ABOUT LIPPY BROTHERS FARMS
By continuing to buy and lease farms through the years, our company and our owners now own 2,000 acres and leases another 5,500 acres, on which we plant and harvest hay, straw, snap beans, soybeans, corn, and wheat.
We have approved conservation and nutrient management plans on all of our farms, and practice caution and expertise concerning the use of pesticides. Through the USDA Water Quality Cost Share Program, we have installed grass waterways on our fields and enroll in the Maryland Cover Crop program every year. In 1999, we placed our first farm into an Ag Preservation Easement and have placed over 2,000 acres in the county and state programs. By selling the building rights to preserve the agriculture land, we worked to secure a future as a viable agricultural business, employer, and a farm family for future generations. In addition, these decisions support and maintain Carroll County’s heritage as a major agricultural county in both the state of Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region.
In 2001, Lippy Brothers Farms, enrolled in the USDA Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, which took some of our less profitable land out of production and used it as natural buffers to protect streams from chemical runoff from pesticide application. This improved water quality, reduced soil erosion and expanded wildlife habitat. In 2007 we diversified their grain operation and added a container loading business.
AWARDS
Family History
Lippy Brothers Farms is a family-owned and operated grain and vegetable farming operation in Central Maryland. Ed, Joe, Wilson and Donald Lippy grew up on their parent’s dairy farm working closely with their father. In addition to farming, they graduated from the University of Maryland’s College of Agriculture. In 1951, Ed, Joe and Wilson formed a partnership and began leasing farms on which they grew cash grain and vegetables. They lived off of their wives’ salaries and put every dollar they made back into the company. In 1954, they began purchasing land, and in 1965, along with the fourth and youngest brother, Donald, they incorporated to form Lippy Brothers, Inc. They employed their sister, Betty Horner, to manage the office, which she did for over 40 years.