Grayson County Agribusiness Tour

My internship this summer has provided me with the opportunity to see the incredibly diverse array of agriculture throughout Southwest Virginia and beyond. Not only have I gained an even further appreciation for commercial vegetable production, but for nursery, livestock, forestry, and all other agricultural topics from the backyard garden all the way to the large-scale business.

Today Kevin Spurlin, the ANR Agent from Grayson County, put on a set of tours to introduce various agribusinesses in Grayson County. Steve, Suzanne, and I all went on these tours, along with many others. Representatives were present from the NRCS, FSA, Grayson National Bank, the Carroll-Grayson Cattlemen's Association, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Grayson LandCare, and others.

The first stop on our tour was a visit to Independence Lumber Inc. This is one of the largest lumberyards in the area. The tour was fascinating. We got to tour each of the facilities, seeing how logs are processed from start to finish as boards.

Logyard 

Boards beings sorted 

Some finished boards

Following the tour of the lumberyard, we went to Grayson Farmer John Fant's farm. Mr. Fant is practicing rotational grazing and is currently in the process of fencing out the creeks with the help of NRCS. Mr. Fant provided maps of his farm and introduced its history and plans for the future. It was very nice to hear how Mr. Fant has used services such as the Virginia Cooperative Extension and NRCS to improve his farm.

Our third stop was Bottomley's Evergreens in Elk Creek. The facility was massive! I would love to see it around Christmas when the operation is in full-swing. After lunch, we went on a tour of the facilities and our tour guide gave us an introduction to Bottomley's Evergreens. We also got to watch a video of their palletizer, which is used to stack and ship trees.

The final stop on our tour was Grayson County High School's agriculture department. Jason Spurlin, one of the teachers, talked with us about all of the activities they are involved in and the classes being taught. The program seems to be doing great! This year there are over 300 students enrolled, taking courses including ag production, horticulture, and ag fabrication. Seeing the program made me excited about possible opportunities to teach agriculture myself in the future.

Jason Spurlin tells about the school garden in the GCHS Ag Department. 

I always love getting to visit farms and businesses. We are so blessed to get to be a part of the industry that feeds and clothes the world; what an important job! One of my favorite quotes is by George Washington, "Agriculture is the most healthful, most useful, and most noble employment of man." I could not agree more with this statement.