Our trip to our nation's capital in March was inspiring in more ways than one. From meeting with agricultural leaders at USDA, visiting the DC Central Kitchen to see the amazing work they are doing, to seeing Little Wild Things Farm that is thriving in the city, and stopping by American Farm Bureau, we explored… Continue reading So this must be the place.
I love Washington DC and I never turn down a chance to go. It had been a few years since my last visit which was in fall 2019 in a prepandemic world. That trip was a family Fall Break adventure with our neighbors. Four adults and four kids averaged dozens of miles each day as… Continue reading Different Perspectives Different Priorities – A change of scenery is sometimes good
As our VALOR cohort embarked on our next adventure, we all carpooled, metro-ed or caught rides into Washington, D.C. from our rural communities. When we saw the champagne vending machine in the hotel lobby, we knew we’d made it! These next couple days would be quite a bit different than our everyday experiences. Many metro… Continue reading Partnerships with People
When you live in rural Southwest Virginia, it's hard to imagine what "Urban Agriculture" looks like. I am in awe of those who have the ability to grow things inside old buildings, parking decks and their basement! And when I say "things", I mean rows of produce that could feed hundreds or even thousands of… Continue reading Big City Lights…and Agriculture
My fellows from VALOR Cohort VI have done an excellent job of capturing the day-by-day events of our most recent trip to our Nation's Capitol - Washington D.C. For this blog entry, I seek to do something different than rehash the itinerary so aptly captured in previous post.Pulling from a vast array of experiences, we… Continue reading Building The World in Which You Want To Be A Part Of ~Paul B.
During our time in Washington D.C. we were continually exposed to contrasting and diverse experiences, perspectives, opinions and ideas across the many departments, organizations and groups we came in contact with. Our fellowship was lucky enough to snag 20 minutes of Mr. Todd Van Hoose’s, President and CEO of the Farm Credit Council, time to… Continue reading Similarities in a Diverse World
VALOR Class VI spent some time in March in our nation’s capital learning more about urban agriculture and national policy. During our time at the US Army for Civil Works I heard the phrase “New, Weird and Different” from Jamie Pinkham and knew instantly this would become the title and framework for this blog. (I went to post this blog… Continue reading New, Weird and Different
“We try to be a department that looks at problems in new, weird, and different ways.” Jaime Pinkham, Principal Deputy Assistant at the U.S. Army for Civil Works (and Washington Ag Leadership Program Alum) shared this quote with our VALOR class, and gave tangible examples how his organization lives out this mantra daily. As I’ve… Continue reading New – Weird – Different
Only four months have gone by since the start of our VALOR adventure and we are already done with our third seminar! This particular journey took us to Richmond to explore the ins and outs of the Commonwealth's government. On Wednesday we had the privilege to meet with the Commissioner of Agriculture, Joe Guthrie, in… Continue reading From The Farm to the City
Looking back over this seminar, several things stick out more than others in my mind. I am reminded of smart perseverance and the need to get out of my comfort zone. The first thing is smart perseverance. I saw this in Tanya Cauthen's pursuit to open a butchery and CJ Isbell's vision to operate a… Continue reading “Do one thing every day that scares you.” Eleanor Roosevelt
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