Episode 202 - Rick Hartlieb is co-owner of Castanea Farms in Robesonia, Pennsylvania.
About this episode
Rick Hartlieb shares his journey as a first-generation farmer and co-owner of Castanea Farms, focusing on chestnut cultivation and forestry.
Rick Hartlieb and his wife and business partner, Jen, are the proud first-generation farmers behind Castanea Farms in Berks County, Pennsylvania. Their journey is rooted in both passion and persistence, beginning more than 25 years ago when they first met through the Conrad Weiser Area School District’s FFA program. Rick’s early love for forestry led him to Penn State University, where he earned an Associate of Science in Forest Technology from the Mont Alto campus before completing his Bachelor of Science in Forestry at University Park. His career path soon intertwined with chestnuts—starting in 2005 as a volunteer with the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Chestnut Foundation. By 2008, Rick was serving his community as a Service Forester with the DCNR Bureau of Forestry, managing forest resources across Berks, Lancaster, and Chester Counties. His leadership continued to grow, and from 2014–2024 he served as Assistant Manager for Resource Stewardship in the William Penn Forest District before stepping into the role of District Manager in 2024. In 2017, Rick and Jen discovered the property that would define their future: a farmstead dotted with 100-year-old chestnut trees…
People in this episode
Host: Eva Monheim
Guest: Rick Hartlieb
Topics covered
- farming
- chestnuts
- forestry
- sustainable agriculture
- entrepreneurship
Keywords
- Castanea Farms
- chestnuts
- forestry
- Penn State
- sustainable farming
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Castanea Farms, Penn State University, American Chestnut Foundation, DCNR Bureau of Forestry
Places: Robesonia, Pennsylvania, Berks County, Pennsylvania, William Penn Forest District
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- Episode 204 - Jonathan Mullard is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and a Founder Member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology.
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