Grayhouse Farms Receives Carolinas Leopold Conservation Award

Grayhouse Farms is the recipient of the 2025 Carolinas Leopold Conservation Award^®.

The award honors farmers and forestland owners who go above and beyond in the management of soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat on working land.

Jimmy Gray, an owner and operator of Grayhouse Farms in Stony Point, North Carolina was presented with the $10,000 award at an on-farm presentation.

Sand County Foundation and national sponsor American Farmland Trust will present Leopold Conservation Awards to landowners in 28 states this year. In the Carolinas the award is presented annually with Carolina Farm Trust.

Given in honor of renowned conservationist Aldo Leopold, the award recognizes farmers and forestland owners who inspire others with their dedication to environmental improvement. In his influential 1949 book, A Sand County Almanac, Leopold advocated for “a land ethic,” an ethical relationship between people and the land they own and manage.

Landowners were encouraged to apply, or be nominated, for the award. Applications were reviewed by an independent panel of agricultural and conservation leaders from North and South Carolina.

ABOUT GRAYHOUSE FARMS

Jimmy Gray is a dairy farmer and avid outdoorsman. Whether at work or play, his conservation ethic knows no bounds, which he credits to his late father Reid.

“We heard Dad say many times, ‘If we cannot keep this crop ground from washing away, I’m going to sew it all in grass,’” Jimmy recalls. “If there was a way to take better care of the land, Dad was willing to try.”

Jimmy succeeded his father as a supervisor on the Iredell Soil and Water Conservation District. Over 34 years of service, both discovered practices that made environmental and economic sense for their farm.

Today, Jimmy and his brother Andy continue their father’s legacy at Grayhouse Farms, conserving soil and water, improving milk quality, ensuring herd health and comfort for 1,200 cows, while going the extra mile for wildlife.

Grayhouse Farms is home to four conservation easements. They include two stream mitigation sites, 110 acres of cropland, and a timber track of 129 acres along the South Yadkin River. Reid diversified the farm’s bottom line by investing in 500 acres of forestland.

Despite some skeptics, controlled burns have produced profitable timber stands of loblolly pine. Their bark tolerates fire while killing or damaging other types of trees that compete for nutrients, sunlight, and water. Fire turns leaf litter into fertilizer for the pines, and triggers lush vegetation on the forest floor for wildlife to eat.

Owning forestland coupled well with Jimmy’s lifelong interest in wildlife and duck hunting. He was one of the first in the area to create waterfowl impounds and conduct other restorations of stream, riparian, and wetland areas to enhance water quality and wildlife habitat.

Jimmy strongly believes in providing others with access to farms and forests. For 23 years, he and his wife Amanda have hosted Youth Day during which speakers and activities introduce 50-180 kids to fishing, canoeing, archery, and how farming can help steward natural resources.

Grayhouse Farms’ cropland is no-tilled to prevent erosion and to save the time and fuel used for conventional tillage. Cover crops of wheat, barley, winter peas, crimson clover, and tillage radish are grown to aerate and fertilize the soil.

After much research the Grays relocated their dairy in 2018. The herd rests on sand bedding in freestall barns. Increased cow comfort has led to higher milk production per cow and improved milk quality. Sand and water are recycled thanks to a sand separator and a four-lagoon waste system. A flush system uses recycled water to clean the barns before moving to a sand-settling basin where sand is reclaimed for repeated use. Each time water is moved to the next lagoon, solids are encouraged to stay behind. A dragline system moves the solids to distant fields to be utilized as fertilizer, which adds more biodiversity to the soil.

Heifers are kept on 300 acres split into eight pastures, each with a roadside feed bunk for supplemental feeding and well water piped to water tanks. Fencing the cattle away from streams has improved water quality, and the herd now has fewer health problems and better growth rates from drinking well water.

Grayhouse Farms is a mix of modern agricultural and timber innovations, coupled with the Gray family’s old-school commitment to their local community’s people and landscape.

ACCOLADES

“The Leopold Conservation Award goes to a producer who embodies the ethical relationship between feeding our nation and conservation. Grayhouse Farms is a perfect example of that relationship,” said Timothy Beard, North Carolina State Conservationist.

“These award recipients are examples of how Aldo Leopold’s land ethic is alive and well today,” said Kevin McAleese, Sand County Foundation President and CEO. “Their dedication to conservation is both an inspiration to their peers as well as a reminder to all how important thoughtful agriculture is to clean water, healthy soil, and wildlife habitat.”

“As the national sponsor for Sand County Foundation’s Leopold Conservation Award, American Farmland Trust celebrates the hard work and dedication of the award recipients,” said John Piotti, AFT President and CEO. “At AFT we believe that exemplary conservation involves the land itself, the practices employed on the land, and the people who steward it. This award recognizes the integral role of all three.”

The Carolinas Leopold Conservation Award is made possible through the generous support of American Farmland Trust, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service of North Carolina, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service of South Carolina, Sand County Foundation, Soil Regen, and Carolina Farm Trust.