After spending most of his life on the same Pennsylvania farm, dairy farmer Jeff Biddle has chosen to protect it from development, even after receiving two lucrative offers from potential buyers. The 170-acre Bear Meadows Farm near Tussey Mountain was placed under a permanent conservation easement in July 2026, according to the Centre County Farmland Trust. The conservation group WeConservePA also reported the preservation in August, while earlier reporting by Penn State Student Media documented Biddle’s long-standing connection to the farm and his work as a dairy farmer. The decision means the property can continue to be farmed, but its development rights are permanently restricted. The easement is attached to the property deed, so the protection remains in place even if ownership changes in the future.
A farm that became part of a family’s life
Biddle’s connection to Bear Meadows began in childhood. His father, Harold, purchased the property in 1959 after first acquiring woodland for a hunting camp. He restored the farm’s buildings and ran a beef operation there.Jeff eventually left to work as a cabinet-maker and ran his own woodworking business, but farming remained part of his life. He and his wife, Claudia, eventually took over the operation in 2002. Biddle had wanted to run a dairy farm since he was young. The family converted Bear Meadows into a grass-based dairy in 2005, and the farm received permission to sell raw milk in Pennsylvania in 2009.The farm now produces raw milk, eggs and grass-fed beef, while milk from its herd is also used to make a range of cheeses by an off-site cheesemaker. The farm’s website says it has been selling raw milk to customers in the State College area since 2009.Biddle’s approach to farming has also been documented by Penn State Student Media, their feauture described a demanding daily routine involving milking cows, caring for chickens and serving customers who came directly to the farm.
Two offers could have changed the landscape
Biddle had been considering conservation for roughly three decades. During that period, he turned down two offers from buyers interested in the property. For him, the issue was not simply the financial value of the land. Development would have changed the fields, woods and views that had defined the farm throughout his life.
The conservation easement now makes that change far less likely. Houses and other forms of development cannot replace the agricultural landscape protected under the agreement. That distinction is important because Bear Meadows sits near the Centre Region’s growth boundary, an area where development pressure and open land meet.
The land protects more than farmland
The preservation also has implications beyond agriculture. According to the Centre County Farmland Trust, Bear Meadows contains pasture, hay fields, cultivated cropland, forest and grassland. Its wooded areas include deciduous, evergreen and mixed forests, while streams and springs on the property feed into the wider Spring Creek watershed.The property includes a historic spring house and several waterways that eventually connect to Spring Creek. That water system forms part of a larger watershed extending toward the Susquehanna River and ultimately the Chesapeake Bay. Protecting the surrounding land therefore helps maintain areas that contribute to groundwater and surface-water systems, while also retaining habitat for wildlife.Biddle has long described seeing bears, turkeys, deer and waterfowl around his home. The conservation agreement ensures that those wooded areas and open fields will remain part of the landscape rather than being converted into a residential development.
A partnership behind the preservation
The Centre County Farmland Trust worked with ClearWater Conservancy to complete the project. ClearWater assisted with mapping, fieldwork and technical and legal aspects of establishing the easement. For Biddle, however, the preservation process had been decades in the making. The farm had also spent time on the county’s waiting list for agricultural conservation through the Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.The new easement does not end farming on the property. Instead, it separates the future of the farm from the possibility of development. That matters because Biddle’s own future on the land is uncertain. He has acknowledged that finding the next generation of farmers is difficult, particularly because of the capital required to start and operate a farm.But regardless of who eventually works the fields, the basic character of Bear Meadows has now been secured: 170 acres where farmland, forest, wildlife and water can continue to exist without being replaced by development.
