In a short, 15-minute video called "Gaining Ground Virginia," The Virginia No-Till Alliance, the Virginia Cooperative Extension, and the Shenandoah Resource Conservation Council tell the stories of six Virginia farmers who are models of environmental stewardship and, at the same time, very good businessmen.
For years, these farmers have employed a suite of conservation practices, specifically a "continuous no-till" method of tilling that does not disturb the land, the planting of cover crops to hold fallow land on the field and put organic matter back into the soil, and rotating crops to contribute to soil improvement. As a result, these farmers have reduced soil erosion flowing into neighboring streams and improved water quality locally and in the Bay; saved time and "horsepower," allowing them to spend more time with their families; grown healthier crops and increased their yields by as much as 25 percent; and, ultimately, improved their bottom lines.
These very compelling real-life stories, which are available online for anyone to see, conclude with the farmers describing how pleased they are with the actions they have taken and the results they have seen.
CBF commends the six farmers featured in "Gaining Ground Virginia." We know that farmers everywhere care deeply about their land and want to be good stewards of it. And we celebrate these six who say it as well as anyone else—environmental protection and a good economy are two sides of the same coin.
