Journeys of Hope, Reflections and Pictures 2023
Our Epic Journey to Renewable Energy Note: This was written by a real person–me. All pictures by me unless otherwise noted.
Riparian Buffer Walk 2023
October is Riparian Buffer Month. How Could I Not Write About That? Note: This post was written by a real person–me. All photos by R. Whitescarver unless otherwise noted. Walking under the shade of the trees we planted along Middle River, I look up and see abundant acorns. I smile....
Our Turf Affects the Surf: Land and Water are Profoundly Connected
Our farm in Virginia’s legendary Shenandoah Valley affects the waters of America’s largest estuary over three-hundred miles away—the Chesapeake Bay. How we manage our land profoundly and inextricably affects groundwater and surface water. In other words, our turf affects what’s in the surf. Surf and Turf It was a special occasion...
Conservation Vouchers, Making Farming Safer and More Efficient
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay has a program that helped us be more efficient and safer farmers with conservation vouchers. It’s called the Healthy Streams Farm Stewardship program. It awards $3,000 worth of conservation vouchers per acre of riparian forest buffer up to $20,000. In addition, the program allows...
There Has Never Been a Better Time to Fence Cattle Out of Streams
Note: The text of this post was published in the Virginia Mercury on 9/1/2022. My wife and I are beef cattle farmers in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Two years ago, we enrolled in Virginia’s Agricultural Best Management Practice Cost-Share program. We used this state funding to fence our cattle...
Paddling Upstream and the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act (JMU 2024)
Imagine paddling a canoe upstream forever. That’s my metaphor for environmental activism. Activists have been paddling against the current with the Clean Water Act on their backs ever since its passage 50 years ago. We have made a lot of progress, but it’s been against the current the whole time—and...
Paddling Upstream and the 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act
Imagine paddling a canoe upstream forever. That’s my metaphor for environmental activism. Activists have been paddling against the current with the Clean Water Act on their backs ever since its passage 50 years ago. We have made a lot of progress, but it’s been against the current the whole time—and...
Celebrate Riparian Forest Buffer Month
I love looking up the trunk of a 30-foot-tall Willow Oak that I planted in 2004.
Breakfast on the Bay with Jeanne, Bobby, and Val
The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay made a three-minute video of Jeanne, Val, and me working at Whiskey Creek Angus.
Earth Day 51, a Sense of Wonder, Environmental Activism, and the Law
There is much to be thankful for on Earth Day 51—way too much for a blog post! But here are some significant and promising environmental developments that occurred recently. Environmental activism and the law are alive and well. Bald Eagle Nesting Pairs Quadrupled I look up from the greening pastures...
