Our second VALOR seminar took us to the Tidewater region and eastern shore of Virginia. I was really looking forward to this seminar. Living in southwest Virginia, I do not visit this area often. I am not very familiar with this part of Virginia. We had the opportunity to get an inside look at agriculture in this area and learn more about peanuts, cotton, pork and potatoes.
We began our adventure with a visit to The Virginia Peanuts Growers Association learning more about the peanut industry in Virginia as well as different types of peanuts and their uses, top production peanut states, and some of the challenges these producers face. I also learned that most of the peanuts we eat are of the Virginia variety.
After getting a better understanding of the peanut industry, we dug a little deeper and visited Belmont Peanuts. There, we were able to see a farm to table peanut operation built by the Marks family. Our tour showed us the operation of their facility beginning with the delivery of raw peanuts, going through the steps it takes to produce their end product; seasoned, packaged and ready for delivery. We also enjoyed a great lunch at the Belmont Deli.
We then visited Birdsong Peanuts. Birdsong focuses solely on peanuts and is over 100 years old. Peanuts are carefully selected from farmers fields, cleaned, shelled, sized and then shipped to manufacturers that turn them into everything from peanut butter to peanut candies.
The next morning we were off to Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the world. It was very interesting to tour the plant and see the variety of products that many of us are so familiar with. The size of the plant, the number of employees and all the safety measures in place to ensure their safety was impressive.
After passing many cotton fields throughout our trip, we were able to explore the cotton industry as well as production practices and challenges at Commonwealth Gin. We got to see how cotton from the field is separated from the seed, cleaned and put into marketable bales.
That evening we headed on out to Paul and Pam Rogers’ farm. Paul raises soybeans, peanuts and cotton and was the 2018 Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year. His immaculate farm and shop immediately left an impression with me. You could definitely tell he took immense pride in his operation. He invited us to his hunt club where his wife, Pam served us a delicious dinner while his son-in-law gave us a thought-provoking presentation on the drug problem in Virginia, particularly in rural areas.
Our next day began at Perdue Agribusiness Port in Chesapeake, Viginia. The only deep water grain terminal on the east coast and one of only two soybean crushing plants on deep water in the U.S. From here, we crossed the Chesapeake Bay to Quail Cove Organics. The longest organic sweet potato grower on the eastern shore of Virginia. We enjoyed sweet potato ice cream and sweet potato donuts while we learned about this family-owned organic farming operation and natural food store.
Finally, though not least in significance, we visited Dublin Farms, a fifth-generation potato farm in Horntown, VA. They grow yellow, white, and red potatoes, as well as corn, soybeans, and green beans across roughly 7,500 acres. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing about the history of their family’s farming operation. Learning about the challenges they encounter with labor and succession planning was both thought-provoking and meaningful to me, as it resonated on a personal level.
Our visit to the Eastern Shore provided a unique opportunity for me to experience agriculture in a completely different part of Virginia. It reinforced the incredible diversity within agriculture and highlighted the importance of understanding this diversity to ensure the sustainability of farming for future generations.
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