2023 Governor's Conservation Award Winner (Agriculture)

 Guy Phillips, of Georgetown, became a full-time farmer in 1995 after many years of experience in the industry. His current operation consists of 300 acres of no-till corn, soybeans and wheat. Phillips plants a variety of single and multi-species cover crops and implements soil health practices, such as using a roller crimper to plant green, which increases organic matter, improving sustainability and profitability. Although he retired from poultry farming in 2022, Phillips operated two poultry houses for over 25 years and installed numerous best management and conservation practices through the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

With 20 years of service as an officer, Phillips is the current secretary/treasurer of the Koeppel-Robinson Tax Ditch which recently joined Sussex Conservation District’s (SCD) tax ditch pilot program which provides a holistic approach to tax ditch maintenance. He previously served as the state and county director of the Delaware Farm Bureau and was the county president for six years. In 2016, Phillips was named the Sussex County Farm Bureau Farm Family of the Year and received Delaware Nutrient Management Commission’s Environmental Stewardship Award in 2006. He serves on SCDs soil health advisory committee and is a National Association of Conservation Districts Soil Health Champion. Phillips has also been featured in a soil health television commercial.

His passion and commitment to improving soil health also benefits water quality in the Delaware Bay and Inland Bays watershed; ultimately, his goal is to pass on the land better than he found it.