Agriculture Awards Presented In Chester County

WEST CHESTER, PA — Kennett Square farmer Jamie Hicks, owner-operator of Hicks IV, a crop farming business on over 5,000 leased acres in Chester County and the surrounding region, was awarded the 2022 Chester County Farmer of the Year.

Baily family of Baily’s Dairy of Pocopson Meadow Farm in West Chester won the Duncan Allison Award for Distinguished Service to Agriculture.

The two awards were presented Thursday by Chester County commissioners and the county Agricultural Development Council.

Chester County ranks second to Lancaster County for the largest producer of agriculture projects, with annual sales of $710 million.

“It is a joy to recognize the hard work of farmers in our community,” said Marian Moskowitz, commissioner chairwoman. "Congratulations to Jamie Hicks and the Baily family.”

Farmer of the Year Award

Hicks farms land for high-profile organizations, including Longwood Gardens and land trusts.

His customers include everyone from equestrians with a few horses to large-scale dairies.

Hicks is widely regarded in the agriculture community for his entrepreneurial drive, sustainable farming practices, and innovative partnerships with research institutions such as Stroud Water Research, Avondale.

“Jamie Hicks is a leader in Chester County’s agriculture industry in every sense,” Commissioner Josh Maxwell said. “His business is a great example of how successful farming and environmental stewardship go hand-in-hand.”

According to Hicks, Chester County is a great place to farm because of the easy access to ports and large consumer markets, including New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C.

This proximity means fluctuations in fuel prices aren’t as big of a concern as in other parts of the country where farmers have higher transportation costs.

“We are also close to the mushroom industry that supplies fertilizer for my fields and important clients like the dairy industry,” Hicks said.

Hicks noted that the way forward is with new opportunities including Pennsylvania’s emerging hemp industry, and partnering with nontraditional customers interested in environmentally-friendly packaging materials, like online retailers.

“We need to find ways to connect the next generation of farmers to the land and focus on emerging industries,” Hicks said. “We need to connect agriculture to industry.”

Hicks was nominated for the Farmer of the Year Award by the Chester County Agricultural Development Council.

The Duncan Allison Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award

Three generations of the Baily family operate Baily’s Dairy, including patriarch Bernard Baily; daughter Becky Baily and her husband Eric Cockroft; daughter Meredith Parsons and her son Tyler Parsons.

The family is recognized for positively promoting local agriculture and serving as community ambassadors on the industry’s behalf.

The pandemic provided even more opportunities for the Baily family to make a difference, especially when their Chester Valley Dairy 4-H club members brought special bovine visitors to nearby Pocopson Home residents in the summer of 2020.

“It made the Pocopson residents so happy to see the cows,” recalled Meredith. “It was a really special moment for them and the 4-H kids.”

“The Baily family does a wonderful job teaching Chester County residents young and old about the importance of local agriculture,” said Hillary Krummrich, ad council director. “We are fortunate to have farmers like them who make the extra effort to help people understand where our food comes from.”

” Commissioner Michelle Kichline said the Baily family is an example of farmers who want to share the experience of living and working on a farm with others across Chester County.

“They are commended for their devotion to teaching youth about raising farm animals and letting children see a cow up-close, sometimes for the first time,” Kichline said.

Becky Baily, who oversees the milking and processing, said: “We grew up on the farm and were used to how things worked.

Now, so many kids in Chester County are removed from the farm but want to get involved once they visit us.”

Meredith Parsons, who oversees school field trips to the farm, said she especially loves working with the younger children because they may have read about farm animals but may never have seen them in person.

“They are amazed to see how big a cow really is in-person,” she laughed.

Learn more about Chester County’s agriculture industry at www.chescofarming.org.