Only threeish weeks after returning from Kenya, our group was back together again for our next seminar. It was nice to be back together and, as much as we loved our international seminar, back on familiar turf. This seminar was on very familiar turf for our much loved “Valley Crew” and I was excited to visit their part of Virginia. We’ve heard a lot about “THE VALLEY” during this program but it’s not an area I have spent much time in.
Our first day began with a visit to Houff Enterprises and a chance to tour the facility and learn about the logistics of their operation. During lunch we had the opportunity to listen to a couple of speakers who discussed solar energy from (somewhat) different points of view. Energy is a new area of focus for the Tobacco Commission and I found this discussion to be particularly educational. Alternative energy sources, such as solar, and are positive and much needed addition to the electric grid however it’s a very complicated issue. In addition to the obvious land use considerations, there are also financial and infrastructure issues. It’s not as simple as just putting up solar panels. Someone has to be responsible for the infrastructure to connect to the grid in a viable (and reliable) way. It was honestly one of the best learning sessions related to solar that I have participated in.
When I began this program I was afraid that, because agriculture is only one of several investment categories for TRRC, that there would be a lot of things that I would not be able to relate to. Thankfully this has absolutely not been the case and during every single seminar I’m amazed at how many of the sessions relate to other TRRC investment areas. The solar discussion was a great example of this but there have been so many others. I think it’s because we are almost constantly in areas (including Kenya) that share similarities with the Tobacco Region and SW Virginia. While this program has certainly taught me so much about agriculture, it’s also helped me to look at our other investment categories from a different perspective. I think I’ve been somewhat shortsighted over the years when reviewing projects. Because we tend to group projects by investment category and evaluate each based on a set of defined outputs and outcomes I really only see the potential positive impacts of a project. We really never discuss the potential negative impact of the project. I hope I am learning to be more aware of all of the potential impacts (positive and negative), especially as it relates to agriculture, as a result of this program.
Our itinerary included a visit with employees of the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative to learn about how the Coop began and is operated today. This visit was especially interesting since I had been following the development of a new poultry cooperative in the Southern Virginia area. The new project, which received substantial assistance from the Tobacco Commission, was announced only a few days prior to our visit. Because the grant will be managed by our Southern VA office, I am less familiar with all the details, but it was still interesting to be able to compare the history of the VPGC with what I know about the development of the new cooperative.
We always get to do/ see so many interesting things during these seminars. I really enjoyed the opportunity to visit the Maple Festival in Highland County. I’ll never pass up the chance to eat pancakes and this event did not disappoint. Despite the freezing temperatures this event drew seemingly thousands of people to a community that is extremely rural even by my SWVA standards! I felt completely at home there (and on the windy mountain roads). I was reminded of my favorite Curious George episode (we watched A LOT of Curious George when my kids were little). The episode involved the making of maple syrup. I can now say that the show was pretty accurate but seeing it in person is so much better. My daughter, who had been complaining about the faux syrup we received with our last grocery order, was thrilled with the very real and very fresh syrup I brought home from this trip. The best part for me was seeing all the license plates of the out of area guests who were visiting the festival. It just shows that, no matter how rural, people will travel to participate in great events (and spend money while they are there)! Tourism isn’t always about the big and exciting destinations. Agritourism, and other opportunities related to the natural assets that we sometimes take for granted when we see them every day, are a welcome escape for others.
I’ve learned so many small things along this (almost) two year journey but I always seem to come back to the common lesson of how critical agriculture is to all parts of the economy. I see connections that I probably would have missed before, and I’ve met so many interesting people along the way.
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