Mountaire grower Chad Carpenter honored with environmental award

For the past four years, Chad Carpenter has spent his days visiting poultry farms and helping poultry growers be successful. As a flock supervisor for Mountaire Farms, his knowledge also comes from personal experience. At night, he checks in on his own flocks to make sure they are healthy too. He has built his career around his chickens.

And his hard work shows. This month, Chad and his wife Joanna were honored by the Delaware Department of Agriculture as runners-up for the Delaware Environmental Stewardship Award.

“Chad’s operation is an example of what all our growers should strive to achieve,” said Mountaire Grow Out Manager Brian J. Smith. “Chad keeps his farm in excellent condition both inside the poultry houses and outside. He’s a tremendous asset to Mountaire both as an employee and a grower.”

The prestigious award was presented to Carpenter by Chris Brosch, nutrient management administrator at the Delaware Department of Agriculture, and Kenneth Bounds, Delaware Department of Agriculture deputy secretary, during Delaware Ag Week. Recipients were nominated based on excellent environmental stewardship farm practices, including the usage of effective vegetative buffers, water-quality protection measures, and land application initiatives.

The Carpenters live in Georgetown and have been growers for Mountaire since 2010. They own and operate as East Piney Grove Farms LLC, and manage four poultry farms named in honor of their four children, including Brooke’s Biddies, Madison’s Big Birds, Charlotte’s Cluckers and Birds 4 Cash. Chad Carpenter is also a broiler flock supervisor for Mountaire, having joined the Grow Out team four years ago.

The Carpenters were awarded $500, a commemorative plaque and yard sign for their outstanding accomplishments to protect the environment and be good neighbors in the rural Georgetown area.