An aerial view of L&J Farm, owned by Linda and John Brown, which raises organic broilers for Perdue in Delaware, shows the large solar array and protective buffer around the farm, two of the environmental elements that helped the farm win the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award.
John and Linda Brown of L&J Farm, which raises organic broilers for Perdue in Delaware, display their U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award.
The EcoDrum composter on L&J Farm, owned by Linda and John Brown, which raises organic broilers for Perdue in Delaware.
Linda and John Brown of L&J Farm, which raises organic broilers for Perdue in Delaware, stand outside of one of their chicken houses, which uses awnings to offer the birds shade while outside.
An aerial view of L&J Farm, owned by Linda and John Brown, which raises organic broilers for Perdue in Delaware, shows the large solar array and protective buffer around the farm, two of the environmental elements that helped the farm win the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award.
HARRINGTON, Del. — A visit to one Delaware farm reveals state-of-the-art composters, a large solar array, and grass and plant buffers.
Alongside that, there’s waste-reducing litter management, heavy use pads, a pollinator garden, manure storage facilities and stormwater runoff ponds.
And now, they have a national award too.
John and Linda Brown operate a large poultry farm between Milford and Harrington where they put as much focus into caring for the land as they do the birds on it.
John and Linda Brown of L&J Farm, which raises organic broilers for Perdue in Delaware, display their U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award.
“Who is watching the chickens” is the couple’s first thought, even during life-changing moments, like the birth of their first child.
L&J Farm raises organic chickens for Perdue, actually being the first organic producers in Delmarva.
They were one of five farms across the United States to receive the 2024 U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Family Farm Environmental Excellence Award.
The annual recognition highlights exemplary environmental stewardship by family farmers engaged in poultry and egg production.
“John and Linda are fully dedicated to operating their farm with the highest standards of sustainability, and we at (Delmarva Chicken Association) are incredibly proud of what they have accomplished in decades of growing chickens,” said Holly Porter, Delmarva Chicken Association’s executive director.
L&J Farm uses an EcoDrum composter, being the first farm in Delaware to take advantage of USDA’s cost-share program for this equipment.
The EcoDrum composter on L&J Farm, owned by Linda and John Brown, which raises organic broilers for Perdue in Delaware.
Litter is primarily windrowed with partial and complete cleanouts when necessary and annual litter tests. All litter removed from the farm is used for offsite cropland.
Linda is also an officer on the Tax Ditch Committee, part of the network of Delmarva’s drainage ditches that help protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Browns also take online courses to keep up with the latest best management practices.
Solar energy is used extensively, including to charge their electric car.
Many of the Browns’ decisions are designed to protect the environment, but some are to be kind to those around them. Grass buffers at fans and tree buffers at the property line contain dust and odors.
“We have a good neighbor policy,” he said.
The kindness extends to wildlife.
“All wildlife requires four basic elements to survive: food, water, cover and space. We have all of these requirements,” they wrote in their award application. “Although we cannot encourage any species of birds to visit, we have plenty of land critters living on the farm.”
Limiting wild bird attractants is part of the Browns’ biosecurity consciousness.
Foot baths and protective booties are used in every building. More recently, anterooms added to houses provide an added layer of security for the birds.
Linda and John Brown of L&J Farm, which raises organic broilers for Perdue in Delaware, stand outside of one of their chicken houses, which uses awnings to offer the birds shade while outside.
For the farm, John and Linda try to make improvements almost every year, stressing that both time and money are needed to farm long-term.
“One of many myths of commercial chicken farming is you will have your new chicken houses paid for in 15 years at the end of your loan and then be on easy street,” the couple said in their application. “The truth is, your farm will never be paid for. Upgrades, retrofits, maintenance, surprises, disease control and more are a constant. The definition of sustainability is able to be maintained. The responsibility of the poultry grower is to keep their farm ready for the next generation and beyond.”
L&J Farm received Delmarva Chicken Association’s inaugural George “Bud” Malone Environmental Award in 2022. Afterwards, the Association nominated the farm for the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association’s highest environmental recognition.
Other awards include the Governor’s Agricultural Conservationist Award in 2021 and the Delaware Environmental Stewardship Award in 2018.
These awards and others are housed in a small education room on the farm.
Alongside them is a framed signature from Jim Perdue and bobbleheads of his father, Frank Perdue. The bobbleheads were once given out by the company as a thank you to top producing farms.
Through all their success, the couple is quick to give credit to their service providers.
All of the awards, and the unrecognized successes, come from a commitment to U.S. poultry — one John carried with him overseas.
In Joanne Guilfoil’s book “Chickens on Delmarva,” she recounts a story that John told from when, while serving in the Army, he was stationed in Baghdad. One day, while there, Brown noticed boxes of Perdue chicken on the dining dock.
“I followed the boxes into the building and took pictures with the Iraqi workers,” he said. “That picture made it to the top of Perdue management.”
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