2007.07.04: July 4, 2007: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Awards: Conservation: Agriculture: Environment: Organic Food: Virginia Pilot: Colombia RPCV Sandy Fisher and his wife receive award for farm conservation efforts
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2007.07.04: July 4, 2007: Headlines: COS - Colombia: Awards: Conservation: Agriculture: Environment: Organic Food: Virginia Pilot: Colombia RPCV Sandy Fisher and his wife receive award for farm conservation efforts
Colombia RPCV Sandy Fisher and his wife receive award for farm conservation efforts
With about 1,000 acres - 480 owned, 500 rented - the Fishers have made a career of communing with nature on a farm just outside of Manakin-Sabot, a Goochland County village west of Richmond. They raise grass-fed cattle and organic chickens, sell organic eggs, produce compost from municipal waste and educate others about the beauty and bounty of the earth. Now, their efforts are being recognized nationally. The Fishers were recently honored with the Steward of the Land Award from the American Farmland Trust, a national organization dedicated to keeping the Earth healthy. It's the first time since it was established in 1997 that the award has been given to anyone in Virginia.
Colombia RPCV Sandy Fisher and his wife receive award for farm conservation efforts
Couple receives award for farm conservation efforts
Caption: The Fishers have established watering systems and 23 acres of buffer strips around several ponds and creeks on the farm. LINDA MCNATT PHOTOS | THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
By LINDA MCNATT, The Virginian-Pilot
© July 4, 2007
GOOCHLAND COUNTY
Rossie Fisher grew up following her mother through the woods near the family's farm, learning the names of the trees, plants and animals there.
Her husband, Sandy, was a city boy, but he spent time on his grandfather's farm as a child and, even in the city, watched his father fertilize the vegetable garden with natural compost.
"We call it living at peace with nature," Rossie Fisher said recently. "Living in harmony with nature. If you understand nature, you understand what to eat and how to live."
And how to operate a farm.
With about 1,000 acres - 480 owned, 500 rented - the Fishers have made a career of communing with nature on a farm just outside of Manakin-Sabot, a Goochland County village west of Richmond.
They raise grass-fed cattle and organic chickens, sell organic eggs, produce compost from municipal waste and educate others about the beauty and bounty of the earth.
Now, their efforts are being recognized nationally.
The Fishers were recently honored with the Steward of the Land Award from the American Farmland Trust, a national organization dedicated to keeping the Earth healthy. It's the first time since it was established in 1997 that the award has been given to anyone in Virginia.
"I heard Sandy pick up the phone early one morning, and somebody had apparently called him Alexander," Rossie Fisher recalled.
Cattle graze on the Fishers’ farm in Goochland County.
That's his real name. He asked the caller who they wanted to talk to.
Ralph Grossi, president of Farmland Trust, was calling to let the Fishers know about the award. It came with a check for $10,000. The Fishers said they have more farm conservation ideas for the money.
Married for nearly 39 years, the couple admit they've always been environmentally minded.
They met while Sandy was in college with Rossie's brother. She, at 14, was in boarding school when, he, riding a motorcycle, would come visit. They married 10 years later.
During those years, Sandy Fisher was one of the first Peace Corps volunteers under the Kennedy administration. He spent 2-1/2 years with the corps and stayed in Colombia in South America, where all cattle is grass-fed.
A few years later, the couple bought Brookview, the farm across from the one where Rossie Fisher grew up.
"Each year, Sandy and Rossie educate thousands of people on agriculture, conservation practices, pasture management and environmentally friendly ways to produce grass forage," Grossi said in a news release.
The Fishers participate in a conservation program that involves keeping all surface water fenced from cattle. They've established watering systems, rotational grazing and 23 acres of buffer strips around several ponds and creeks on the farm.
The Fishers take in municipal waste from Henrico County and a local university each fall to help make a compost. Seeking the warmth of the decomposing leaves - turned routinely - on cold days, cows fertilize the compost pile, and the Fishers sell the natural compost by the load. About a year ago, profits from the compost sales passed beef sales, Sandy Fisher said.
The Fishers live in a circa 1840 farmhouse surrounded by sturdy brick buildings that were once slave quarters. An on-farm store that sells beef, eggs, organic whole wheat flour ground on the farm, natural honey and organic produce is housed in one of the buildings.
The store also is used to showcase just one of Sandy Fisher's many inventions: An old, ringer-
type Maytag washer, with a basket attached to the spindle, is used to wash the eggs.
The Steward of the Land Award, said Grossi, recognizes farmers and farm families who best demonstrate leadership in protecting farmland and caring for the environment. The award honors the memory of Peggy McGrath Rockefeller, an avid farmer and conservationist who helped found the American Farmland Trust.
"It is like a lifetime achievement award," said Rossie Fisher, smiling.
Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: July, 2007; Peace Corps Colombia; Directory of Colombia RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Colombia RPCVs; Awards; Conservation; Agriculture; Environment; Organic Food; Virginia
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Story Source: Virginia Pilot
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Colombia; Awards; Conservation; Agriculture; Environment; Organic Food
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