Our last seminar brought us to Central VA. We had the opportunity to stay at Graves Mountain Lodge and use that as our base for the entire visit. I’ve not spent much time in Central VA, so I didn’t know much about the area or the ag industry in this part of the state.
We had the opportunity to visit Virginia Wineworks Extended and learn how Michael Shaps evolved with the industry and created a grape to bottle “one stop shop”, providing a location for growers to custom crush and bottle their own private label brands. This not only allowed them to continue the business but support local producers as well. At Albemarle Ciderworks we learned about a family’s perseverance in the apple industry. There was no money to be made just selling apples and in order to continue this business for their parents and family, they evolved into cider making. They currently have their production facility and tasting room at one location, but what they enjoy the most is teaching the community about the history of growing apples and how important the industry was (and still is) to Virigina.
A visit to Soli Organic allowed us to see everything involved in Controlled Environment Ag operations and how efficient they can be. Continually doing research on how to grow higher quality and quantities of produce is very important to this company. I was impressed at how much they stressed the importance of employees working multiple positions within the company. This was for cross training purposes, to create a more cohesive team and provide opportunities for advancement.
Saunders Brothers, a multi-generation orchard proved to be a leader in the ag industry. They made the decision to expand into Agritourism in addition to growing ornamentals and fruit trees. Their business is family owned; however, the younger generations are encouraged to leave the farm, advance their education and if interested in coming back to work…they must also apply and be qualified for a specific job opening. It was refreshing to hear that this family is currently working hard to determine a transition to the next generation….something many family farms don’t think about until it’s too late.
George Washing Carver Agriculture Research Center was a true all in one facility. The tour spotlighted their history library showing the evolution of the school, the agriculture education center and the Carver Food Enterprise Center. The grounds also housed a small produce farm utilized for educational purposes and providing food for the community. The visit also included discussions on minority and veteran farmers and what they are doing to support their endeavors. I truly enjoyed learning how each of these organizations worked together to support agriculture and the history of the community.
Working together, whether your family or not, in addition to thinking outside the box were two main themes I noticed during this seminar. Each of these themes aided in the success of the businesses we visited and seem to have been repeated throughout each seminar. Change is the only constant. If we work together utilizing our individual strengths we can continue making progress in keeping VA Agriculture the number one industry for generations to come!
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