While many Maryland farmers continue to battle aggravating regulations, increased input costs and fluctuating market prices, other Old Line State farmers are researching alternatives or diversifying to make their operations more profitable.

The two farms nominated for the 2025 Maryland Leopold Conservation Award are doing just that – studying new farming practices, experimenting with new crops and finding success with innovative and environmentally-friendly agricultural methods.

Finalists Matthew and Debra Hoff of Coldsprings Farms in New Windsor and Dave Tribbett Jr. and his wife Spring of Twin Maples Farm of Ridgely are paving the way for land stewardship, sustainability and adopting conversation practices.

The award honors farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in their management of soil health, water quality and wildlife habitat on working land. Named in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, this award recognizes landowners who inspire others with their dedication to environmental improvement.

Matt Hoff is continuing a family legacy that began in 1868. “We are a fifth-generation dairy,” he said. “We currently farm 2,500 acres and grow corn for silage and grain, soybeans, small grains including barley and triticale for seed and grain along with wide combinations of cover crops and hay.”

Coldsprings Farms is also known nationally for breeding Registered Holsteins. They currently milk 1,200 cows and raising 1,000 youngstock. In addition to producing milk, the Carroll County farmer has continued to research and implement conservation practices over the past several decades.

“My father started no-tilling corn back in the early 1970s,” Matt said, and by the early 2000s they were 100% no-till. They started planting cover crops in the late 1990s through programs from the NRCS.

“Using no-till builds organic matter which improves soil health,” he added. “We also use less fuel and less equipment because we don’t have to work the fields.”

After seeing benefits from less erosion and compaction, Matt started incorporating more cover crops every year. “We started planting a more diverse cover crop mix around 2010,” he explained. “That’s when we really started to see a big improvement in soil health along with less erosion [and] compaction and with gains in moisture retention in droughts.”

Coldsprings Farms uses a two- to three-year cover crop rotation – one to two years of corn, small grain and silage, followed by a double crop of soybeans. They plant 500 to 650 acres of Plenish® high oleic soybeans to feed along with 200 acres of conventional soybeans.

The lifelong dairy farmer also grows 400 to 600 acres of triticale, ryegrass and radish mix, some with crimson clover that get double cropped to corn, and direct chops 300 acres for forage. “We also started growing male sterile sorghum in some of our heavily deer-infested areas for forage in the past two years,” he said.

The Hoffs also have grass and riparian buffers along streams and grass headlands on some fields along with grassed waterways, manure storage buildings and a liquid manure storage area that holds six to eight months of manure waste. “We have a silage leachate pit to collect runoff from our trenches and feed loading area,” Matt added.

He is a firm believer in using conservation methods that ensure Coldsprings Farms remains sustainable for future generations. They incorporate about 75% of their liquid manure with both injectors and spreaders and through a custom dragline company. The dragline manure system reduces carbon emissions from tractors and reduces soil compaction by driving liquid tankers over fields.

Matt admitted there are still challenges, like keeping up with all the advancements in cropping equipment and staying profitable while raising and caring for animals. He also juggles outside commitments as a board member for several agricultural and county government groups.

He’s grateful he grew up in an industry he loves and is honored to be nominated for this conservation award. “Working with our family and extended family of employees, raising healthy crops to feed our cows so they are more productive and healthy, brings me joy,” he said.

Meanwhile, on MD’s Eastern Shore at Twin Maples Farm, the Tribbett family is rewriting the agricultural paradigm.

As a third-generation farmer, it’s obvious Dave Tribbett Jr. has a driving passion to make a difference. The Tribbetts bought their operation in 2003 and currently farm 1,200 acres in small grain, corn, soybeans and giant miscanthus grass. They also raise 175,000 meat chickens in eight chicken houses in partnership with Mountaire Farms.

Dave has incorporated several best management practices including miscanthus grass buffers, organic land certification, ground water filtration, carbon sequestration and composting.

“These practices are important to me for future agricultural profitability, water filtration, closed-loop sustainability and overall impacts on farmer profitability,” Dave said.

A closed-loop supply chain is one in which the entire lifecycle of a product – from manufacturing to consumer use and eventual return – is designed for reuse and recycling. For this Caroline County poultry farmer, a closed-loop system has come full circle with the use of giant miscanthus grass.

Dave Tribbett Jr. checks on his giant miscanthus grass that is making a true difference for many Eastern Shore poultry producers. Submitted photo

His experiment with the grass started in 2011 when he was contacted about growing chickens on grass. In autumn 2011, they planted their first 16 acres of miscanthus grass buffers. Miscanthus grass is a woody, non-invasive perennial grass. “In 2012 we ran testing on poultry production with Bill Massey of Mountaire Farms (Poultry Partners) using the grass as chicken house bedding,” Dave said. “With results from the testing and our practices we’ve seen great results and currently have 700 acres of miscanthus grass.”

In 2011, Dave established the Mid Atlantic Organic Resource Company (MAORC) to develop an organic compost as a sustainable alternative to synthetic fertilizers. MAORC’s mission states “As farmers, we want to make a better fertilizer that is environmentally friendly and economically better for our fields.”

MAORC turns local food and ag waste like poultry bedding, eggs, poultry byproducts and hatchery waste into clean, rich compost. “This keeps over 5,000 tons of waste out of landfills each year,” Dave said.

According to the MAORC website, the use of manure in field dressing leads to nutrient leeching and pollution of the surrounding area. The process now used results in lower levels of toxic ammonia and pollutant runoff. “We are able as a company to fertilize 6,000 to 7,000 acres of local farmland,” he added.

“What I enjoy most about farming is that every day is a new learning experience,” Dave continued. “I’m always pushing to be profitable and pass down knowledge to help other farmers in our industry. This recognition means to me that the end goal of environmental and agricultural goals can be achieved with working together to be sustainable at close-looping our waste system.”

Coldsprings Farms and Twin Maples Farm are deserving of these nominations, both with proven records of environmental stewardship. Sand County Foundation and American Farmland Trust present the Leopold Conservation Awards to private landowners in 28 states. In MD, the $10,000 award is presented with state partners Keith Campbell Foundation for the Environment, MD Association of Soil Conservation Districts and MD Farm Bureau.

“Maryland farmers have been longtime leaders in voluntary conservation practices, and this year’s finalists for the Leopold Conservation Award truly exemplify that,” said Jamie Raley, MDFB president. “We commend these farm families for their commitment to sustainability.”

The award finalists will be recognized at the MDFB Annual Convention in December.