Our look into agriculture during our sixth VALOR seminar in rural Southwest Virginia continues to showcase Virginia’s agricultural diversity. We had the pleasure of visiting with Kevin Beamer at Virginia Produce Company, a family owned business, in Hillsville, VA. Virginia Produce Company sources produce from farmers along the east coast, packages the produce, and distributes… Continue reading Southwest Virginia
The libation of choice of our Virginia colonial ancestors, hard apple cider, had a 200-year run in the commonwealth and the rest of the U.S. before falling out of favor in the early 1900s due to a new penchant for beer. Prohibition delivered the final blow to America’s affection for the fermented apple brew, until… Continue reading Back To The Future—How A Colonial Beverage of Necessity Is Becoming Orchard Owners’ Ticket To The Future
On March 13, 2017, one of the stops on our fourth VALOR Seminar was to a little-known battleground in Arlington, VA. It’s not your traditional battleground though. No commemorative statues. No walking or driving trails. Not even an interpretive sign to be found on the grounds. That’s because this battleground is still active. The battle… Continue reading Reevesland: The Battleground We Didn’t Know We Visited
Our seminar began with tours of agricultural operations in Loudon County, a unique area where agriculture meets urban development. While this convergence can create many challenges for farmers, some have leveraged the opportunity for growth. Mary Ellen Taylor of Endless Summer Harvest has used her proximity to urban development to capture a niche market for… Continue reading A whirlwind tour of Northern VA agriculture and policy…
After only our second seminar, VALOR is proving to be just as amazing as I had hoped. During one of our stops in November, we had the pleasure of meeting Tommy Savage and Kyle Sturgis with Helena Chemical Company. According to their website http://www.helenachemical.com, Helena Chemical "has grown to be one of the nation's foremost… Continue reading Class III – Seminar with Helena Chemical Company
During the last session for the class III fellows, we were exposed to many diverse angribusiness entities on the Eastern Shore. These businesses ranged in size from a father-son farming operation to a massive global industry leader employing over 50,000 employees world wide. The later mentioned business is Smithfield and their high sanitation standards mixed with efficiency… Continue reading Efficiency and beyond….
On our second VALOR Class III seminar, we visited Cherrystone Aqua Farms, part of Ballard Fish and Oyster Company. For more than 115 years, the Ballard Fish & Oyster Company has been producing some of the best clams and oysters in the world. Today, the 5th generation of the Ballard family, Chad Ballard, is still producing great shellfish,… Continue reading A Visit To Cherrystone Aqua Farms
Virginia, roughly shaped like a triangle (per my fantastic drawing above), is home to two distinct population curves. The more common one, called the Golden Crescent, is home to approximately 6.1 million people, and if it were a state, it would be second in the nation for college degrees, wealth, etc. It stretches from the… Continue reading I Expect MORE
How encouraging to see so many flourishing enterprises in Central Virginia. And how enjoyable to get first hand experiences with some of them during our March VALOR seminar. We visited Madison Wood Preservers, Senterfitt Farms, and Step-at-a-Time Farm, - all thriving local ag-based businesses. And we learned about Crisis Communications from both Corrine Geller,… Continue reading Eat, Drink, and be Married
My brain keeps telling me to post recaps of Vietnam, while simultaneously screaming at me to close my eyes and go to bed. Who knew that jet lag created multiple personalities? Mark that one down on the books. The purpose of our trip to Vietnam was to specifically look at culture, history, and of course… Continue reading If Christmas can have 12 days, so can Vietnam
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