Knoll Crest Farm

Up on Bull Hill in Concord, Virginia you will find Knoll Crest Farm, owned and operated by the Bennett family “where value-added genetics meet value-added service”. Like many farms in the United States, Knoll Crest Farm was first established as a tobacco and commercial cattle farm by Mr. and Mrs. Paul D Bennett in 1929 which originally consisted of 290 acres. Since then, the property has expanded to over 3,000 acres dedicated to a “base cow herd of 800 females with a seed stock operation that aims to develop and improve the genetics of purebred animals.”

In addition to a breeding program that focuses on Angus, Hereford, and Gelbvieh animals they grow their own feed and offer bull sales every spring and fall on site. Since purchasing their first Hereford heifer in 1944, the Bennett family has made a name for themselves as one of the leading cattle operations in the United States with an induction into the Virginia Livestock Hall of Fame, receiving the Beef Improvement Federation's Seedstock Producer of the Year award multiple years, as well as generations of Virginia Tech alumni.

Auctioneer of the bull sale and 4th generation Bennett family farmer, Dalton, is currently the youngest Bennett working the farm. Dalton Bennett, one of 10 grandchildren, knew from a young age that his destiny was in the family business. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 2013 with a degree in Crop and Soil Sciences and serves on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Angus Association, as well as the Campbell County Farm Bureau Board of Directors.

At the age of 30, Dalton makes a career for himself in agriculture. With the average age of Virginia farmers being 60s years old, Dalton is a pivotal part of future cattle farming in the United States. “There aren’t many people my age doing what I do, and if I was not working this farm I would just go to work on another one.” Down the road, he hopes to have more responsibility on the farm and pass on the family legacy to his children. Dalton and his wife, Monica, have a daughter, Kennedy, who is already showing signs of catching the farming fever, “My daughter loves the sheep and feeding them,” Dalton says referring to his small flock of registered Suffolk sheep that Kennedy helps him tend to.

To catch Dalton in action come up to Bull Hill this Friday for the fall auction. The Total Performance Bull Sale will be held on December 3, 2021, at 12:00 Noon est. located at 167 Bull Hill Road, Concord, Virginia.

By Darienne Skye Montgomery