CHARLESTON, W. Va. — The West Virginia Department of Agriculture is seeking century farms — farms owned and operated by the same family for at least 100 years — to feature on its monthly television show, Today in Agriculture.
The search is running alongside a more formal West Virginia century farm program being conducted by the West Virginia Association of Conservation Districts.
“Not many people realize that the two figures on the State Seal are a miner and a farmer,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass. “Farming — and the sense of self-reliance that goes along with it — has been part of West Virginia’s heritage since the beginning.”
Preservation efforts
Commissioner Douglass wants to help preserve the history of some of these farms. Many of the state’s oldest farms have disappeared in recent decades. Developers have converted farmland into housing and the vast majority of Americans have lost touch with the land and how their food is produced.
“During early meetings of the Department’s Centennial Committee we realized that we needed to look at the past 100 years of agriculture in the state. That context is necessary to understand the history of the WVDA,” said Commissioner Douglass.
“We’d like to illustrate that by showing the public some of the great, older farms in the state that are the epitome of sustainability, and a tribute to farm families.”
Contact information
Anyone with a century farm they would like to have featured on Today in Agriculture should call Buddy Davidson at 304-558-3708, 304-541-5932 or e-mail bdavidson@ag.state.wv.us.
