As VALOR Class VI embarked on our first trip to explore agriculture in the Commonwealth, I was excited to get to know our cohort members better and learn about the sandy, flat regions of Virginia called Tidewater and the Eastern Shore. With family in Central Virginia and the Valley, and living in Southwest, I don’t… Continue reading Find your market and serve it with passion
The first livestock that my family raised when I was growing up was three pigmy goats: Smokey, Charcoal and Frostbite. Purchased from a friend that my sisters and I happened to be in 4-H with, these three goats road home with us to our barn built in the 1800s in the back of a Pontiac… Continue reading Us Millennials Need to Know the “Why”
I loved my time at the Virginia Tech Southern Piedmont AREC in Blackstone, Virginia and am most grateful for the amazing farm crew. These were some of the crazy steers and heifers I worked with for my research. If someone told me back in college that I’d be living in a small apartment in the… Continue reading A Passion by Mistake or Grand Design?
Another great VALOR Class IV seminar to a part of VA that I rarely frequent, but oh so full of agriculture and history. The first stop of Seminar VII was Omega Protein. Before an outdoor tour of the plant and one of their fishing vessels, we watched an informative video explaining the multi-generational company Omega… Continue reading Seminar VII: Northern Neck & Tangier
To summarize a week long trip from hundreds of pictures (I edited some 629 photos off my phone to 325 when I first got back) is not an easy feat. The statistics and stories shared by the folks who were gracious enough to host our VALOR cohort is still swirling in my head and in… Continue reading SC & GA: A (Quick) Southern Summary
When I think of Loudoun County Virginia huge mansions, suburbia, and D.C. commuters come to mind. Session IV started off by visiting a place that stuck out like a barn in the city, especially because that's what it was. We started off Seminar IV at the Loudoun Farm and Heritage Museum with a delicious lunch… Continue reading “Preserving and Promoting”
Class IV fellows tour Endless Summer Harvest in Northern VA.
If the average Joe would look at my background, it may not make sense that I am a High School Career Coach. For those who are familiar with agriculture and what it entails would know that it makes perfect sense. My journey to where I am today is filled with career readiness and leadership opportunities… Continue reading Taking My Own Advice
Prior to our VALOR Class III trip to Washington State, I knew very little about hops. Fortunately for me, Washington State leads the nation in hop production, so I was in the right place to learn. We started our morning off by meeting with Frank Hendrix, a Yakima County Extension agent. He provided a great… Continue reading Hops for miles!
On the first day of our seminar in the Northern Neck, we found ourselves at Ingleside Vineyards. The first vines were planted in the late 1970s with the first commercial harvest in 1980. This makes Ingleside Vineyards is one of the oldest vineyards in Virginia. We had the pleasure to speak with Doug Flemer, whose… Continue reading Better is Better
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