Soil & Water - About the Commission
The seven-member Soil & Water Conservation Commission provides oversight, rules and policy for the state soil and water conservation programs. These programs are voluntary and emphasize a locally-led approach to improve and protect water quality and natural resources for a wide range of land uses. The commission is responsible for determining cost share allocations to the state's 96 conservation districts. In return, the local districts utilize these funds to provide financial and technical assistance to landowners to install best management practices on the landscape of North Carolina. The commission also has the responsibility and authority to appoint and remove soil and water conservation district supervisors.
The division serves as staff for the North Carolina Soil and Water Conservation Commission to help deliver conservation programs at the local level.
Commission Members
Mr. Langdon owns and manages John M. Langdon Farms in Benson, North Carolina. On his family farm, he produces approximately 20,000 market hogs under contract annually. Along with his son, Hunter, they manage 900 acres of grain, hay, and pasture along with 100 head of Red Angus and Simmental seedstock cattle and a local freezer beef business.
Mr. Langdon was elected to the Johnston County Soil and Water Conservation District Board in 1994 and has served as chairman since 2005. Mr. Langdon currently serves on the North Carolina Soil & Water Conservation Commission and is in his third term as chairman.
In 2010, the North Carolina Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts named the Langdon family the North Carolina Outstanding Conservation Farm Family. The North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association also awarded the family farm the State Conservation Stewardship Award in 2007. In 2010, the North Carolina Pork Council along with the National Pork Producers recognized Langdon Farms with the State and National Environmental Stewardship Award. Mr. Langdon has served as president of the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Association and now serves on the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Executive Committee and is the state policy director for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA). Mr. Langdon also serves on the North Carolina Cattlemen’s Foundation Board and is a member of the North Carolina Farm Bureau along with being a past board member of the National Red Angus Association and a current member of the North Carolina Simmental Association Board.
Mr. Langdon lives in Johnston County with his wife, Eileen. They have two adult sons and one adult daughter and one new grandson. They are members of The Shepherd’s Church in Cary, North Carolina.
Mr. Langdon's term ends in January 2024.
Mr. Potter owns and operates B. D. Potter Farms, Inc., producing corn, soybeans, and timber in Pamlico and Craven Counties. Mr. Potter has been a member of the Pamlico Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors since 2008, where he served as Chairman at both the district and area levels. Mr. Potter currently serves on the AgCarolina Farm Credit Board, United Soybean Board, North Carolina Soybean Producers Association Executive Committee, and Farm Bureau State Field Crops Committee. Mr. Potter and his wife, Kim, have two sons and attend Rock of Zion Original Free Will Baptist Church.
Mr. Potter's term ends in January 2024.
A third generation Christmas Tree Farmer, Chris Hughes’ family has farmed for nearly 400 years. Committed to serving the Farmers of North Carolina and promoting healthy soil and clean water for generations to come, Mr. Hughes serves as Secretary of the Watauga Soil and Water Conservation District; Chairman of the North Carolina Association of Soil and Water Conservation District’s Area 2 Legislative Committee; Member of the Board of Directors of the Blue Ridge Resource Conservation & Development Council; Member of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Foundation for Soil & Water Conservation; and the First Vice President of the North Carolina Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
Mr. Hughes, the former President of the Kiwanis Club of Boone, currently serves as the Lt. Governor of Division 3 of the Kiwanis District of the Carolinas. He serves as one of seven voting members of the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council of the High Country. Mr. Hughes is the former Vice President of Friends of Watauga, and a former member of the Watauga High School Band Boosters and the Boone Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Hughes is an active member of his Church. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina and as a Founding Steering Council Member of the Conservative Baptist Network. Mr. Hughes is the Founder of Salvation Ministries and is a Global Ambassador for The Military Family Foundation. He is the Founder and Chairman of the Citizens for America Foundation and previously served as the Chairman of the Florida Local Government Internet Consortium, President of the Florida Tax Collectors Association, and Chairman of the Florida Association of Constitutional Officers Association.
Mr. Hughes's term ends in January 2024.
Mr. William "Billy" Kilpatrick is currently serving as the First Vice President of the North Carolina Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts and as Vice Chairman of the Duplin Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors. Mr. Kilpatrick has served on the Board of Supervisors in Duplin County for the past ten years. He previously served as Chairman for the Area 6 Soil and Water Conservation Districts.
Mr. Kilpatrick is a life-long farmer from a North Carolina Century Farm Family. Mr. Kilpatrick grows breeders with Johnson Farms, feeder to finish swine with Smithfield Foods, and grows beef cattle.
Mr. Kilpatrick resides in Kenansville with his wife, Regina. They have three children and five grandchildren.
Mr. Kilpatrick's term ends in January 2024.
Mr. Lamb is a life-long farmer and currently works for Prestage Farms, Inc., in Clinton as an environmental specialist for the past 17 years. Mr. Lamb has been a supervisor in Sampson County for 10 years. Mr. Lamb graduated from North Carolina State University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture and Environmental Technology. Mr. Lamb has served on the National Pork Board Environmental Committee and is currently on the National Pork Producers Council Environmental Committee. Mr. Lamb was named 2016 North Carolina Outstanding Pork Producer and 2020 and 2021 North Carolina Swisher Sweets Sunbelt Expo Farmer of the Year. Mr. Lamb and his wife, Felicia, have two daughters, Maegan and Kensley.
Mr. Lamb's term ends in January 2025.
Mr. Parker with his family, owns and operates a Century Family Farm, Parker Farms in North Wilkesboro. The farm produces hay, timber, and a 450-500 head cow-calf operation that also backgrounds the calves.
Mr. Parker currently serves as the Chairman of the Wilkes Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors, the Wilkes County Farm Bureau Board, Wilkes Cattlemen's Board, member of the Broadway Fire Department, Wilkes Community College Agriculture/Construction Equipment Technology Advisory Committee, and he is also employed by Vulcan Materials Co., in North Wilkesboro, where he is the Plant Supervisor.
Mr. Parker is a graduate of North Carolina State University. He and his wife, Kim, live in North Wilkesboro and are members of Wilkesboro Baptist Church. They have three children and one grandson.
Mr. Parker's term ends in January 2026.
Mr. Teague owns and operates Reedy Fork Organic Farm, a 600-acre Organic Dairy, Feed Mill and store. He is very proud to say that Reedy Fork Organic Farm is a fifth-generation farm. Mr. Teague graduated from NC State University in 1980 from the Ag Institute. Mr. Teague was appointed to the Guilford Soil & Water Conservation District Board in 1998 and has served as chairman since 2009. In the past, he has served as Area 3 chairman of SWCD. He served as chairman of the NC Dairy Foundation Board of Directors from 2009 to 2011 and served on Organic Valley’s dairy executive committee from 2007 to 2015. Mr. Teague, and his wife, Cherry, have two children, Taylor and Hayley, and two granddaughters. They attend Trinity Worship Center in Burlington.
Mr. Teague's term ends in January 2024.