Our History
The Beginning: A Mission Rooted in Healthy Soil
In the heart of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania—an area famed for its fertile farmland and thriving agricultural traditions—Lancaster Agriculture Products was born out of a simple but urgent realization: unhealthy soil leads to unhealthy people. As industrial farming practices depleted the land, co-founder Stephen E. Stoltzfus saw firsthand the impact poor soil had on food quality and, ultimately, human health. He knew there had to be a better way.
In 1988, Stephen, alongside his son Reuben C. and daughter-in-law Mary, launched Lancaster Ag from their family farm in Bird-in-Hand. Their mission was clear: restore the soil using natural and organic inputs so that food could once again be a source of true nourishment (Food as Medicine). They began by crafting organic compost and blending regenerative soil amendments—products designed to bring life back to the land and empower farmers, growers, and home gardeners to grow food as medicine.
Depleted Soil and Chemical-Driven Farming
Modern agriculture often prioritizes yield over nutrition, leaving behind tired, toxic soils. This approach disconnects people from their food and from health itself. Lancaster Ag exists to help you restore your soil, reviving your plants, and rebuilding health from the ground up.
Growth and Legacy:
A Family on a Mission
As demand for truly healthy soil solutions grew, so did Lancaster Ag. Farmers, market growers, and backyard gardeners across the country began turning to us for guidance and trustworthy organic inputs. What started as a local effort evolved into a nationwide movement—one still rooted in the same mission: empower growers to heal the soil and grow nutrient-dense food that supports vibrant human health.
Today, the next generation has taken up the torch. Reuben and Mary’s children, Samuel and Rebecca Ann, now lead as co-owners, advancing the "Food as Medicine" philosophy to meet the needs of a new generation of home gardeners. From large-scale farms to small backyard plots, Lancaster Ag offers a full range of dry organic soil mixes, compost, natural fertilizers, and regenerative soil blends—all carefully selected, packaged and shipped all in house to serve those who believe, like we do, that great food begins with healthy soil.
Whether you’re a home gardener, homesteader, or farmer, you don’t have to settle for lifeless soil and underperforming plants. You’re the hero of this story—we’re just here to help guide your journey to grow clean, nutrient-rich food that nourishes your family and the world.
What We Do Best
For over 40 years, we’ve diligently sourced sustainable, natural, and organic minerals from some of the finest mines and natural resources around the world. These materials are brought to our 50-acre farm, where we carefully blend and package them in simple, practical formats. From there, we ship directly to family farmers, produce growers, and gardeners across the country—providing regenerative, biological, and organic agricultural products. Our commitment to service and education is central to our mission. Our dedicated team works together to ensure outstanding support, while also educating growers on the direct connection between soil health and human health. We’ve learned that sustainability isn’t a destination, but a lifelong journey with many steppingstones.
Mission
Our mission at Lancaster Ag is to promote health in every form: healthy soil, healthy plants, healthy animals, healthy people, healthy lifestyles, and healthy generations to come. We are deeply passionate about agriculture and believe that cultivating health through farming and gardening has a powerful, lasting impact. With the understanding that unhealthy choices lead to an unhealthy environment—and ultimately affect future generations—we work to offer products and guidance that support a more wholesome way of living.
It is our heartfelt desire to use our company to:
Touch individual lives at a heart level
Help families achieve better health
Challenge all of us to leave a greener tomorrow than what was given to us
As the saying goes,
“Land is not inherited from our parents; it's borrowed from our children.”
A Faith-Based Company
Lancaster Ag is a faith-based company committed to educating and supporting our customers while providing trusted products for sustainable agriculture. Our business goal is to offer tools and services that build a strong foundation for long-term agricultural success. But more importantly, we believe the true foundation for life and business is a faith- and spirit-led lifestyle. We trust that prayer and meditation, combined with wise stewardship and dedicated work, can lead to abundant results.
We strive to conduct business with integrity, always aiming to give back to the community from the blessings we've received. At the heart of everything we do is a guiding belief expressed in these words:
“This is the Lord's business, and we are simply vehicles by which it is run.”