A year into the program with the inaugural VALOR class and there they are...calm, cool, collected, and utterly brilliant. A true cohort team. As we approach our sixth of 12 seminars at the end of next week, we will have fully completed the first of two years of whirlwind-like programming. We have traversed the state… Continue reading Too Cool for Deja Vu
My son Andrew, a Boy Scout, recently spent a week at Camp Davy Crockett in Rogersville TN. Camp is a weeklong adventure where Scouts utilize skills learned in scouting to be self sufficient and continue the learning process. As you might expect I am very proud of my son and his accomplishment in Scouting. He… Continue reading Be Prepared
Our quest of experiencing urban agriculture took us to suburban Prince William County, to a town called Nokesville. Well.....kinda. The adventure began as the fellows huddled in (3) separate vehicles.....plugged in Nokesville to their GPS.....and all (3) cars managed to get lost in transit. We even managed to get separated from the other cars (now back… Continue reading “Pick Your Own” Route to Yankey Farms in Nokesville, VA
I am sitting here in my tractor, planting soybeans. Well...not really. All I am doing is monitoring the monitors that monitor the process. The planter is doing the critical task of precisely placing each seed in the ground and covering it with soil. The tractor is driving itself-and doing a better job of it than… Continue reading Reflections from the tractor windshield
This morning I walked down to the mailbox with my most recent National Agricultural Statistics survey report. As I walked, I carried with it a certain frustration with this seasonal task. If you are not prompt in completing this report, daily phone calls or personal visits will follow from the USDA. It seems that the… Continue reading A Trip To The Mailbox
My wife and I made the decision about a year ago that the best gift we could give our two young sons would be for her to leave her job at Virginia Tech and stay home with the boys. This decision has had an impact on our bottom line. We like great food, but we… Continue reading What is it with local foods?
Endless Summer Harvest was one of the stops during the most recent VALOR seminar. Owner and operator Mary Ellen Taylor treated the VALOR fellows to a tour of her hydroponic greenhouse operation, as well as a dinner fresh from her “fields” in Loudoun County. "Great chefs know that good food comes from farms.” – Mary… Continue reading Lettuce Take Another Look at Farming.
There is a widespread belief that it is us vs. them when it comes to the relationship between the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agricultural Industry. I would submit that it doesn’t have to be that way. I recently had the opportunity along with the VALOR fellows to visit the EPA in… Continue reading U. S. Environmental Protection Agency vs. Agriculture… Inevitable? Maybe not.
My name is Brad Burbaugh and I will be the new Kelsey starting in the fall, so I wanted to take a minute to introduce myself. I came to Virginia Tech by way of Florida where I was a middle school Agricultural Teacher and FFA Advisor for 2 years and an Agricultural Extension Agent for the… Continue reading Howdy from Brad Burbaugh!
The support VALOR has received in the short time since we really got started has simply been tremendous. One of our greatest supporters, Farm Credit, has not only offered verbal endorsement and motivation, but has been host to a couple of events and networking opportunities to-date. Most recently, Dave Lawrence and Bette Brand of Farm Credit… Continue reading Not Just Another Day in Washington
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