Hillcrest Farms Inc in Dearing, Georgia is a family dairy farm which has the highest production per cow in Georgia. Mark Rodgers and his brother, Andy, operate the dairy which was originally purchased by their grandfather. The farm now has its fourth generation involved with Mark’s daughter, Caitlin, and Andy’s son, Josh, working there. Mark… Continue reading Hillcrest Farms Inc – Dearing, Georgia
The last stop on our national trip was Columbia, SC for a visit with the SC Department of Agriculture. This was particularly special for me, because I worked for SCDA for several years before moving back to Virginia. (Hence the title reference to the Kings of Leon song, "Back Down South.) The staff at SCDA… Continue reading Back Down South
*Warning: This is a much longer post than normal. Hang in there until the end.* In May, Class IV embarked on our first journey outside of Virginia for our national trip to South Carolina and Georgia. (Since Darius Rucker hails from Charleston, a natural song selection for this blog's title was "Southern State of Mind".… Continue reading Southern State Of Mind
Our national trip started with a long drive down southwest Virginia, across North Carolina, and into South Carolina. Before embarking on this seminar, if someone had told me that South Carolina produces more peaches than the state of Georgia I would have begged to disagree. Then again what do I know about peaches? As it… Continue reading Peaches, Broccoli, Happy Cows, Robots, and a Bus Driver Named Crash
For our second seminar, we had the opportunity to visit the Port Authority at Norfolk! Being able to compare Norfolk to Savannah was extremely helpful to me to gain perspective on our recent seminar. Both visits truly helped me to understand how global we truly are and the size scale of things. At the Port,… Continue reading Port of Savannah
The VALOR trip to South Carolina and Georgia was a whirlwind and I learned so much. It has taken me some time to process all of the information I absorbed during our week long trip. It also gave me an opportunity to get to know the other fellows in a deeper way as it was… Continue reading Sweet Vie-Day-Yuh Onions
Lavender is a popular scent, but many may not realize that like other plants, it is farmed in order to meet our demand for teas, candles, etc. On VALOR Class IV's national trip we visited White Hills Farm in Dearing Georgia, where such lavender is produced. The farm is owned and operated by Amy Sutter… Continue reading Namaste Here
As we traveled through beautiful Georgia and South Carolina, I was amazed by the operations that we visited! We visited large operations and small! For myself, I noticed certain themes present themselves during our travels. The two biggest themes that seem to present themselves was diversification for profitability and farm transition with new farmers outside… Continue reading Common Themes
First Generation Farms VALOR IV class recently had their national trip to include stops in Georgia and South Carolina. Thanks to Dr. Laura Griffeth and Kirby Player for their efforts in ensuring plenty of interesting Agriculture visits. One thing that struck me was the number of operations that we visited that were first generation operations.… Continue reading
Our hosts in South Carolina and Georgia rolled out the red carpet for VALOR fellows. Everyone was so welcoming and open about their businesses. They shared about their successes and challenges. Everyone's passion for agriculture, their families and serving their community shined at every stop. Here are a few of my take-aways from the trip:… Continue reading Southern hospitality
valeadersor.com 