About Both Movies
These stories illustrate how conservation practices like continuous no-till crop farming and rotational grazing can make Virginia’s farms more productive and sustainable while improving water quality.
— Matt Lohr, Commissioner
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Agricultural best management practices offer some of the most cost effective ways to reduce polluted runoff. We hope these videos will inspire more farmers to incorporate these innovative practices on their land to protect water quality.
— Michelle Kokolis, Watershed Restoration Project Manager
James River Association
The only way we are going to meet water quality goals is if we can find ways to make it economically viable for farmers. These videos help demonstrate some of the management strategies that are both good for a farmer's bottom line and for the natural resources on which we all depend.
— Suzy Friedman, Deputy Director, Working Lands
Environmental Defense Fund
These movies demonstrate how management decisions that are good for clean water and the Chesapeake Bay can also be good for the farm’s bottom line.
— Ann Jennings, Virginia Executive Director
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
These stories illustrate how conservation practices like continuous no-till crop farming and rotational grazing can make Virginia’s farms more productive and sustainable while improving water quality.
— Matt Lohr, Commissioner
Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Agricultural best management practices offer some of the most cost effective ways to reduce polluted runoff. We hope these videos will inspire more farmers to incorporate these innovative practices on their land to protect water quality.
— Michelle Kokolis, Watershed Restoration Project Manager
James River Association
The only way we are going to meet water quality goals is if we can find ways to make it economically viable for farmers. These videos help demonstrate some of the management strategies that are both good for a farmer's bottom line and for the natural resources on which we all depend.
— Suzy Friedman, Deputy Director, Working Lands
Environmental Defense Fund
These movies demonstrate how management decisions that are good for clean water and the Chesapeake Bay can also be good for the farm’s bottom line.
— Ann Jennings, Virginia Executive Director
Chesapeake Bay Foundation
About Successful No-till Farmers Tell Their Stories
The no-till video is a great educational resource. I look forward to sharing it with my students so they can better understand no-till farming and the benefits to water and soil conservation. Thanks for helping to get the word out to everyone about conservation practices being used in agriculture. Great job!
— Sally W. Shomo, Agricultural Education Instructor/FFA Advisor
Beverley Manor Middle School, Staunton, VA
It would be fantastic if every farmer thought of himself as a soil protector. Listening to these successful stories is a good way to promote that attitude as well as the adoption of practices that will ultimately lead the farmer to a better life.
— Jocelyn Michon, Quebec Farmer, No-till Pioneer, Member Canadian Conservation Hall of Fame
This is nothing less than outstanding! Well done showcasing farmers who are each successfully managing a continuous no till and cover cropping system. There is no better way to move farmers toward increased profitability and environmental stewardship then to have farmers, who have discovered solutions, leading the way.
— Steve Groff, Pennsylvania No-till Famer and Cover Crop Pioneer
Cover Crop Solutions
I am certain that growers, agribusiness and agency personnel will find significant value in listening to this diverse group of growers from across Virginia discuss their motivation and experiences with continuous no-till crop production. Increased efficiency of crop production with improved stewardship of the land is a recurring theme in Successful No-Till Farmers Tell Their Stories.
— Dr. Mark Alley, W. G. Wysor Professor Emeritus of Agriculture
Department of Crop & Soil Environmental Sciences, Virginia Tech
The Virginia Grain Producers Association strongly supports the message delivered in Gaining Ground: Successful No-Till Farmers Tell Their Stories. Every Virginia farmer needs to watch this video to understand how no-till and cover crops can benefit their operation.
— Dee Dee Darden, Farmer & President
Virginia Grain Producers Association
About Successful Graziers Tell Their Stories
The video Gaining Ground: Successful Graziers Tell Their Stories is a great testimony of the value of rotational stocking cattle on pastures. The cattlemen interviewed give great insight on how rotational stocking restores a rundown plant community leading to higher cattle carrying capacity while protecting the environment and our water. The rainfall simulation showing the difference in runoff and infiltration between an overgrazed pasture versus a well-sodded pasture is a real attention-getter. Just imagine how much more grass you can grow when you can get most of the rain to soak into the pasture sod rotationally grazed rather than run down the hill to the nearest water body on a continuously overgrazed pasture.
— Jim Cropper, Executive Secretary
Northeast Pasture Consortium
Successful Graziers Tell Their Stories displays real cattle producers who are making rotational grazing work on their operations. On the micro-economic scale, rotational grazing is helping these cattle folks improve carrying capacity, reduce purchased fertilizer costs, trim winter feeding costs and trap more rainfall on their pastures. On a larger scale, they are enhancing the sustainability of their operations while improving water quality in the region.
— Bill McKinnon, Executive Secretary
Virginia Cattlemen’s Association
Experienced farmer testimonials emphasize the benefits of controlled grazing management on quality of life while the demonstrations help you visualize how grazing management can lead to healthy sods that protect soil and water resources. Successful Graziers Tell Their Stories is a perfect introduction to controlled grazing!
— Dr. Chris Teutsch, Associate Professor of Forage Management
Southern Piedmont Ag Research & Extension Center, Virginia Tech
See profitable grazing management through the eyes of cattle producers who are making it work. In the 15-minute Successful Graziers video, you will gain the essence of 100 years of experience in profitable grassland management. It’s a must see for all cattle producers.
— Gordon Groover, Associate Professor of Management & Finance
Department of Agricultural & Applied Economics, Virginia Tech
Every farmer managing livestock on grasslands should watch this short movie, Successful Graziers Tell Their Stories.
— Alan Spivey, Farmer and President
Virginia Cattlemen’s Association
