Orange County Farm Receives State Recognition By: Stephanie DeNicola, Education/Information Coordinator, Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District
Every year, the Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Directors selects one farm per member county to receive a State Clean Water Farm Award. The award is given based on the farm’s accomplishments and commitment to land stewardship and natural resource conservation management. The recipient of the 2025 Orange County Clean Water Farm Award is Brooke Farms LLC. Brooke Farms LLC was established in 1989 by Bob and Missy Chambers. In 1997, Bob and Missy purchased 412 acres in Locust Grove, Virginia. Brooke Farms LLC has a diverse operation of grain crops, hay and beef cattle. Today, the operation manages over 2,700 acres of agriculture and forestal land. Garret Chambers attended Virginia Tech and graduated with a degree in Agricultural Business in 2017. In 2018 Garret and his wife, Lexie, began the farm transition which was completed in 2020. Brooke Farms, LLC consists of roughly 1450 acres of row crops, raising corn soybeans and wheat. The agronomic practices involved with their row crop acres include: cover crops, No-till practices, precision ag management (automatic shut offs and rate controls), and planting green with their spring crops. They keep current nutrient management plans on their row crop land and take soil samples annually. They also have installed voluntary grass waterways on their cropland. Brooke Farms LLC manages 160 cow/calf pairs on 500 acres of pasture. They have implemented stream exclusion in most of their pastures and are managing their pastures with rotational grazing. They keep forested or grass buffers around their waterways on their pastureland. They have permanent division fence and have waterers split on fence rows in some of their pastures.Brooke Farms LLC has hosted many educational and outreach programs at the home farm. These events include: Virginia Ag Expo, Farm Bureau Ag In The Classroom, Farm Safety Day and Virginia Extension Day. The Chambers family was recognized at the Culpeper SWCD Annual Awards banquet along with Orange County Directors. Mr. Darryl Glover, DCR Deputy Director Divisions of Dam Safety, Floodplain Management, and Soil and Water was also in attendance.
Culpeper SWCD Conservation Specialist Trevor Talley; Culpeper SWCD Directors Robert Bradford and Robert Brame; CWFA Recipients Garret & Lexie Chambers; Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation Division Director Darryl Glover and Culpeper SWCD Associate Director Molly Elgin McWilliams
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