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Updated every weekday as availableFauquier offers new, 7-month course for prospective farmers
Fauquier Now, January 30, 2012
"Virginia Cooperative Extension, the Fauquier Department of Agriculture Development and the Fauquier Education Farm have teamed to develop and present the Northern Piedmont Beginning Farmer Program (NPBFP) for local residents. NPBFP is a seven-month initiative to help aspiring farmers make informed decisions to act on, postpone or drop their ideas for a farm operation. It uses curriculum developed by Virginia Tech and the extension service."
“Grow Local, Buy Local” Networking Event on Feb. 6
Clarke Daily News, January 30, 2012
"The Virginia Cooperative Extension and Shenandoah Valley Buy Fresh Buy Local organizations plan to host a networking event for producers and buyers on Monday, February 6, at the George Washington Hotel in Winchester. The day-long event will offer an opportunity for those who want to sell their crops and products locally, and for those who want to purchase directly from local farmers, to network directly with each other. "
Farmers help conserve Hazel watershed
Rappahannock News, December 29, 2011
"The clean-up of the Chesapeake bay is an important issue in Virginia – one that often stirs up controversial debates and finger pointing rather than action. In Rappahannock and neighboring counties, however, farmers are tackling water quality problems, now, with innovative solutions... More than eight miles of riparian fencing have been installed in Rappahannock to date, along with more than five miles in Culpeper, Madison and Orange. More than 1,000 cattle have been fenced out of streams and provided with alternative sources of clean drinking water. "
By PEC's Katherine Vance
Biosolids legislation not likely in coming General Assembly session
Daily Progress / Charlottesville Tomorrow, December 21, 2011
"Albemarle County staff have told the Board of Supervisors that legislation to further restrict land application of treated human waste, known as biosolids, is not likely to be passed in the near future. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is in the process of adopting new regulations to govern biosolids. They were approved by the State Water Control Board in late summer but have not yet taken effect."
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Updated every week as availableFarmers help conserve Hazel watershed
Rappahannock News, December 29, 2011
"The clean-up of the Chesapeake bay is an important issue in Virginia – one that often stirs up controversial debates and finger pointing rather than action. In Rappahannock and neighboring counties, however, farmers are tackling water quality problems, now, with innovative solutions... More than eight miles of riparian fencing have been installed in Rappahannock to date, along with more than five miles in Culpeper, Madison and Orange. More than 1,000 cattle have been fenced out of streams and provided with alternative sources of clean drinking water. "
By PEC's Katherine Vance
Forestry Department Says Virginia Losing Forests Fast
WAMU, December 15, 2011
"The Virginia Department of Forestry says the state is rapidly losing its tree canopy. The state loses as much as 16,000 acres of forest every year, which works out to about 44 acres of forest a day, according to the 2011 State of the Forests Report. Charlie Becker with the Forestry Department says a lot of that has to do with development: "As the population of Virginia grows we have more people we need to have homes for, more services, and we tend to sprawl out more and people like to have things out in rural areas and in forest land.""
Public input sought on Outdoors Plan
Delmarva Now, December 21, 2011
"Beginning in December, planners with the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation will conduct meetings across the state to gather public input for the 2013 Virginia Outdoors Plan. The Virginia Outdoors Plan is the state’s comprehensive plan for meeting outdoor recreation, land conservation and open space needs. "
Pilot Program To Bring Local Food To Schools Short-Lived
Leesburg Today, December 21, 2011
"A project to get local produce into Loudoun’s public schools has fallen through, at least for now. The pilot was hailed this spring as an innovative example of private-public sector cooperation through the arrangement by which West Virginia apple grower Derek Kilmer would supply 15 western Loudoun schools with apples and other produce through the end of the 2010-2011 academic year, with the possibility of serving 15 more schools this year. The school system decided not to extend the pilot project, citing contractual issues and concerns over a lack of sufficient local produce."
City Market’s future still in the air after a year of talks
Daily Progress, December 9, 2011
"As the Charlottesville City Market finishes another season, the debate over its future continues after economic development officials pushed back against a recommendation that the city commit to keeping the market in its current location."
Commission forwards zoning amendments
Culpeper Star-Exponent, December 15, 2011
"The Culpeper County Planning Commission in a 6-2 vote agreed Wednesday night to forward a series of zoning ordinance amendments to the board of supervisors for consideration that would allow cluster divisions in agricultural and rural zoning districts. Several county residents attended the public hearing and spoke in opposition to "
Learn more about the proposed changes to Culpeper's rural zoning.
Group: New report shows need to protect Virginia’s environmental resources
News Virginian, December 3, 2011
"Aside from natural beauty, Virginia’s natural assets contribute $21.8 billion to the state’s economy, according to a recent environmental report. On Wednesday, Piedmont Environmental Council released a report that attempted to quantify the value of the state’s natural goods and services in money terms, to show the need for protecting Virginia’s natural resources, said Heather Richards, PEC vice president of conservation and rural programs."
Christmastime busy for evergreen tenders
Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star, December 5, 2011
"Ralph Hall has been handling Christmas trees for more than 60 years and says the firs and pines, cedars and spruces have been good to his family. In the late 1940s, after his father died of a heart attack, his mother, Bessie Owens, sold Christmas trees on the side. She got the "Charlie Brown trees"--cedars and pines growing wild in farm fields--and sold them in downtown Fredericksburg, Hall said."
You can search for local Christmas tree farms at PEC's Buy Fresh Buy Local website.
Can We Feed the World & Sustain the Planet?
Scientific American, October 18, 2011
"The world must solve three food problems simultaneously: end hunger, double food production by 2050, and do both while drastically reducing agriculture’s damage to the environment. Five solutions, pursued together, can achieve these goals: stop agriculture from consuming more tropical land, boost the productivity of farms that have the lowest yields, raise the efficiency of water and fertilizer use worldwide, reduce per capita meat consumption and reduce waste in food production and distribution."
Fauquier gets $35,000 ‘beginning farmer’ grant
Fauquier Times-Democrat, December 7, 2011
"Few would argue that new and would-be farmers could use a helping hand. As farming becomes increasingly expensive, young people with agricultural aspirations face daunting challenges, ranging from the purchase and lease of land to the marketing and distribution of products, according to experts. But Fauquier County officials recently learned that the county will receive a $35,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the state to start a “beginning farmer” program in the county. "
