One of the most important take-aways from my first year in VALOR is the importance of scale in agriculture. Since relatively speaking Americans spend so little of their income on food (around 10%), agriculture is primarily a low margin, high volume game. The overwhelming majority of agricultural concerns that we have visited who are able… Continue reading Farmers who are doing well at any size
When you think of Northern Virginia (NoVa), agriculture and farmland are most likely not the first thing to come to mind. In the most recent VALOR seminar, May 11-15, 2015, the fellows learned of agriculture’s presence in NoVa and even in the heart of Washington D.C. as they traveled by car, metro, and foot to… Continue reading Of Asphalt & Agriculture
At a faculty meeting the other day, we considered the idea of educational inclusivity. Ferrum College is a composite of 1) traditional students, 2) nontraditional students (mid-career professionals looking to polish and/or reorient their skillsets), and 3) minority students (~40%). Of these demographics, most can be more broadly considered first generation. How do we cater… Continue reading Ag Inclusivity: No Farmer Left Behind
Our most recent VALOR session landed us in historic Richmond, VA, where we had the opportunity to witness our Commonwealth legislature in action. Virginia’s legislature is unique in that it holds to the principles of our founding, where political leaders remain citizen legislators. Our leaders still get to pack up their lunchpail and go to… Continue reading Great Debate & Defining Decisions
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRpyjnWDLQs Starring Kathleen Quinlan and Timothy Busfield, this in-depth disquisition on the mental state of urbanized feral cats provides the viewer with answers to our most fundamental question, "Are you willing to sacrifice your children to the roving clowder that lives near you?" As obscure as this may seem, or as simple as a… Continue reading Dr. Straylove, or How I Came To Love The Ag Sub-Committee
Lest you think I'm nearly a year and a half early, I'm not talking about those polls. But while you're in the ballots mindset, let me tell you about another opportunity to cast a vote. The director of the VALOR program, Dr. Megan Seibel, was recently selected from over 1,400 applications as the Southeast regional… Continue reading A Call to Vote
Here we are looking right into the face of the 2015 spring planting season! Exciting! Mostly because farmers like to see things grow, but another thing that makes it exciting is the fact that we don't know the outcome. We hardly know the weather for next week much less the weather for the summer. We… Continue reading Eliminating Risk
Richmond during the General Assembly Session is an interesting place. So much hurry up and wait. So much current events and history as old as our Nation. So much that seems trivial and so much that is vitally important. All of this jammed together in the organized chaos that is government in action. Definitely a… Continue reading Agriculture and History – A Woman’s Place
As an undergraduate, I was tasked with a reading from the provocatively titled book Saving the Planet With Pesticides and Plastics by Dennis Avery. Despite my farm upbringing, I was solidly convinced that pesticides were a “necessary evil”. No question – this was an established, irrefutable fact. I delved into the chapters with a great… Continue reading 360 Degrees: Advocating for Agriculture
In 2010, I was fortunate enough to work with a great group of people at the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development on a project called “Fields of Gold”. The Fields of Gold initiative is a project designed to coordinate, market and promote agritourism and economic development in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. I… Continue reading The Shenandoah Valley Gets It!
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