It’s pick-up day at Moutoux Orchard and it looks nothing like the scene at your nearest grocery store. It is mid-March when I went to visit, there is snow on the ground and members of the Moutoux year round whole-diet CSA are picking up their fresh veggies, milk, eggs, meat and fresh flour for this week’s meals. A buzz of activity- as adults pick out their food and the kids weave in and out of the barn playing.
Marco Sanchez
It’s Time (Once Again) to Speak Up for Orange County!
Back in October, facing a packed public meeting room, the Board of Supervisors decided to postpone their vote on a new vision that calls for more sprawling residential and commercial development in Orange. The Board said they'd take the issue up at their December 17th meeting, and that date is fast approaching! If passed, the proposed Comprehensive Plan would threaten the County's agricultural character, lead to more traffic along Rt. 20, Rt. 15, and Rt. 3 — and ultimately, result in higher taxes. This text was taken from an email sent out on December 13, 2013.
A Real Chance
Email alert text: The 2013 Election Day results show without question that the Western Bypass was a key concern for county voters. Now, with a new Board of Supervisors and a new administration in Richmond, we have a real chance to stop the construction of the Bypass and reallocate funding to more effective transportation projects.
Re: Sprawling devleopment in Opal
Well the new year has begun, but a bad idea from 2013 is still lurking. After delaying a vote in November, the Fauquier Board of Supervisors will hold another public hearing (and likely vote) on the proposed “Opal Gateway” project this Thursday, Jan 9.
This Week
VDOT has scheduled two public meetings on the Outer Beltway/Bi-County Parkway. There won't be a public speaking period, but they will be collecting questions and comments. If you cannot attend, I encourage you to submit your comments by email to [email protected]! This email alert was sent out on September 30th, 2013:
The Outer Beltway — Water, Air & Climate Impacts
Email from November 21, 2013: ….yesterday, we joined with more than a dozen prominent conservation organizations — including the National Wildlife Federation, the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, and the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club — in submitting a joint letter to Governor-Elect Terry McAuliffe. The letter points to the Bi-County Parkway as the project in Northern Virginia that would have the largest negative impact on the environment….
Busy October — Including an Important Comp Plan Rewrite
Happy Friday! It's officially fall, and there's a lot going on throughout the region and in Fauquier County in particular. There are rezonings and zoning amendments under consideration, we've also got tabling at Fauquier Heritage Day in Warrenton this weekend, Outer Beltway public hearings next week, and PEC's Meeting at Galemont on October 12th (the online registration is up!), as well as the 15th Anniversary of the Warrenton Branch Greenway. This text was taken from an email alert sent out on September 27th, 2013.
Trump Tees Up New Plan for Albemarle’s Countryside
In late September 2013, Donald Trump’s Trump Virginia Acquisitions LLC submitted a plan to develop a property in the Albemarle County Rural Area south of Monticello. They want to develop the property — which is protected by a conservation easement — into a commercial golf course called the Trump National Golf Club. We have major concerns about its potential impacts on the surrounding community.
Expanding Beef Cattle Profitability in VA’s Northern Piedmont
Currently:
• Most weaned and backgrounded calves leave the state for fattening in out-of-state feedlots.
• A small percentage of calves are kept as stockers before shipping to out-of-state feedlots.
• Most cow-calf operations take commodity price. Some buyers pay premiums.
• Beef returns as “boxed beef” for retail to metro-consumers. Value/revenue is lost out-of-state.
A small percentage (<10%) of the region’s farms and cattle are conception-to-carcass operations that direct market beef (mostly pasture raised or grass-fed) at a premium to consumers. They process beef (usually one or two at a time) at one of six custom facilities. These producers are seeking additional slaughter and processing capacity.
Pastures in the region are currently underutilized with gains at about 1 lb/day.
Efficiencies in cattle and pasture management, grazing, and transit, processing, even paperwork could increase returns to producers and the region. Processing and sales volumes could greatly increase. Additional acreage would be employed in grazing cattle retained in the region. Total returns to the regional economy would increase.
Fall !
This is my kind of weather! Red maples turn their namesake, broad wing hawks and other raptor migrate south, white-tailed deer enter the rut, and so many more fun things. Speaking of deer, here's a copy of a recent article I wrote on deer abundance and wildlife habitat. This text was taken from an email sent out on September 20th, 2013: