Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding joined Lykens Valley Grain Wednesday for its unveiling. Formerly known as the Upper Dauphin Grain Center, Sterman Masser Inc. recently purchased the facility to preserve jobs, grow market opportunities, and strengthen Pennsylvania's food processing capacity for future generations.
"The success of Pennsylvania farms relies heavily on the ability to bring harvests to market," said Redding. "Facilities like the Lykens Valley Grain Center strengthen market access and availability in a competitive marketplace. It is a long-term, strategic investment for central Pennsylvania farmers and the greater farm economy."
Grain production, storage, and processing is critical to the success of Pennsylvania's leading food and agriculture industry. The National Agricultural Statistics Survey (NASS) reports 2021 Pennsylvania corn, soybean, and wheat production was valued at nearly $1.5 billion.
Sterman Masser's acquisition of Lykens Valley Grain preserves jobs and safeguards a market for Pennsylvania farmers to sell, dry, and store grain, providing stability to farmers entering harvest season. Future facility upgrades will expand market opportunities through increased corn and soybean storage capacity. The planned expansion will create new job opportunities and expand hours of operation.
"The addition of Lykens Valley Grain to our family of companies is part of our long-term vision and commitment to growth and development of quality potatoes," said Dave Masser, president, Sterman Masser, Inc. "The acquisition helped to preserve jobs in the local community, continue to be a place for the valleys' local farmers to sell and store their wheat, corn, and beans, and provided a great business opportunity for Sterman Masser Inc. which will eventually enable us to expand our potato packing operations in Sacramento."
For more than 50 years, Sterman Masser, Inc. has been a grower, packer, and shipper of potatoes and other cash grains employing more than 400 employees. Headquartered in Sacramento, Pa., its farming operations have expanded more than 6,000 acres, producing potatoes, corn, soybeans, and wheat. As the state's largest producer of potatoes, Sterman Masser distributes 350 million pounds annually. The acquisition of Lykens Valley Grain will support the grain grown and harvested by Sterman Masser and grow markets available to local farmers.
For more information about growing market opportunities for Pennsylvania farmers, visit https://agriculture.pa.gov/.
Categories: Pennsylvania, Crops, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Harvesting