Data released this week shows that three properties in Rappahannock County totaling more than 650 acres were protected by conservation easements in 2011.
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Agriculture
In 2011, 650-plus acres protected
Photo: The mitigators
From left, participants in last week’s Culpeper Soil & Water Conservation District (CSWCD) all-day workshop on restoring and protecting streambeds, wetlands and habitat included Rappahannockians Beverly Hunter, Jonathan Marquisee, David Massie, Don Loock and Donna Marquisee and CSWCD staffers Richard Jacobs and Evan Blumenthal. Attendees learned about private conservation-incentive programs (besides those long offered...
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Letter: Farming is the credential to consider
In the 1930s, during the pit of the great depression, an ecologically disastrous event occurred in the heartland of America. Soil from barren, dry fields began blowing away and created what we now call the Dust Bowl. In the wake of this disaster, soil and water conservation districts were formed as a way to...
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Letter: ‘My goal is . . . to make a difference’
I am Bob Zwick and I am running for a seat in Virginia’s House of Delegates because I believe that my knowledge and experience will best serve the citizens of the 18th district. When I heard that Todd Benson was running, I was delighted. After he dropped out, I kept waiting for someone with...
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Farm-to-Juggle in Sperryville
After getting a decent show of hands from the 30 or so kids present who were sure “it’s impossible,”
Jazzy Juggler Nathan Bynum (jazzyjuggler.com) got up on his unicycle and kept the juggler’s club, the tennis ball and the ring in the air for a good long time Saturday afternoon at Waterpenny Farm’s annual Fall Festival for CSA shareholders and friends of the Sperryville organic farm. Bynum is the brother of Rachel Bynum, who owns and runs the small Rappahannock County farm with husband Eric Plaksin, who also helped press cider and give a tractor-driven farm tour to the attendees.
Farm Tour vendors wanted
The Rappahannock County Farm Tour’s “All Things Rappahannock Market” at The Link is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 24-25. Space is available for vendors to sell produce, plants, food items, textiles, soap, crafts, etc. or to provide information regarding their organization. Vendors and organizations must have ties to the land and/or farming in...
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Bull in a . . . tractor shop?
The hazards are different than the better-known dangers involving china shops, as this bull discovered when he wandered overnight into Bill Fletcher’s farm shop near Sperryville last week and apparently fell into the repair pit, where he remained until farm hands fashioned a sloping ladder out of lumber and plywood and helped him out....
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A full moo . . . oon
On the crest of a hill near Massies Corner, two cows appear to be admiring the full moon as it hung last month over Rappahannock County — although they were not, exactly. For the full story behind this photo by Kaye Kohler, see the Washington column on page 9 of this week’s Rappahannock News...
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The Rapp for July 28
New slogans (or maybe not), an Angus Show award for a young Sperryville woman, Ballard's summer sale ends Saturday, amazing vegetable-growing news, pretty good peach-growing news, and the Piedmont claims another Soap Box Derby champion.
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River of rocks
Though it’s the season for low water levels, those levels — illustrated here by the meager flow of the the Thornton River Wednesday in front of the Glassworks Gallery on U.S. 211 in Sperryville — are the subject of a draft of a county water supply plan, which will be presented to the Rappahannock...
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Sustainability: The dance goes on
As if it wasn’t enough of a challenge to follow all the rules and guidelines necessary to have your products designated as “organic,” Nick Lapham has also tackled . . . biodiversity. Certain newspapers that would attempt to cover certain rural Virginia counties filled with singularly distinctive people must exercise caution when calling out...
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Plant sale: 10 years and growing
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Rappahannock Spring Plant Sale. Local and nearby growers will be gathering at Waterpenny Farm in Sperryville, again this Saturday (April 30) from 9 to 3, rain or shine.
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View From Massie’s Corner: First, define the problem
Cattle farmers most certainly have a lot to be thankful for this spring. Compared to last winter, this winter was a breeze, and this spring is so far so good. If a cow had the ability to dial up the weather she would want when it came time to deliver her calf, a spring...
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Down Memory Lane/Out of the Attic
The headlines from the Rappahannock News of 50, 25 and 10 years ago, plus a photo from the attic files.
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Washington column for March 31
The 4-H Livestock Club visits the vet, and the 4-H talent show is a big success; take a break from cooking Sunday at Washington Baptist for a good cause; birthdays, prayers, Grandma's Attic and a wish for spring.
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Farm tour gears up
Spring farming season is here and plans are already underway for the 2011 Rappahannock County Farm Tour, to be held September 24-25.
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The Rapp for March 17
Lions' music contest winners; a new 4-H horse club; Headwaters goes ahead with after-school program plans; workshops on dealing with conflict; an artists and galleries tour application deadline.
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Farm Bureau to read in schools
As the National Agriculture Week is celebrated this week, the Rappahannock County Farm Bureau will join Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) and volunteers across the state in reading “Ready, Set, Grow! A Tour of Virginia Farms and Agriculture” to students learning about agriculture in the commonwealth.
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The Rapp for March 10
Micro-climate blues in Bean Hollow; it's Miss Rappahannock time again; a holistic farming field tour in Sperryvile; time to clean up Rappahannock's roads and streams; everything old is fun again at the Antiques Appraisal.
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Sperryville column for March 10
The people's parade -- St. Patrick's march and party are March 12 -- and the livestock's parade; reasons to not ignore your selt belts; Rex Slack's emblematic paintings at Haley Fine Art; and Miss Rappahannock will meet Mr. Mayor.
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Photo: Hoop realities
Waterpenny Farm co-owner Eric Plaksin, left, works with Mountain Laurel Montessori Farm School students Alexis McCarty and Zoe Pettler recently to cover in plastic the large hoophouse donated by Plant-A-Row founder Hal Hunter and others, and soon to be seeded by students and volunteers, who hope the hoophouse will become the center of an...
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Letter: And why sacrifice small government at its best?
One of the newer vineyards in Rappahannock County, developed with obviously a lot of hard work over a number of years, is now an operating winery. This private enterprise in an attractive setting is up and running, doing what wineries do; making wine. So why is the federal government involved? The short answer is...
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Editorial: Are we hypocrites?
With the budget battle raging in Big Washington, just about everyone I know in Rappahannock — Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative — agrees that it is irresponsible to keep running huge federal deficits, as we have for the last 10 years. To keep living on borrowed money, we’re essentially robbing our children and...
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Cattle inventory down a percent
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced this week that Virginia’s cattle and calf inventory was down one percent in 2010. (“Cattle and calf” is a term used for breeding beef cows that have calves.)
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The Rapp for Jan. 27
A musical sendoff for James D. Russell, students at Hearthstone and Mountain Laurel schools remember Martin Luther King, the Friday movie Feb. 4 is "The Social Network" and lots more.
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Letter: Meeting explains Holistic Management
An important town hall meeting for Rappahannock farmers is being held at the Link in Sperryville on Jan. 25 from 10 to 3 p.m. Holistic Management International (holisticmanagement.org) is partnering with the county to put on this program on the principles and tools HMI practices throughout the country. While the Jan. 25 workshop will...
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Funds added for stream exclusion
The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has announced the availability of special funding for livestock stream exclusion practices in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
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VDAS: Corn, soybean, other yields down in 2010
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) announced today that many of Virginia’s major crops produced lower yields in 2010. Corn, soybeans, peanuts, cotton and hay yields were significantly lower than 2009.
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Sperryville column for Jan. 13
James D. Russell, who died Jan. 5, was a pillar of the community who was loved by all who knew him. We extend our condolences to his family. From J.D. Hartman comes a heartwarming story about Mr. Russell. In 1992, J.D. opened a barbecue place beside Mountainside Market in a building owned by Mr....
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Air, water, soil projects get boost
Federal funds are available for projects that improve the water quality in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, promote good land management practices and reduce greenhouse gases. The separate programs have their own filing requirements and deadlines. Each are through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Cooperative conservation The NRCS...
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‘Holistic’ farming program: seeded
A Jan. 25 program at the Link may be an eye-opener for farmers as it will explore holistic management practices. The program has been spearheaded by Cliff Miller, a longtime farmer in Sperryville who raises cattle, sheep, pigs and chickens at his Mount Vernon Farm, where for the past decade he has made concerted...
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The View From Massie’s Corner for Jan. 6
Do you miss that old-time bluegrass? Many people associate bluegrass with Kentucky, but when I was a boy, the pastures in Rappahannock were full of bluegrass while the hayfields were brimming with orchard grass, the predominant seed and hay crop. Now, bluegrass in a pasture field is hard to find, and orchard grass seems...
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Beekeeper is a presidential award-winner
When Rappahannock County resident Ann Harman was 5 years old, she never dreamed her fascination with bees would lead to a career, international recognition, and a humanitarian award. But it did. “Some of my earliest memories involve bees,” Harman said. “I watched them fly flower to flower, and I even helped them sometimes.” Harman...
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Photo: Black, white and Blue Ridge
With truly blue mountains in the background, cattle at Massie’s Mountain munch on hay after last week’s snowfall, which subsequent chilly days and nights have helped keep on the ground all week.
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Return on timber is up
After two straight years of significant declines (a drop of 40 percent since 2006) in the value of timber harvested on their properties, forest landowners in the Commonwealth saw the value increase six-tenths of one percent last year, according to officials with the Virginia Department of Forestry.
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The Rapp for Nov. 18
VDOT in Rappahannock is ready for winter; a local farm photo wins PEC's photo contest; Woodville's John Hedrick elected president of the PATC.
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Letter: This llama is high on fiber
Is what I co-create art? I watched 101 cars come up my driveway on studio tour weekend with at least two persons in each vehicle and out they would jump to stare at me and take a photo. The next thing these folks did was to listen to a presentation on felt history, felt...
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Rappahannock is among drought disaster areas
Gov. Bob McDonnell announced last week that the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture has designated 59 Virginia counties — including Rappahannock, Fauquier, Culpeper, Page and Warren — as primary natural disaster areas because of decreased farm production caused by drought and excessive heat this summer. Madison and Loudoun counties and the city of Winchester were...
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Conservation awards go to Dorsey, Stoney Meadows Farm
Rappahannock County residents were among recipients of awards presented Oct. 21 by the Culpeper Soil and Water Conservation District.
The annual awards dinner honors those who have demonstrated leadership in the stewardship of local soil and water resources. The awards presented were Educator of the Year, Forest Stewardship, Bay Friendly Farm Awards in each...
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Tech’s Extension plan strays from its mission
Chris Parrish and I attended a meeting of the Virginia Farm Bureau in Williamsburg last Thursday, Nov. 4. One of the most talked about issues was the impact of a reorganization proposed by Virginia Tech on our local Extension and 4-H programs. Once again Virginia Tech is proposing to cut most of the services...
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