FFA members know those words as the introduction to the FFA Creed penned by EM Tiffany nearly 100 years ago. Years separate today’s agriculture practices from Mr. Tiffany’s world. Years separate you from when you first learned those words. What cannot separate you from those words is the essence of what they mean, what values… Continue reading “I Believe In The Future Of Agriculture…”
Agriculture has had a bad rap over the years for environmental concerns-too much fertilizer, too many herbicides, too much tillage, no cover crops. Wherever your were, or are now, with your thinking, I encourage you to take a trip to the Northern Neck of Virginia for a reality check. You’ll see how the land stewards… Continue reading Strong Partnerships
VALOR V’s tour of operations in Southwest Virginia provoked the group to ponder the question in the auspices of Mount Rogers-how do you maintain your roots and grow when faced with rugged terrain? Figuratively speaking, local labor availability and markets provide challenges for day-to-day operations. Realistically speaking, the terrain poses limitations for agriculturists to efficiently… Continue reading Ain’t No Mountain High Enough
VALOR’s most recent session took us to Northern Virginia and Washington DC. Urban ag at its finest-Endless Summer Harvest, Loudoun County Ag Economic Development, and Cultivate the City. National Policy with an array of ag representatives from Capitol Hill. Local food issues from the DC Urban Ag Department and the Anacostia Community Museum’s presentation on… Continue reading A Tale of Two Communities
The VALOR V fellows visited the Shenandoah Valley in March due to COVID altering our schedule. To us, the altered timing was par for the course for agriculturists managing their operations during this challenging year. It signified the ability of the group to be resilient and know that the changes in schedules didn’t impact the… Continue reading
VALOR V, COVID 0 Chesapeake Bay-view agriculture was the focus of the first VALOR V field visit. From day 1, the group knew we’d see a different view of agriculture in scope and type. What we didn’t know was how agriculture in the area had responded to meet the challenges presented by COVID. Alabama sings… Continue reading Chesapeake Bay-View Agriculture
Looking back on the first session of the Class V cohort, you see the promise, you see the hope, you see the passion for agriculture in this new group. The state of agriculture in Virginia is both strong and weak. We have low commodity prices, we have barriers to entry for new farmers, we have… Continue reading New Beginnings
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