PA Preferred® Metzler Forest Products has been a pioneer in its industry for over 40 years. What began as an in-woods chipping venture soon expanded into excavation, firewood, mulch and compost production and, most recently, Metzler Biochar. Through all of this growth, the Mifflin County business has remained committed to integrity, quality and customer satisfaction.
We chatted with Pat Sherren, Director of New Products at Metzler Forest Products and Metzler Biochar. He shared a bit about the company’s products and values and what makes Pennsylvania a special place to operate. “The people and places of Pennsylvania reflect hometown and homegrown values that Metzler is very pleased to support with our personal and business efforts,” he says. “We are happy to be part of the PA Preferred community that effectively supports and promotes Pennsylvania’s agriculture businesses.”
Pat Sherren
For farmers and gardeners, the importance of soil quality can’t be overstated. This living ecosystem offers invaluable nutrients, water and structure for all of the living things it supports. Beyond its pleasing aesthetic, mulch offers water retention and weed inhibition above the soil while compost infuses it with nutrients. Biochar amends the soil with improved drainage, nutrient and water retention and aeration for overall soil and plant health. It’s like a sponge that keeps soil moist and sequesters carbon.
Metzler Forest Products and Biochar offers a variety of such products, including hardwood mulch in a rainbow of colors, compost made of bark fines and leaves, and biochar in three different varieties.
Sherren says, “Our biochar products are quickly becoming known as a way to increase your soil’s water holding capacity, nutrient transfer, water infiltration and aggregation.” Metzler pureCHAR is a 90% carbon biochar that attracts nutrients and keeps ammonia levels low. The growCHAR product is supercharged with compost including spent mushroom substrate for premium gardening and farming use. Finally, earthCHAR is a biochar and topsoil blend that’s ideal for raised garden beds, planters and soil conditioning.
In 2025, Metzler Forest Products was one of the state’s cutting-edge agriculture businesses to receive an Agricultural Innovation Grant from the PA Department of Agriculture. This funding supports the company’s leadership in advancing carbon products from forestlands and acknowledges its overall regional impact.
The biochar product line, developed and launched about four years ago, was a natural next step for this longstanding excavation and forest product company. Sherran says, “We love being part of Pennsylvania families’ timber management plans and meeting their natural resource goals. Our newest products now let us support the work of Pennsylvania farmers.”
We look forward to seeing the ways this sustainably-minded company continues to grow in the future.
To treat your land to the products of Metzler Forest Products call to schedule a pickup or delivery at its Landscape Center at 26 Timber Lane, Reedsville; (717) 667-2924. Find the Metzler Biochar products online through Tilmor and at Oregon Ag LLC in Lancaster County at 1150 E. Oregon Rd., Lititz; (717) 656-0067.
This series was created in collaboration with PA Preferred.
PA Preferred® is Pennsylvania’s statewide branding program that promotes locally grown and processed food and other agricultural products.
- Last photo: Metzler Forest Products and Commonwealth Media Services
- All other photos: Metzler Forest Products and Metzler Biochar
