Leaving your county, or state, or country (as the case will be shortly for the VALOR fellows) imparts a gift of perspective. Not a gift to be taken lightly, it takes processing and production by the user in order to create anything of value. I can travel to another state or country, but if I… Continue reading The Gift
It has been two months now since VALOR had the opportunity to engage farmers and leaders during an agricultural trip to Argentina. The production cycle is in reverse as compared to the United States cropping systems. The crops that we viewed should be harvested as we in the United States plant new ones. While there,… Continue reading Argentina Reflections
Up until now, this blog has been a nice chronological review of the journey of the VALOR fellowship. Chronology is overrated... Back in September the VALOR fellows spent a day touring the diverse agricultural production of western Michigan, thanks in large part to work and hospitality of Luke Meerman and others. As the day came… Continue reading Say cheese.
The sixth meeting of the VALOR fellows has just concluded, marking the halfway point of our inaugural fellowship. The group of fellows numbers ten in total, but as we travel (both literally and figuratively) we number 12. Megan Seibel, the program director, and Kelsey Brunton, who - prior to her "retirement" - was the graduate… Continue reading “Thank you soooooo much.”
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
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
As I sit in my office (folding table in my living room), kids running around, and I am frantically completing my assignments for my next VALOR session that starts tomorrow. Excited as the anticipation of what new experiences, people, and places we will see. What exercises does Megan and Kelsey have planned to challenge our… Continue reading A Time Keepers Nightmare
What an honor it is to be serving as the Inaugural Director of the Virginia Agriculture Leaders Obtaining Results (VALOR) Program! Agriculture today is at an exciting crossroads with regard to the role it plays in social, political and economic issues on local, national and international stages. With a program like VALOR, we are able to… Continue reading A Message from the Director
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