Building upon the stewardship of forefathers who were ahead of their time, Benjamin and Shannon Ellis have crafted a conservation legacy amid farming in the environmentally sensitive and highly regulated Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The American Soybean Association presented the Ellises with the 2025 National Conservation Legacy Award during the annual ASA Awards Celebration event at Commodity Classic in Denver.

Operating as Thomas Neck Agricultural Enterprises, the Ellis operation in Champlain, Virginia, is a culmination of two multi-generational family farms. Shannon represents the 10th farming generation in her family. Their operation is designated a Virginia Century Farm, a program recognizing farms that have been in operation for at least 100 consecutive years. Production on her family’s operation includes soybeans, corn, wheat and beef cattle. The couple’s son, Tripp, works alongside Shannon and helps manage the commercial cow-calf operation. Benjamin’s family farm has been in operation since 1683 and includes soybeans, corn and wheat production.

Prioritizing conservation is nothing new to Shannon’s family. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, her father began using minimum and mostly no-till practices in the farm’s management plan.

“Our farming venture spans four counties,” Shannon says. “We believe in taking care of the land that has provided for both of our families for generations.”

Goals for the farm couple’s operation include improved soil health and structure while reducing soil runoff and erosion. The Ellises also work to reduce operation expenses by optimizing the use of protectants and fertilizers, minimizing weed pressure and improving water quality and infiltration. They are passionate about maintaining wildlife and pollinator habitats and work to improve yield and profitability while stepping up the overall environmental and economic resilience of their family farm.

“We strive to create a legacy that includes continually researching and implementing the most effective conservation practices for our farming operation,” Shannon says.

Because their operation falls within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, farming production practices must comply with nutrient management requirements outlined in the Chesapeake Bay Act.

The Ellises rely on cover crop mixtures based on crop rotation as well as soil type and structure to help them accomplish their stewardship goals. Approximately 90% of their fields are seeded in covers annually. Cover crop varieties include cereal rye, black oats, clover mix, and a blend of black oats and hairy vetch.

“Our families have relied on the soil and water for their livelihoods for hundreds of years,” Shannon says. “We are humbled and honored to receive this award and feel like it is truly recognition for my early innovator and progressive-minded father. He modeled what conservation farming should be and shared his passion for farming, servant leadership and lifelong learning with us.”

The Conservation Legacy Award is a national program designed to recognize the outstanding environmental achievements of soybean farmers, whose ongoing and innovative efforts help produce more sustainable U.S. soybeans.

A national selection committee composed of soybean farmers, conservationists, agronomists and natural resource professionals evaluated nominees based on their on-farm environmental and economic plans and contributions to the conservation community. The program is sponsored by ASA, BASF, Bayer, Nutrien, the United Soybean Board/Soy Checkoff and Valent USA.

The following individuals received regional Conservation Legacy Awards during ASA’s awards program. Click below to read more on each of the regional winners’ operations:

• Benjamin and Shannon Tignor Ellis, Champlain, Virginia (South Region)

• Jim O’Connell, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (Midwest Region)

• Kurt Stiefvater, Salem, South Dakota (Upper Midwest Region)

• Aaron Thompson, Hartly, Delaware (Northeast Region)