Louis L. Brooking, Jr.  

            Virginia native Louis Brooking grew up on a grain and cattle farm in Henrico County before attending VA Tech and majoring in Agronomy.  He had considered becoming a golf superintendent but soon after graduating from VA Tech, with his father’s encouragement, he started a turf farm in Hanover County strategically located on the South Anna River.  In June of 1968 Louis and his wife Ginger began operation of Brookmeade Sod Farm.  Since the beginning Louis and Ginger have been hands on with the farm.  Louis is happiest when he is on a tractor, overseeing the daily operation of three farms, all in Hanover.  The Brookmeade Family has grown to 20 employees, many of whom have been with Louis for 15 plus years. Louis performs seed test trials on the farm to determine the best seed blends suited for the Central Virginia area.  In addition to seed tests he assists VA Tech’s Turf Department with test plots on the farm.  Extremely knowledgeable, Louis is dedicated to turf research and biotechnology, and believes that exciting new ideas are always on the horizon. 

            Louis is a past president of Turfgrass Producers International , and remains active serving on the Past President’s Council.  Also past president of the Virginia Sod Growers Association three times, he has served on the Board of Directors for both TPI and VSG.  Locally he has been a board member of both the Henrico and Hanover County Farm Bureaus,  Hanover Country Club and The Ashland Youth Soccer League (also past president.)

            Currently, Louis serves on the Board of Directors for the Virginia Agribusiness Council (also past chairman), International Turf Producers Foundation, Virginia Turf Foundation and the Virginia Turf Council.  He is a business partner with Patrick Henry High School’s agricultural studies and contributes as an athletic field advisory.

            Louis resides on the farm he started over 40 years ago with his wife Ginger. The Brookings have two sons, Louie and Matt.  Louie is close by, managing one of the three farms, at the Vontay location.  Matt is a computer engineer, residing in Northern Virginia with his wife Jeni, daughter Isabelle and son Ryan.  Louis has enjoyed world travel with the International Turf Producers learning about sod production around the world. In 1993 Brooking spoke at Beijing University to a fledgling turf industry that has gone on to become world class. He is an avid  VA Tech Football fan, season ticket holder for home games and goes to bowl games when the opportunity arises.  Louis still enjoys skiing in the winter, and relaxing at Myrtle Beach when Ginger can pull him away from the farm.  His favorite pastime by and large is working on the farm and seeing the product of his labor.