As our international experience unfolded, I wasn’t sure what to expect from a trip to Kenya. Many of the images I’ve seen of Africa depict the continent as a desolate desert. I was pleasantly surprised as we arrived in Kenya, located near the Equator, and found the climate is perfect for a wide variety of… Continue reading Conservation and Sustainability Working to Preserve Kenya
Our Northern Neck-Middle Peninsula-Bay tour was just as eye opening as the previous regional visits around the state. Each region’s agriculture and aquaculture is unique, but some similar threads run through many of the businesses we have toured. One of those threads is family. The family farm business takes many different forms. One quality that… Continue reading Family Business Leadership Lessons
During our trip to Southwest Virginia, the theme that surfaced for me is the importance of the support structure that overlays the agriculture industry in this region. I will focus on how I saw the outpouring of assistance related to ag infrastructure in Southwest. It was apparent as we traveled at most every stop that… Continue reading The Structure Supporting Success in SWVA Agriculture
Our VALOR cohort’s tour of Kentucky was a great experience and the theme that rose to the top for me was a consumer focus: knowing & serving your niche. I want to thank our awesome tour guides, Dr. Steve Isaacs and Dr. Will Snell, for being excellent hosts, interpreters, and teachers as we traveled throughout… Continue reading Knowing your Niche in Kentucky
As our VALOR cohort embarked on our next adventure, we all carpooled, metro-ed or caught rides into Washington, D.C. from our rural communities. When we saw the champagne vending machine in the hotel lobby, we knew we’d made it! These next couple days would be quite a bit different than our everyday experiences. Many metro… Continue reading Partnerships with People
As I reflect on our cohort’s adventure in Richmond in January, the theme of service comes to mind. We were able to meet with so many fellow Virginians who keep this state’s government running day-to-day, and year-to-year. Many of these people are elected or appointed to their positions for short (or extended) periods of time,… Continue reading An Attitude of Service
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”
FFA members know those words as the introduction to the FFA Creed penned by EM Tiffany nearly 100 years ago. Years separate today’s agriculture practices from Mr. Tiffany’s world. Years separate you from when you first learned those words. What cannot separate you from those words is the essence of what they mean, what values… Continue reading “I Believe In The Future Of Agriculture…”
In November, VALOR Class V traveled to Louisiana: Cajun Country, Birthplace of Jazz, the Bayou, Who Dat Nation! I had traveled to Louisiana before, primarily visiting New Orleans for various Farm Bureau trips but had never ventured outside of the French Quarter, and certainly never into the Bayou. I was excited to be traveling, looking… Continue reading Lessons Learned in the Bayou
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