Attila Agoston and Shawna DeWitt met while working seasonal jobs at a research center in the South Pole. They started farming because, after running fuel stations in the frigid cold for several months, the summer work on an island off the coast of Washington State sounded warmer and entailed access to better food.
Working Farms & Food
Farmland and forests produce the necessities of life and provide essential natural services. In PEC’s nine county area, over 180,000 acres of farmland and 140,000 acres of forests are protected through private, voluntary land conservation.
A Communal Approach
In the five years since Jason “JP” Pall and Sally Walker began growing produce on a hilly, windswept plot not far from Virginia Tech, they’ve watched several of the parcels surrounding them change hands. A few have been transformed from pastures — the undulating terrain here is good for little more than grazing cattle — into new homes.
Earning a Herd, Opening a Store
Working as a chef, Mike Peterson used to drive by the green, cattle-flecked acres of Mount Vernon Farm near Sperryville on his way to the Inn at Little Washington. And when he signed up for a six-month internship at the farm — to learn more about the sustainable farming methods behind the beef — he never thought he’d end up staying.
Lessons learned at Whisper Hill Farm
Holly Hammond grew up on a you-pick vegetable farm in Arizona that her parents ran. She had no intention of following in their footsteps as farmers, hobby or otherwise, and neither did her husband, James Hammond, when they married in 2002.
A Tale of Two Alums
Since 2009, PEC has offered the Exploring the Small Farm Dream course to aspiring farmers—helping them take a long hard look at their dreams and to answer the question, “Is starting a farm business a good fit for me?” As the title of the course suggests, every participant comes to the course with their own unique dream—an idea that they want to explore. It is these dreams that form the starting point of the course, which evaluates student’s goals, skills, interests, physical and financial resources, and the merits of their ideas in order to settle on a course of action.
Lee’s Orchard
Lee’s Orchard sits about 10 miles east of Shenandoah National Park in Rappahannock County, surrounded by beautiful vistas of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The apple orchard is undoubtedly intertwined with the history of the community – it’s been in Bryant Lee’s family for 5 generations.
The Whole Ox
'Know your farmer' is a popular phrase these days, but Derek and Amanda Luhowiak, owners of The Whole Ox Butcher Shop in The Plains, think people should get to know their butcher as well. Amanda, a native of Fauquier County, explains..
Farmstead Ferments & New Moon Naturals
Sitting less than 100 yards from gardens and a variety of fruit trees on a farm in Charlottesville, I met with Dawn Story, founder of New Moon Naturals and Farmstead Ferments. Story tells me that she grew up in the Virginia Piedmont, and she was raised by a family who appreciated nature and a healthy diet.
Market Table Bistro
Opening a restaurant like Market Table Bistro was always a dream for Rebecca Dudley and Jason Lage, both of whom went to culinary school and later met while working at Lansdowne Resort. They each grew up in rural locations where farm to table wasn’t a trend as much as it was a way of life. Lage’s mother and grandmother cooked with primarily locally sourced and seasonal ingredients, and that’s a concept he has always wanted to bring to his own business.
Moutoux Orchard
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.