Chard plants await planters — that would be us — who’ll arrive in droves this Saturday at Waterpenny Farm in Sperryville, for the farm’s annual Spring Plant Sale.
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Agriculture
Photo: Chard times
NRCS solicits conservation innovation proposals
The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has announced about $400,000 is available in 2013 for the development and adoption of innovative conservation approaches and technologies in Virginia.
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The Rapp for April 11
Details on RDA's busy weekend, exploring new Civil War trails with the Historical Society, raising funds to fight cancer with Nikki Brady and the Public House, Janet Brome's new exhibit at R.H. Ballard, breakfast at the Senior Center, a Civil War's Sesquicentennial event and a meeting for this year's Farm Tour in this week's...
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Letter: In defense of Rappahannock agriculture
I offer a “glass half full” point of view in response to the April 4 editorial claiming Rappahannock is less “rural” than “pastoral” because it has fewer farms than in the past. Successful agricultural enterprises are the lynchpin of our community, rural culture and environmental health. Over the past 15 years,...
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Editorial: Rural or pastoral?
How would you define Rappahannock County? Most definitions would probably include the word “agricultural,” but as the number of actual farms continues to decline, perhaps it's time to be more honest about Rappahannock's appeal.
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Number of farms down in Va.
According to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), the number of farms in Virginia in 2012 was estimated at 46,200. This is down 200 farms – nearly all of them smaller farms – from the 2011 survey. Surveys are conducted by the Virginia field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service....
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A little better known; a lot more coming
This year local produce growers could be hit with an onslaught of brown marmorated stink bugs (BMSB) that rivals the invasion in 2010.
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‘Boneta Bill’ killed in Senate committee
A Senate committee on Thursday killed the “Boneta bill,” which championed farmers’ rights and would have expanded the definition of agricultural operations.
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2013 a good year to conserve farmland
Thanks to financial incentives made possible by Congress, the commonwealth and local conservation groups, farmers have great opportunities to conserve farmland in 2013.
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The Rapp for Feb. 14
A "real foods" rap video, a lecture and demonstration on using local dyes, living with black bears, a "Doggitiude" book signing, bringing out the artist in you with three Flint Hill workshops, American jazz classics return to the Theatre and more in this week's Rapp.
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Technology on the farm now fits in the palm of your hand
Agriculture commissioner Matthew Lohr writes about how social media and technology can help farmers and others to stay connected with the land.
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PEC course explores the ‘Small Farm Dream’
Agriculture is one of Virginia's largest industries – contributing more than $55 billion annually to the state's economy and providing more than 357,000 jobs. But many are questioning what the future holds for Virginia’s agricultural economy.
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Committee sends ‘Boneta Bill’ to full house
The grassroots-supported “Boneta Bill,” meant to protect farmers’ rights, won overwhelming approval from a House on Wednesday and moves on to its first reading in the full House of Delegates on Thursday.
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Panel amends, okays ‘Boneta Bill’
Supporters of the so-called Boneta Bill, aimed at protecting the rights of farmers, came to Capitol Square wearing pitchfork buttons with stickers that said, “Stay out of grandma’s kitchen.” They lined the wall of a conference room where the House Agriculture Subcommittee met Monday to decide whether to recommend approval of the measure. Virginians...
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Virginia crop summary for 2012
Soybeans, peanuts and cotton all post record yields in Virginia, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
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Fauquier dispute inspires Farmers’ Rights Bill
Martha Boneta made headlines in August 2012 when Fauquier County officials fined her for having a birthday party on her farm. She is now the face of Del. Scott Lingamfelter’s House Bill 1430, which seeks to expand the definition of agricultural operations.
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Old MacDonald had a farm — and a tourist destination, and . . .
A report released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture this fall provides a detailed look at the varied business models being used by American farms.
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The Rapp for Dec. 27
Miocene fossils, the PEC garden winners, Last Night Rappahannock, the beginning of RAAC's new movie season, Aging Together and a details on a new grant supporting clean water in this week's Rapp.
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January is Virginia Agriculture Census Month
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) announced that Gov. Bob McDonnell has declared January Virginia Agriculture Census Month.
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Sperryville column for Dec. 13
Sperryville's new tourism-heavy direction and the kid-approved benefits of quality, sustainably-raised meat (and where to find some locally) in this week's Sperryville column.
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Photo: Local growth . . .
Wallace, the simultaneously blue- and brown-eyed Australian shepherd at Eastwood Nursery (longtime specialists in Japanese and similar delicate maples), picks a shady spot to await visitors during last weekend’s Rappahannock County Farm Tour. Down at the Sperryville Schoolhouse, tour headquarters, Woodville ceramist Libet Henze of Far Ridge Ceramics shows her work as part of...
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Farm, table meet at . . . school
A few weeks ago Rappahannock County school division’s director of nutrition services, Trista Grigsby, found herself discussing school nutrition issues for the fewer-than-1,000 public school students of little Rappahannock County with . . . ABC News.
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Amissville column for Sept. 27
The Farm Tour in Amissville “Agrituristas” participating in this weekend’s Rappahannock County Farm Tour will be able to visit five participating Amissville venues where they can sip award-winning wine, hobnob with honey bees, meet Coco the cow and see sheep shorn and yarn dyed while lunching on gourmet lamb sausage. Gray Ghost Vineyards needs...
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Town’s forest temporarily cut down
The town of Washington heard late last week that its attempt to win a $400,000 U.S. Forest Service (USFS) “Community Forest” grant was unsuccessful.
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The Rapp for Aug. 9
Food pantry collects school supplies, learn about saving the bobwhite quail, a preview of the Taste of Rappahannock, Hearthstone's benefit concert and more.
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Ash borer quarantine expanded to all of Virginia
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has expanded the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Quarantine to include all counties and independent cities of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
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Editorial: Birds, bees and baby steps
We have two choices in the face of the earth’s environmental degradation. The first is to feel like we humans are all hospice patients just waiting for the inevitable, apocalyptic end. The other is to take action – countermeasures, albeit small but still meaningful.
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Photo: Making the cut
John Stacey Clark lucked into an usually cool spring morning Wednesday for the season’s first cutting of hay in Harris Hollow near Washington.
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Test-driving the future of farming
Farming isn’t just a job. For most farmers, it's a way of life, a family enterprise, a connection with the land and a means of making a living Five local farmers spent last year analyzing those motivating forces, and in many cases altering their farming operations to improve profitability, sustainability and the quality...
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Washington column for May 31
Park maintenance and repair, CFC's locally produced feed, and best wishes for birthdays and anniversaries. D.A.R.E. festivities are upcoming, as are the Bolen cemetary trip, graduations, Garden Week and Homecoming at Gid Brown Hollow Bible Baptist Church.
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The Rapp for May 17
Miss Rappahannock, Relay for Life and more this weekend; Pennsylvania bluegrass at the Theatre; how to learn more about Future Farming and invasive plants; another mural shaped in Flint Hill and shipped out; "students" return to Scrabble; a Father's Day folk date.
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Amissville woman spins 18th-century style
It is often difficult to find goods made in America, much less locally by hand. But in Rappahannock County, there are those who preserve techniques developed generations before industrialization.
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Editorial: Who’re the real agroterrorists?
“The $10 Buy Local Challenge!” That’s the recent call to action from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS): If each household in Virginia spent just $10 a week on locally grown agricultural products, consumers would invest an additional $1.65 billion back into the local economy annually. “The challenge is not limited...
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The View From Massies Corner: Things I miss most in Rappahannock
There are things I miss about Rappahannock County and things I don’t. This article will deal primarily with what I miss the most.
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Photos: The fruits of cooperation
Rappahannock fruit growers meet with visiting agricultural scientists from Senegal.
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Food Pantry is landmark of a caring community
All of those hungers are eased at the Rappahannock Food Pantry. The little “grocery” on Mt. Salem Avenue, next door to the old Washington School, is the first stop for those who need help in keeping food on the table in difficult times.
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The Rapp for April 26
Fourth (Estate) Friday; internationally known pianist Audrey Andrist at the Theatre; "The Decendants" at RAAC's movie night; time to start planning for the fall's Farm Tour; turning wine into gold and more.
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Photo: Walking the walk
Members of the 4-H Community Club (Maddie Heneghan, treasurer; Henry Mason; and Shelby Burnett, president) present Roger Welch, chairman of the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors, with a $1,000 check for county parks and recreation improvements. The funds were earned via the club’s first-ever Jingle Bell 5K Race/Walk, held in the town of Washington...
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Washington column for April 26
Ginger Hill goes to DC; 4-H news; Food Pantry benefit; Trinity arts and crafts fair; politics, health and community greetings
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Virginia ham in China, soybeans in Morocco, apples in Cuba
Virginia Agriculture Commissioner Matthew J. Lohr says he's spent his life working in agriculture in the state, but in those 40 years has never seen anything quite like what is happening now with the state's exports to other countries.
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