Milford farmers receive Environmental Stewardship Award

Poultry farmers Ted Layton and Scott Willey have been recognized with the 2016 Delaware Environmental Stewardship Award for their efforts to improve water quality and reduce nutrient runoff.

Awards to Layton and Willey and three runners-up were presented Jan. 9, during Delaware Ag Week by Nutrient Management Commission Chairman Bill Vanderwende and Nutrient Management Program Administrator Chris Brosch.

"These farmers are great examples of how Delaware's farm families are wonderful stewards of our land and water," Brosch said. "It is due to their hard work and dedication that has made Delaware a leader in nutrient management efforts."

Layton and Willey have four chicken houses on their 44-acre farm, with a capacity of 134,400 birds per flock. The two men have been childhood friends since the second grade, and own a residential home construction business building about 35 homes a year in Kent and Sussex counties.

The business partners decided to branch out into the chicken business about five years ago, Layton said, to help diversify their business to protect them from hard times in the housing industry. They built their first two houses in 2013, followed quickly by their next two houses, all on the farm where Willey lives.

They have installed a manure shed and composter and a stormwater pond, and they are getting ready to plant a buffer of trees around the buildings. They keep the farm clean, neat and tidy, and are a model for other poultry farms in the region.

"This is the gold standard of poultry farms," said Rory DeWeese, senior director of live operations for Allen Harim. "They have worked hard to ensure that their property looks great, and we are so appreciative of their efforts." This is the second year in a row that an Allen Harim grower has been selected for this top award. Last year, Chris Lesniowski was honored for his 150-acre farm near Marydel.

Layton and Willey will receive $1,000, a plaque and a sign for their farm. The runners-up will receive $500, and plaques and signs.

Runners-up were:

• Alvin and Norma Warner of Milford, who grow for Perdue Foods growing the Coleman Organic Program, with a capacity of 62,000 organic broilers. They have created 15 acres of riparian buffers and wildlife habitat, planted tree buffers, and installed heavy-use pads and a composter.
• Tracey Hill of Laurel, who grows for Mountaire Farms, with a capacity of 116,000 broilers. He has grassed waterways, and all pipes lead to a fish-stocked pond which treats stormwater from the production area.
• Jim Nguyen of Georgetown, who grows for Amick Farms, with a capacity of 110,000 broilers. He has installed heavy-use pads, planted trees to reduce exhaust emissions, graded swales to direct stormwater into a one-acre pond, planted apple trees and berry bushes for wildlife, and uses freezers for mortality.

The awards are supported by Allen Harim Foods, Amick Farms, Mountaire Farms and Perdue Farms.