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The Southwest Virginia couple’s efforts have advanced beyond farm-to-table to a new effort: farm-to-school.
When my wife, Elaine, and I sat down for dinner at Marion, Virginia’s 27 Lions Restaurant, she ordered the Roaring Lion Wrap, consisting of premium ground beef. Only when she looked at the menu more closely did she realize that the beef came from just eight miles down the road at Seth and Courtney Umbarger’s Laurel Springs Farm in Smyth County, Virginia.
A serendipitous occurrence for sure because the next day we met the couple. We had initially been drawn to the area because of Seth’s and Courtney’s reputation as advocates for the farm-to-table movement and other conservation-related activities.
“If we can educate folks on where and how their food is produced, stimulate the local economy by keeping farmers on the farm, and help people to learn how to eat seasonally, we are doing something,” Courtney says.
The Umbargers are not just interested in the farm-to-table movement, they are also promoting a similar trend—the farm-to-school one.
“I am our region’s lead person for farm-to-school,” Courtney says. “Last October, our farm put beef directly into every school in Smyth County for Farm to School Week. We have farm trips in the spring and have students visit and learn about our operation.
“I hope Seth, myself and our three children will inspire students to have an interest in agriculture. Many people are so removed from the farm. Only two percent of the workforce in the U.S is a farmer or rancher. I feel it’s our role to reach out and share the importance of farms and farmers.”
As important as the farm-to-table and farm-to-school movements are to keeping the rural portions of the Blue Ridge Region rural, the Umbargers also stand out as stewards of the land. So much so that in 2018, the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts named them as one of the 10 Virginia Grand Basin Clean Water Farm Award winners.
On their home farm of 375 acres, the couple has positively impacted the environment through their participation in the USDA Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). This program provides financial and technical assistance to landowners so they can improve soil, water, and air quality among other things.
For example, the Umbargers have accomplished the following:
- Established a liquid waste storage facility to adequately store their cattle’s manure before it is spread on the land to enrich the soil.
- Implemented 42.7 acres of contour strip cropping and 78 acres of cover crop, crop rotation, and no-till, strip-till. All these activities serve to reduce erosion of land and prevent sedimentation in the Holston River drainage.
- Excluded livestock from 3.5 acres of streambank and 2.5 acres of forested land. They also planted trees and shrubs.
- Placed 274.8 acres into a nutrient-management plan and replanted 2.2 acres of eroded hillside. The Umbargers are also applying lime to the land to restore its pH.
- Fenced cattle out of 42.1 acres of riparian areas and woods, which has curbed erosion and improved woodland habitat.
- Installed 14,000 feet of cross-fencing and 18 water troughs, thus excluding cattle from all surface waters on the property.
- Created nearly 4,000 feet of animal trails and walkways.
In other words, if you fish, paddle, birdwatch, wildlife watch or hike in the Holston River Drainage downstream from the Umbarger’s farm, then what this family has accomplished enhances and protects what you experience.
The Umbarger family also features all-natural, pasture-raised beef. And Courtney has opened Laurel Springs Farm store in Marion to make her beef, pork, farm-fresh eggs and other items more accessible to the public. Additionally, the family hosts the annual Marion Farm to Table Dinner that fully benefits the Marion Farmers Market. And they even have an activity designed to benefit young folks.
“We created an educational program that children under 12 can participate in once a month during market season,” Courtney says. “The kids can earn a $5 token from funds raised, and they can purchase fresh produce, proteins and canned goods.”
The goal here, of course, is to encourage healthy choices for these young people’s families—the old adage that the children can lead. Indeed, the Umbargers are leading a purpose-filled life in these mountains.
“I love knowing that not only are we raising well-cared for animals, but we are feeding and educating our community about the importance of farming and conservation,” Courtney says.
Words to Live By
Courtney Umbarger’s favorite quote is from Pope John Paul, II: “The earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations.”
Seth and Courtney’s three children are the sixth generation of Umbargers to live on this farm.
“We have to do the right thing by the land so that our children will have a place to live and farm,” Seth says.
The story above appears in our March/April, 2020 issue. For more subscribe today or log in to the digital edition with your active digital subscription. Thank you for your support!
