The sequel classic to Black Belt Jones inspired me while I was reminiscing over November's VALOR tours. If you have not had the pleasure of Jim Kelly's genre busting follow up, please have a quick taste now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rRODUU5BCA In November we visited an equipment manufacturing firm supplying specialty harvesting equipment to the world for large… Continue reading Hot Potato Issue
Agriculture in the Tidewater/Eastern Shore region holds a special place for me as a Virginia "transplant" - it's very similar to my family's homestead. The terrain is flat - no undulating hills and mountains like those in Franklin County (my adopted home in VA), and less clay (aka “red dirt”). It's this geographical uniqueness that… Continue reading Tidewater and Eastern Shore: Internationalization Aplenty
The 2nd seminar of the VALOR program led us to eastern part of our state. One of the many things that I already love about the VALOR program is that I get to carve out time to travel to different parts of my home state. My work with Milton’s Local takes me to different parts… Continue reading A Local Response to a Global Market
The second session of VALOR took us to Suffolk, VA, where we had the opportunity to experience and realize the diversity and impact of Virginia agriculture. Our visit focused on all levels of production; from field, to harvest, to processing, to getting it to your front door. We visited Paul Roger’s farm; a conventional farming… Continue reading Sea of Opportunity
In November, I along with my classmates had the privilege of visiting the Eastern Shore. I was excited to see something different. I’m from the mountains in Fancy Gap, Virginia. The land and temperature variations between home and the Tidewater area were substantial, to be no farther apart then they are. We had many stops… Continue reading Different Town, Same Dilemma
The VALOR class ended up in Suffolk Va for our second seminar and I have to say I was very impressed with the people we met and the agriculture we got to see on the eastern shore. Being from the Valley on the western side of the state I was excited to learn about the… Continue reading Eastern Shore Agriculture
As I try to catch my breath between the harvest and the holidays, I thought pausing to review the last month might slow me down enough to achieve a couple of deep inhales and exhales. Breath in, breath out.... maybe. Catching a rainy afternoon helps too. About a month ago, in the middle of our… Continue reading The Fiber of Our Lives
We drove by miles of wide open cotton ground. Some fields had been harvested, others still full of pure white little snowballs. We drove up the lane of the Commonwealth Cotton Gin flanked by modules on one side and the newer round bales of cotton on the other. Johnny Parker, cotton agronomist, met us outside… Continue reading High Cotton
Tucked away in a small town on the Eastern Shore, a fish project has been forming. You may say that isn’t unusual, given Virginia’s Eastern Shore's proximity to ocean water. The peninsula frames the western side of the Chesapeake Bay, and is shared by Virginia and Maryland. Life seems to be simpler there, and hospitality… Continue reading Farming with Fish
Buckingham County is the geographic center of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is also my hometown and home to my family's cattle farm, where we raise natural, grass-fed Black Angus beef. Growing up in this rural county, I learned small town values, the meaning of hard work and the importance of helping others. It was… Continue reading The Center of Virginia….
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