Farmer In Plain View

Farmer in Plain View

Good evening Agricultural enthusiasts, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to others that share my passion for the safe reliable production of food and fiber.   My name is Hunter Richardson and I am a farmer in Plainview, Virginia.  I am a passionate advocate of farming on the local, state, national and international levels.

I graduated from Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences where I obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy in 1991.  I am an alumnus of Virginia Tech’s Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity.  I am also the 2010-2011 recipient of the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Outstanding Alumnus award for the Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences.  This year I am pleased to add Virginia Agriculture Leaders Obtaining Results Fellowship (VALOR) to my curriculum and future education in Agriculture.

For many years, I have served in leadership positions for civic organizations, such as, Virginia Farm Bureau, Virginia Cooperative Extension, and my local planning commission of King and Queen County.  In 2002 I accepted a fellowship with the American Council on Germany.  This was the beginning of my international relationship.

I began working part-time with the family farm when I was young and subsequently branched out into my own business of crop production including corn, soybeans, wheat, and timber production.  Over the years I have expanded the farm business by adding a land clearing service and a small cattle operation to support additional farm income.  To help with these enterprises I barter my services with four people in exchange for general labor.  One example is growing and harvesting hay for cattle.

My employment outside the farm has been focused on agricultural products and environmental management. I continue to advocate for sustainable communities and private property privileges.

Why did I pursue the VALOR Fellowship?  The VALOR Fellowship provides an excellent opportunity to direct change and manage solutions facing agriculture.   By refining communication and expanding industry networks, my participation in VALOR will enable me to be able to expand political advocacy for Virginia Agriculture and Forestry as a leader in state organizations.  I appreciate a challenge over the debate of current issues facing sustainable production, processing standards and technology found in modern agriculture.  I will utilize VALOR principals to effectively address these issues by facilitating stakeholder consensus.

I expect VALOR to open doors to enable me to share my enhanced knowledge at the national and international levels.  Thus, I plan to pursue international problem solving endeavors on behalf of all Virginia producers by cultivating relationships here at home and abroad.

To follow my continued progress and path to advocate for farming in Virginia, you can find me on Facebook at Facebook.com/hunter.b.richardson or on Twitter as @Plainviewfarmer and @VAleadersOR and through the VALOR blog.