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
#ValortakesFL was the latest hashtag reference describing our most recent excursion. This session landed us in sunny central Florida. Here we were emersed in local agricultural, political, and ecological life. A few things are well known about Florida; it's hot, it's humid, it's a popular desitination of the grey nomads, The Villages (key annoying jingle… Continue reading ABC’s of Florida: Alligators, Beef, & Crackers (or citrus)
...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
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
One of the many, many benefits of growing as a leader through Virginia’s premier adult leadership agriculture program, VALOR, is the ability to complete and analyze personal assessments such as the Myers-Briggs, and most recently, the EQ-i 2.0. The EQ-i assessment, as defined by MHS Assessments, “measures emotional intelligence (EI)…“a set of emotional and social… Continue reading Leadership in the Emotional Realm
There is much to be gained by simple fencing. One might think that fencing is menial and without complexity but I believe that it is much more. Having spent a portion of the last two years or so in this thing called VALOR and having experienced many new and wonderful things an opportunity arose… Continue reading Fencing… A recollection and collection of reflections
"I've Got a Crush on You", "You've got to kiss a few frogs to find a Prince", "I'm nuts over you", and "Virginia's for Lovers". No, this blog isn't about finding love, but it is about a group of people that love agriculture and their tour of operations in Argentina. So here is it Day… Continue reading Day 4: VALOR International
Day 4 for us would have been a fine day for Jim Smiley. We visited Aceitera General Deheza's (AGD) Frog Farm. It was a very unique operation where they raise frogs from eggs and grow them to maturity to sell to select restaurants in Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Rosario. They produce and sell approximately 6000… Continue reading A Leap Ahead… Ribbet
Up until now, this blog has been a nice chronological review of the journey of the VALOR fellowship. Chronology is overrated... Back in September the VALOR fellows spent a day touring the diverse agricultural production of western Michigan, thanks in large part to work and hospitality of Luke Meerman and others. As the day came… Continue reading Say cheese.
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