To prepare for our fourth seminar (time flies when you’re having fun!) we were asked to watch Simon Sinek’s TED Talk, “Start with Why”. He described how successful businesses, leaders, social movements, etc., more so focus on the “why” or purpose when communicating their products, organizations, events. “Why” is central, whereas “how” and “what” are… Continue reading What, How and Why: Where do you start to make the most impact?
My name is Marie Schirmacher and I sometimes consider myself relatively new to agriculture. After graduating college, I was an admissions advisor for a few years. While I traveled to high schools and spoke with students, in the beginning I would ask “what do you want to do when you graduate?”. (I later realized this… Continue reading It’s not dirt, it’s soil: my journey to soils, agriculture and leadership
My first seminar didn’t get off to the best start. My day started in the airport at 4:45am with a flight delay that would ultimately not allow me to connect with my classmates until after 8pm. While the day was largely frustrating, I will never forget the warm reception from my classmates when I finally… Continue reading Soybean and Purple Ice Cream
Our recent class visit to Tidewater and the Eastern Shore of Virginia highlighted some decisions in our Agriculture Industry. These decisions aren't for immediate results. Instead, they focus on the futures of the companies involved. Our visit included many amazing experiences, that a Northern Shenandoah Valley agriculturalist was amazed to see the diversity throughout our… Continue reading Thinking about Tomorrow
I knew we used "everything but the oink," but peanut and cotton hay?! Those were news to me. This seminar was full of surprises but what I found most remarkable was how sustainable agriculture just "is." Add on conversations with a fellow cohort member who works in rendering, and I wonder the marketing opportunities the… Continue reading Agriculture IS Sustainable
Peanuts, pork, potatoes and Perdue. Discoveries along the Tidewater’s pork-and-peanut trail and Eastern Shore brought VALOR Class VII to ground-level with those iconic Virginia commodities, while offering a 10,000-foot view of their global impact. At our first stop along Virginia’s Salty Southern Route in November, we learned from industry professionals at the Virginia Peanut Growers… Continue reading Salty Southern Route or bust!
Over the last 22 months, VALOR Class VI has traversed tens of thousands of miles within the the Commonwealth of Virginia, Commonwealth of Kentucky, and travelled to Republic of Kenya on the African Continent. We've experienced every level of agriculture from the humble beginnings of homesteads/ small-holders to large commercial agricultural enterprises, and everything in… Continue reading VIRGINIA
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