Web Site Offers Portal To Southwest Virginia’s Agricultural Community

BY NATE HUBBARD
MEDIA GENERAL NEWS SERVICE

The agricultural community of Southwest Virginia has joined together to create a comprehensive portal to the region’s vast farm-related opportunities.

Unveiled on the last day of July, http://www.swvafreshdirect.com underscores the multitude of agricultural activities available in the area that heretofore was obscure or under-publicized.

“You just don’t realize how many things are going on in Southwest Virginia that are agricultural, and that people would be really interested in doing,” said Wythe Morris, an extension agent who served as an adviser to the entity that developed the site, the Direct Marketing Committee of the Southwest Virginia Agricultural Association.

The endeavor compiles farming happenings across 18 counties, from Montgomery, Floyd and Patrick counties on the eastern side of the region all the way to the counties making up Virginia’s western border with Kentucky.

“It’s a one-stop place if you’re looking for anything related to agriculture,” Morris said.

The drive to develop the Web site began in 2005 when the marketing committee began brainstorming ways to help connect small farmers with potential buyers, he said.

As more and more communities have set up farmers markets in recent years, locally grown products have become trendy items – a development Morris said emphasizes the potential benefits of the clearinghouse site.

The site comes at a time when farmers markets are growing.

Just a year after Abingdon upgraded and moved its market to a train-station inspired site a block from Main Street, Marion, Va., built a permanent market near its Main Street. The Marion pavilions provide 22 spaces and are built to resemble a barn, town officials said.

Also, Wythe County, Va., recently launched a farmers market but as yet hasn’t built any lasting structures for it.

Tom Peterson of Abingdon’s market said the Extension’s Fresh Direct Web site is similar to a national database, http://www.localharvest.org.

He noted that he had added the Abingdon market to the listing and Fresh Direct organizers are hoping individual growers take time to add their farms.

A tab on the new Web site leads to a listing of all of the region’s farmers markets, complete with hours of operation, addresses and links to individual Web sites when available.

In addition, the Fresh Direct site also promotes one-time or annual agricultural events.

Agricultural activities can be found either by searching individual county listings or by categories such as agritourism, farm and vineyard, and greenhouse and nursery.

Farmers and growers can submit events or register their enterprises at no cost by following directions available at the site.

“It’s a marketing tool for them,” Morris said. “It’s a way that they can get the word out.”

Assisting the agricultural association with funding the project are a number of other agricultural organizations such as county Farm Bureaus and Master Gardeners.

“It’s been a very basic, grassroots-type effort,” Morris said.

In addition to connecting producers and consumers, the Web site also will offer tips geared toward helping farmers improve their products and marketing skills as the venture continues to develop.

Morris said he thinks both Southwest Virginia residents and tourists will embrace the region’s agricultural opportunities once they discover the countless hidden gems.

“We’re picking up on all kinds of different things that are going on,” he said. “There’s just a lot of neat experiences that are out there.”

Mark Sage contributed to this report.
NATE HUBBARD writes for the Wytheville Enterprise and can be reached at 1-800-655-1406 or .