Local farmer credits Carroll County preservation programs with keeping family farm viable

A speaker who identified himself as a farmer with Lippy Brothers Farms told a public meeting that Carroll County's agricultural land-preservation programs have been essential to keeping his family's multigenerational farm in operation.

"Without Ag preservation, it would almost be impossible for us to be able to continue on, the the generations of farming," the commenter said, describing how the program reduced development pressure on family land and made long-term farming feasible.

The commenter traced the family's agricultural history to the early 1950s, when his brothers returned from Maryland and began working on their father's dairy farm. He said the family moved into their current building in 1968 and bought additional land in 1955, gradually leasing and purchasing more ground and placing easements on parcels over time. "We started here in, we moved into this building in 1968," he said.

He described several business milestones: opening a grain facility across the road in 1971; building a poultry complex on Bottlenose Valley Road in 1992 with about 500,000 laying hens; and beginning soybean exports to Southeast Asia roughly 17'18 years ago, later adding some corn and wheat to exports. "We export containers overseas to Southeast Asia, mostly soybeans," he said, and described his role running the grain facility and focusing on commodity marketing.

On preservation specifically, the commenter said his farm entered the agricultural land-preservation program in 1999 and that, collectively, the family has placed more than 2,100 acres into preservation in Carroll County. He called the preservation program "one of the reasons that the Lippy Brothers Farms is so successful and is gonna continue on for generations to come." The speaker contrasted his experience with that of his grandfather, who sold farmland before preservation programs existed and saw that land converted to housing.

He also gave personal background: he said he has worked at Lippy Brothers Farms since 1985, studied agricultural business at the University of Maryland, married into the Lippy family in 1992 and has four children who now work in the operation. "My children're involved in the business," he said, noting that family labor and new ideas have helped the enterprise.

The remarks were presented as public comment; no formal action or vote related to land-preservation programs was recorded in the transcript provided.