A new way of using solar power with crops — the first project of its kind in Virginia — is already catching the eye of some Rappahannock farmers. Called agrivoltaics, the innovative, renewable energy project places solar panels over crop plantings, allowing both solar...
Orchards hit hard by late frost Rappahannock fruit growers could well look back on the 2025 season as among their least bountiful. First it was the peach crop, with losses of up to 70%, victim of unusually warm temperatures in March, followed by a hard April freeze....
The Cupeper Rodeo returned for its fourth year over Labor Day weekend, hosting over 8,000 people at the Culpeper Agriculture Enterprise. Photos by Ireland Hayes [gallery link="none" size="large"...
Young 4‑H and Future Farmers of America (FFA) exhibitors from around the region paraded their prized livestock around the arena last weekend at the Culpeper-Madison-Rappahannock (CMR) Farm Show. The show took over the Culpeper Agriculture Enterprise from last...
Spotted lanternflies, and more of them, are back in Rappahannock County this summer — with a vengeance. “There's a greater presence throughout the county than last year,” said Adam Downing, forestry extension agent for the Northwest District, which includes...
7,100-acre reserve welcomes hikers, farmers, scientists, neighbors The 7,100 acres of Eldon Farms in Woodville have entered a new era, poised to become a public-private reserve that will mix ecological restoration, education, recreation and advanced farming and...
Wildlife meshes with farm life at evolving Sunnyside conservancy From a distance, it looks like a large puddle, likely a remnant of a recent rain, shadowed by a copse of trees. A branch lies partly submerged. Nothing remarkable. But, as Nick Lapham approaches the...
Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are causing uncertainties in the global agricultural sector. Once again, local farmers may be affected. Tariffs of at least 10% across all countries are now in effect, with higher rates for those deemed “worst offenders”...
The abrupt elimination of two national food procurement programs by the Trump administration’s DOGE unit is hitting close to home as local farmers and the food-needy communities the programs serve cope with the uncertainties. In February, the Local Food Purchase...
Kestrel’s migration tracked for four years Peaches, a five-year old female kestrel outfitted with a tiny solar-powered backpack transmitter, arrived in Warrenton on March 18 after completing her 560 mile spring migration journey from a farm in Georgia. This feat was a...
A look at prices in Rappahannock County Battered by an outbreak of bird flu and victim of global supply chain disruptions, the humble egg is having its day. Even in the rural oasis of Rappahannock County. A political barometer in recent U.S. politics, egg prices have...
Entering the world, fashionably It’s that time of year — farms across Rappahannock County are welcoming spring flocks of new lambs and goat kids. Four little lambs, only a few days old, took their first steps outside of a barn Tuesday morning, braving the cold in...
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