The last time I posted, post-Florida and pre-Vietnam, I spoke about the gift of perspective while traveling. After 24 straight hours of travel time yesterday, the VALOR fellows walked off a plane (some more awake than others) and into a country and culture vastly different than our normal. Today began with a trip to the… Continue reading Lessons from Around the World
...but it will probably seem like it is whilst sitting in an aeroplane. In a little over 2 weeks the VALOR fellows of Class 2 will find themselves together once again, en route to Vietnam for a look at their way of life, and how it is affected by both local and global ag policy… Continue reading 15 Hours is really not that long..
Leaving your county, or state, or country (as the case will be shortly for the VALOR fellows) imparts a gift of perspective. Not a gift to be taken lightly, it takes processing and production by the user in order to create anything of value. I can travel to another state or country, but if I… Continue reading The Gift
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DdR--F21Vk The ecological thriller, based upon the television series of the same name, explores the deep philosophical questions about how does life on the mainland impact coastal islands. Do we take for granted the environment we live in? Should our actions be taken with a thought to those who live offshore? Should we make the… Continue reading It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel peckish.
Stuck indoors on yet another incredibly soggy, rainy Fall day, trying not to worry about the soaked and un-harvested cotton and soybeans in the waterlogged fields makes me want to focus on something else. My mind turns to worry instead about the watermen and farmers we met on our recent VALOR trip to Tangier Island in… Continue reading Food and Fiber -culture
The Northern Neck of Virginia offers a distinct view of the Commonwealth, a region unlike any other with its rural life, “rivah” sauce, national history, and all things seafood. The VALOR program through Virginia Tech does many things well, but in particular the culture immersion that comes with each regional session is truly the icing… Continue reading Saltwater Seminar
Our VALOR group traveled to Richmond during the General Assembly session this winter to see decision making in action, learn to voice our opinions on pertinent issues and gain a better perspective on just what it takes to keep our State and Country running smoothly. My past trips to view the General Assembly in action… Continue reading Gettin’ it Done!
Our recent experience in the Shenandoah Valley was certainly an eye opener for me. I grew up a "farmer's daughter" in Loudoun County. I drove tractors, rode in the combine with my Dad, made hay, brought in straw, bush hogged fields and helped to fix fence, but I never had the opportunity to go inside… Continue reading View from the “Farmers Daughter”
It started innocuously enough....This scrolled past on my Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/weird_sci/status/520590127945773057 Of course, the picture is what caught my eye. Here is a CaseIH combine with a New Holland head! Perhaps 1999's happy merger is bearing fruit... But then the words....10 calories burnt to produce 1... I was intrigued, and completely Nerd Sniped. If physicists… Continue reading 10 for 1
It has been two months now since VALOR had the opportunity to engage farmers and leaders during an agricultural trip to Argentina. The production cycle is in reverse as compared to the United States cropping systems. The crops that we viewed should be harvested as we in the United States plant new ones. While there,… Continue reading Argentina Reflections
valeadersor.com 