Mid-Ohio Valley farm receives 2025 West Virginia Conservation Farm of the Year award
The Parrish J. Pendley farm operating in Wood and Jackson counties has received West Virginia Conservation Farm of the Year in the non-traditional category. Back row, from left, Brandon Thomas with Middletown Tractor Sales, Jessica Pendley, Parrish J. Pendley and Hayden Demniak with Middletown Tractor Sales. Front row, Tilly Pendley, Josie Pendley and Paisley Pendley. The Pendleys received $1,000 and the use of a tractor for a year from Middletown. (Photo Provided)
SUTTON, W.Va. — A farm operating in Wood and Jackson counties was recognized for its efforts to protect soil, water and other resources by the West Virginia Conservation Partnership. Receiving the West Virginia Conservation Farm of the Year in the traditional category was the Parrish J. Pendley Farm. Pendley, also known as “P.J.,” operates his farms with his wife, Jessica, and daughters Paisley, Josie and Tilly. Receiving the award in the non-traditional category were Hope and Beverly Yankey’s farm near Mathias in Hardy County. Each farm received $1,000 and the use of a tractor from Middletown Tractor Sales in Fairmont, a longtime sponsor of the conservation farm awards. The Pendley farm, sponsored by the Western Conservation District, competed against finalist D.C. Lucey Farm in Marshall County. The non-traditional category includes farms with smaller-scale horticulture practices, but still incorporates smaller livestock. The Pendley family’s enterprise is a cow and calf operation with an extensive row crop and hay operation, specializing in corn and soybeans, across three farms in Jackson and Wood counties. Pendley practices rotational grazing, which reduces livestock’s impact on farmland and helps control erosion, across all farm areas with cattle. He’s also developed new water sources on his farmland to deal with the impacts of drought. Some of the woodland on his farms is separated from pastureland by exclusion fencing, which keeps livestock out of critical areas not intended for grazing. The operation also includes a 50-by-50-foot barn and manure storage facility that’s part of a comprehensive nutrient management plan. Pendley has a Conservation Reserve Program buffer on 10 acres in Belleville. The buffer keeps water from settling in the fields where he grows corn and soybeans. Adjoining the buffer is a 40-acre wildlife sanctuary and wetland designed by the state Division of Natural Resources. Fish and other wildlife live in the wetland. Pendley’s farmland is the first that feeds into the wildlife sanctuary and wetland, so the 10-acre buffer serves as filter strips. The Pendleys are first-generation full-time farmers. “You take a special pride in being able to manage these farms and have them way better than when you obtained them, and strive to make them better, hopefully for the next generation, because you know how hard they were to acquire yourself,” Pendley said. Pendley has participated in panel discussions as a member of the West Virginia Farm Bureau. He served three terms on the Farm Service Agency and supports 4-H and the Jackson County Junior Fair. His daughters are involved in 4-H Cloverbuds. The family also is active in the Milhoan Ridge Baptist Church and the community.Local News
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