The Cecil Soil Conservation District honored William Price IV  and Price Valley Farm as our 2016 Cooperator of the year at the 71st Annual Cooperator's Banquet on January 13, 2017.

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Price Valley Farm encompasses 464 acres of gently rolling countryside in Warwick, Maryland. Over 150 acres of fields support grain crops, nearly 80 acres are forested, and a little over 200 acres are enrolled in federal programs as conservation areas. The farm has been operated by the Price family for four generations. Early conservation practices starting in 1972 included conservation tillage and cover crops. William Price was among the first group of farmers in the country to enroll in the Conservation Stewardship Program in 2005. In order to qualify for the program, farmers were required to meet a high threshold of stewardship and were then rewarded for maintaining these stewardship practices. Over the years, many acres of Price Valley Farm have been enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program to create riparian buffers, wildlife habitat, filter strips, and conservation cover areas.  A habitat for rare and declining grassland nesting bird species was planted on a portion of the crop land targeted toward two at-risk species. Currently he, his sister, and his brother have the only enrolled acreage on the entire Eastern Shore dedicated to grassland nesting bird rare and declining species habitat under CREP. Bill was the first farmer in Cecil County to enroll land in this CREP program. In 1999, the farm was placed in a conservation easement under the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation to keep the land in agricultural use for future generations. 

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The Cecil Soil Conservation District proudly recognizes William Price IV of Price Valley Farm for steadfast commitment to conservation and deployment of best management practices.

Please enjoy the video to learn about the diversity of practices on Price Valley Farm.

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