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Connie Carmean receives Environmental Stewardship Award

Shown (l-r) Delaware Nutrient Management Commission Chairman Bill Vanderwende, Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee; Laurel poultry farmer Connie Carmean; Beth Sise of Mountaire Farms; and Larry Towle, Delaware Nutrient Management Program Administrator, during the awards ceremony in Dover Jan. 11. BY DENY HOWETH
February 8, 2014
Runner up was Richard McGinnis of Dagsboro, a grower for Amick Farms LLC, with a capacity of 249,000 birds. He has built three manure structures and put heavy-use pads at the poultry houses, planted a windbreak of evergreen trees and installed a retention pond to treat runoff. Shown (l-r) are Bill Vanderwende, chairman of the Delaware Nutrient Management Commission; McGinnis; Larry Towle, Delaware Nutrient Management Program administrator; and Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee.
Runners-up include (l-r) Jeff Smith of Perdue Farms; JD Dustins; Bill Vanderwende, chairman of the Delaware Nutrient Management Commission; John Reed; Larry Towle, Delaware Nutrient Management Program Administrator; and Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee. John and Mary Reed of Bridgeville, growers for Perdue Farms, with a capacity of 67,000 birds. They have heavy use pads, a manure shed, composter and retention pond, and collect stray feathers with a lawnmower equipped with a bagger.

Poultry farmer Connie Carmean of Laurel has been recognized for her efforts to improve water quality and reduce nutrient runoff with the 2013 Environmental Stewardship Award.

Carmean, who grows for Mountaire Farms, has raised poultry since building the first two houses with her late husband in 1986. With four houses today, the farm has a capacity of 99,400 birds per flock. As part of her efforts to reduce nutrient runoff and improve water quality, Carmean’s farm has a large manure storage structure and channel composter, built in the early 2000s, as well as heavy use pads and large retention pond to capture and treat runoff. She is certified as a private nutrient handler by the Delaware Nutrient Management Program.

“Connie Carmean is one of our leaders in protecting and preserving Delaware’s, part of a long history of innovation and environmental responsibility in First State agriculture,” Secretary of Agriculture Ed Kee said. “We are seeking signs that our farmers’ hard work is contributing to progress in improving our water quality, and are grateful for their leadership.”

The awards were presented Jan. 11 during Delaware Ag Week, held at the Delaware State Fairgrounds in Harrington. Carmean will receive $1,000, a plaque and a sign for the farm. The runners-up will receive $500, plaques and signs.

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