At Chancellors Rock, our mission is to demonstrate environmentally sustainable farming and horticultural practices, while supporting the native ecology and wildlife of the Virginia Piedmont. We hope the farm will serve as a beautiful and unique environment in which people can explore, learn from, and experience the benefits of living harmoniously with the land.

Our fields thrive without environmentally dangerous fertilizers. We rotationally graze our cattle and enrich our soils with organic materials to promote better grass growth. Our cattle aren’t fed antibiotics or given growth implants; the beef we sell comes from cows that have spent their lives ranging freely in pastures eating grass, pure and simple.

Chancellors Rock is a partner with the American Farmland Trust  in their Sustainable Grazing Program.  We believe in demonstrating the environmental benefits of an approach far different from how cattle typically have been grazed. By rotating the cattle frequently among smaller areas of pasture, the cows graze in a controlled manner and manure is spread more evenly. Pastures are allowed to rest, the root systems of the grasses are strengthened, and the soil is improved with greater micro-biodiversity.

This method of Sustainable Grazing results in stronger growing grass that requires no synthetic fertilizers for nourishment. In addition, our pastures are available for grazing longer during the winter, significantly decreasing our dependence on hay. A final benefit is a reduced carbon footprint: studies have shown that grasses in sustainably grazed, holistically managed pastures can sequester enough carbon to offset the emission from an entire farm.

By practicing sustainable grazing pasture management, we use fewer acres for hay production, and can delay mowing until after the nesting season of grassland birds such as the Eastern Meadowlark. In partnership with Virginia Working Landscapes, we are studying and documenting how these practices support native grassland birds, which are in steep decline. Acres of pasture have been set aside for meadows filled with native grasses, shrubs and flowers to provide food and cover for birds, pollinators, and other species.

We employ time-tested French Intensive gardening practices in raised beds to grow our produce. By adding compost annually to deep, broad forked beds, we create loose, well-drained, and highly nutritious soil. This allows greater root system density, fewer weeds, more efficient water use, and produces fewer weeds. Crop rotation, companion planting and an intense focus on soil quality produces higher yields using fewer resources.

The meadows on the farm are dynamic, resilient landscapes that put productive ecology at center stage. Native wildflowers provide food for pollinators and insect allies. The standing foliage and dried seed heads provide shelter and forage for native and migrating birds, pollinators, and other species. In 2021, after evaluating the existing vegetation, over 8,000 ecologically productive native perennials and shrubs were planted to add more species that feed wildlife and increase our biodiversity.

Going forward, Virginia Working Landscapes will be monitoring the environmental impact of these efforts in feeding wildlife and promoting biodiversity. Future research involves trying to find the best way to convert pastures into native meadows without the use of herbicides or tilling, which are both damaging to the environment.

With over 460 acres in a conservation easement, the farm offers an exceptional setting for a limited number of small corporate retreats or private weekends. Chancellors Rock offers a bucolic setting to relax, rejuvenate and observe a working farm in practice. As a working farm and private residence, the farm is only available half a dozen times a year.