm, Pine Lawn Farm, Pompeston Farm, Vanderveer-Campbell Farm
1977:  Bartles Farm, Brookdale, Howell Farm, Locusts (Anna Black)
1976:  Cummins Farm, Holmes-stead Farm, Lloyd's Locust Lawn, Van Derveer-Ten Eyck Farm