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!
"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." Revelation 5:12 Our trip to the Valley was great! We visited television stations, turkey farms, and saw first hand just how important agriculture is to our state. The most noteworthy visit to me,… Continue reading Worthy is the Lamb
When most people here "valley", the automatically think of the geographical area between two mountain ranges. Sometimes I find myself in a valley however when I'm a bit "down in the dumps". According to http://www.dictionary.com, a valley could be "any place, period, or situation filled with fear, gloom,.....". So have you ever been in a Valley?!… Continue reading Ever been in a “Valley”?!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIO53QPGGG0 The United States has a poultry problem, and the unheralded follow up to "A Christmas Story", Peter Billingsley provides us with but one of the many issues we have to face. Our most recent VALOR experience took us to the Shenandoah Valley, where we were given the opportunity to meet and discuss several issues… Continue reading Can We Forget Hoboken?
In January our VALOR class traveled to the balmy Shenandoah Valley, where we had the opportunity to visit with producers and agribusinesses who are capitalizing on opportunities in Virginia’s diverse agricultural economy. Lucky for us, we got to visit all these outside, where the temperature got to about 20 degrees. While many may be familiar that… Continue reading Perseverance Amidst Change
Seminar 3 of our VALOR experience was in the Shenandoah Valley and was focused on communicating our industry of agriculture. We talked to a lot of great people on this Seminar, from all of the people that gave their time to spend an evening doing interviews with them, to all of the farm stops. Each… Continue reading Learning From the Past
Last month we visited the Shenandoah Valley. Although we visited various farms, each offering valuable wisdom and insight, what ultimately stands out in my mind is all of the components that play a role in poultry production. In all probability there are many reasons for this being the dominant area of my focus, but the primary reason simply… Continue reading Poultry and Produce
"A little bit of dirt/mud never hurt anybody." I'm pretty sure that's a saying. I'm also pretty sure a little bit of mud never did anybody any good either. This time of year mud seems to be inescapable when you have a job outside. The height of your boots becomes important, as does making sure… Continue reading A Little Bit of Mud
Food is something we all certainly have in common. Just try no food for awhile and I'm sure you'll agree. As a cotton grower, I think we all need cotton in our lives too, but that's another story for another time. Right now, I want to focus on food. (But hey, check your potato chip… Continue reading Let’s Eat!
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