Soil, Conservation, and Place
Renard and Chinette Turner of Vanguard Ranch, Ltd. with their good friend Y.C. Yates.
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Mike Phillips of Valley View Farms giving Buz Kloot and Eric Bendfeldt a tour of his farm.
Phil Witmer of Grazeland Dairy, Inc. with Barrett Self, Eric Bendfeldt, Robin ‘Buz’ Kloot, Phil, and Lizbet Kloot-Palmer (Left to right).
Mike Phillips of Valley View Farms with a USDA Learning Tour Group.
Mike Phillips of Valley View Farms inspecting his cattle.
Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange with the interview and filming crew Barrett Self, Eric Bendfeldt, and Lizbet Kloot-Palmer.
Gerald Garber of Cave View Farms sharing his insights.
Janet Aardema and Dan Dignon of Broadfork Farm and their daughter, along with Lizbet Kloot-Palmer, Barrett Self, and Eric Bendfeldt.
This educational project aims to deepen community understanding of the importance of agriculture and soils to a sense of place, community, and culture. The project highlights the distinct voices and diverse farms of Virginia’s agricultural community who are protecting and conserving soil and water resources through a narrative inquiry framework.
The project is generously funded and supported by a community viability grant from Virginia Tech’s Department of Agricultural, Leadership, and Community Education and the Agua Fund. The project team includes Eric Bendfeldt, Mike Parrish, Kim Niewolny, Wade Thomason, and Maureen McGonagle from Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension. The project team especially wants to thank the participating farmers for sharing their time, experiences, and insights with us and the broader community.
Introduction to Soil, Conservation, and Place Project
Video Series
The links below will take you to the Soil, Conservation, and Place videos for each farmer who participated in the project. You can also access the entire series on Virginia Cooperative Extension's Youtube Channel.