WIA Conference Agenda

7 – 8:15 a.m. -  Exhibitor Booth Setup

7 – 11 a.m. -  Registration

7:30 – 8:30 a.m. -  Breakfast

8:15 – 10 a.m. -  Welcome and Keynote Address

Kim Nixon, owner of the innovative Glenmary Farm in Rapidan, Virginia, will discuss the decisions she’s made while pursuing her passion for agriculture and the importance of passing this knowledge on to the next generation.

About the keynote speaker:

Kim Nixon has always had an incredibly strong passion for farming and knew as a child that she wanted to pursue a career in agriculture. She spent every allowable moment following her dad and learning firsthand all aspects of production agriculture. However, back then, women really didn’t take a seat on a tractor or have a real voice making daily decisions on the farm, but she didn’t let that stop her. She was very active in FFA and 4-H and received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Virginia Tech.

After graduating, her career plans took a 180 and she worked for the Virginia State Water Control Board inspecting animal waste facilities and Virginia Cooperative Extension as an IPM Extension agent. At the time, she never realized that this job would lead her to Orange County, Virginia, where she would meet her future husband and her lifelong dream of farming would become a reality.

In 1992, Kim married Tom Nixon, whose family had a beef farm in Rapidan, Virginia. They have spent the last 30 years building a highly diversified farming operation. In the beginning, they found themselves in a highly leveraged farming operation, where they knew they had to take some risks to help secure a better future for them and their growing family. Kim is extremely proud that both her children, Elizabeth and Robert, share in her passion of farming and have both returned to the farm. Elizabeth and her cow crew manage the cow herd and feedlot and Robert manages the crop crew.

Over the years, the farm has evolved from farming several hundred acres to farming 10,000 acres with 15 employees. The farming operation now consists of a brood cow herd, beef feedlot, three turkey houses where they raise hens for Cargill, and row crop operation.

During the early stages of COVID and with experiencing low commodity prices, the Nixon family decided they wanted to have a retail agricultural business. They started a retail beef business called Glenmary Reserve Meats, where they sell dry aged beef from cattle they raise and finish themselves. Beef can be purchased through their ecommerce website, shopglenmaryreservemeats.com, and can either be shipped nationwide or picked up at their farm. The second business they started is Virginia Seed Company. This business operates a seed cleaning, blending and treating facility where they also sell cover crop seed and wildlife food plot blends.

8:30 a.m. – 3:15 p.m. -  Exhibitor Booths Open to Participants

10 – 10:30 a.m. -  Visit Exhibitor Booths

10:30 – 11:20 a.m. -  Farmer Highlights Joint Session

In this joint session, we will hear from four of our producer speakers. We will focus on how these women started their farming journeys and how they ended up where they are today. This session is meant to give the audience a chance to get to know these producers who will also be speaking in their own individual sessions later in the day. Questions for the speakers will be guided by the audience. 

About the speakers:

Elizabeth Nixon Marshall is from Rapidan, Virginia, where she grew up showing and judging livestock through 4-H and exhibiting Angus cattle across the country. Upon graduation, she moved back home to manage the cow herd on her family’s farming operation, Glenmary Farm, and she plays a major role of the daily operations of her family’s meat business, Glenmary Reserve Meats. She also runs her own communications business, where she offers photography, videography, web and print design services for the agricultural industry. In addition, she is the business coordinator for SaleRing.Live, which is an online livestock sale broadcasting platform.

Laura Glascock has been attending farmers markets in Northern Virginia since 1992. These markets are “grower only” markets; therefore, everything they sell must be grown and made with products grown on the farm. Glascock’s Produce grows over 35 acres of vegetables and 11 acres of fruit. The family orchard is over 100 acres. Glascock attended and graduated from James Rumsey Technical Institute with a horticultural certificate and began farming with her future husband after purchasing their first greenhouse in 1998. They helped form the Berkeley Springs Farmers Market in 2001 and helped form the non-profit organization to oversee the farmers market, Morgan County Association for Food and Farms. They participate with NRCS agricultural programs and were the 2011 Conservation Farmer of the Year for the state of West Virginia. 

Deb Hartshorn of White Picket Farm refers to herself as an “accidental farmer.” She grew up in the most traditional way, “farm to table,” which meant you grew it, or the “pickings” were slim. They always raised a garden, and she is an avid flower grower. She now has an atypical setting of three acres adjacent to a cattle farm and golf course. They have an on-site farmers market that has quickly expanded in size and offerings. 

Carole Daniels, and her husband Ed, own and operate Shady Grove Botanicals in Randolph County, West Virginia. They have been forest farming their properties since the 1990s, growing at-risk medicinal herbs, such as American ginseng, goldenseal, black and blue cohosh, bloodroot, etc. They grow and sell these native medicinal plants to beginning forest farmers and promote conservation for future generations, while also providing education across Appalachia. In addition, they also create value-added products from what they forage and grow on their land. 

11:20 – 11:30 a.m. -  Morning Break | Visit Exhibitor Booths

11:30 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. -  Breakout Session 1

Elizabeth will give an overview of her role at Glenmary Farm and how she’s managed to create additional income after returning to the family farm. 

About the speaker:

Elizabeth Nixon Marshall is from Rapidan, Virginia, where she grew up showing and judging livestock through 4-H and exhibiting Angus cattle across the country. She attended Butler Community College in El Dorado, Kansas, where she was on a Reserve National Champion Livestock Judging Team and she also won the All-American Junior Collegiate Livestock Judging Award. She then transferred to Oklahoma State University, where she graduated in 2016 with a double major in animal science and agricultural communications. During her time at OSU, she was a member of the National Champion Meat Animal Evaluation Team, the Reserve National Champion Livestock Judging Team and she also won the All-American Senior Collegiate Livestock Judging Award.

Upon graduation, she moved back home to manage the cow herd on her family’s farming operation, Glenmary Farm, and she plays a major role of the daily operations of her family’s meat business, Glenmary Reserve Meats. She also runs her own communications business where she offers photography, videography, web and print design services for the agricultural industry. In addition, she is the business coordinator for SaleRing.Live, which is an online livestock sale broadcasting platform.

Horticulture Track:
Using Beneficial Organisms and Organic Products to Control Pests
Speaker: Carlos Quesada, WVU Extension Entomology Specialist

Dr. Quesada will talk vegetable producers and gardeners through the ins and outs of managing pests with organic products. 

About the speaker:

Carlos Quesada is an assistant professor and Extension specialist at West Virginia University. He creates and presents educational materials related to entomology and integrated pest management (IPM) for ornamental, fruit and vegetable crops. He also coordinates the Pesticide Education Program. His research interest is improving IPM programs to help growers produce high-quality crops in ways that are economically and environmentally sustainable. He also teaches a pest management course to WVU students.

Finance Track:
Adding Unique Farm Experiences to Improve Revenue Streams and Drive Profitability
Speaker: Deb Hartshorn, White Picket Farm

The sky is the limit when it comes to the type of experiences that can be offered on a farm to diversify your income streams, and if managed properly, these small income streams can merge into a river. The cornerstones for adding successful experiences are authenticity, creativity, education and profitability. In this session, we will discuss how you can create authentic, educational and year-round on-farm events to enrich visitors’ experiences and improve your farm’s bottom line. The session also will touch on how to partner with peer businesses to complement and supplement your on-farm activities.

About the speaker:

Deb Hartshorn of White Picket Farm refers to herself as an “accidental farmer.” She grew up in the most traditional way, “farm to table,” which meant you grew it, or the “pickings” were slim. They always raised a garden, and she is an avid flower grower. She now has an atypical setting of three acres adjacent to a cattle farm and golf course. They have an on-site farmers market that quickly outgrew the space. She will share the story of how her custom greenhouse, home garage and tractor shed morphed into a White Picket compound, complete with outdoor gathering spaces, flower field, workshop and retail space.

Woodland Management Track:
Make Those Trees Work for You!
Speaker: Barbara Breshock and Amy Cimarolli, West Virginia Women Owning Woodlands 

So, you’ve got some woodland. Did you know you could make those trees on the hill work for you? Nearly all West Virginia farms have some forested acres, and there are various income opportunities for landowners to reap benefits from their woodland now and for years to come. This session will cover the basics of forest farming, wildlife habitat improvement, recreational opportunities, considerations for proper timber management and other ways to generate income from your wooded acres.

About the speakers: 

Barbara Breshock is a WVU graduate who was the first female professional forester hired by the West Virginia Division of Forestry. She retired in 2018 after 39 years of service. Most of that time, she was managing state forests for multiple uses. The last few years she was Assistant State Forester in charge of the Landowner Assistance Program. In 2017, she partnered with Amy Cimarolli to develop the West Virginia Women Owning Woodlands program to teach women woodland owners about the resources available to help them with managing their property and to encourage networking. Since retirement, she contracts with the Division of Forestry to coordinate this program. Barb lives in western Raleigh County with 25 acres of woodland. 

Amy Cimarolli co-owns a farm in Tucker County, where she focuses on forest management and forest farming activities, and she is excited to add farm operator to her biography! What keeps her from diving into more agricultural pursuits on that land is her full-time work as a land protection specialist with the West Virginia Land Trust. With the Land Trust, she is privileged to guide private forest and farm owners through the process of establishing voluntary perpetual conservation easements on their land. Prior to this position, she worked as a forester and ecologist for private landowners, including the Nature Conservancy in West Virginia and Canaan Valley National Wildlife Refuge, emphasizing protection of high conservation value resources and maintenance of forest and wildlife diversity. Amy received her master’s degree in 1993 in forestry and forest products from Virginia Tech, where she examined relationships between forest types and forest fuels at Richmond National Battlefield Park and co-authored Vegetation Management in Historic and Recreational Parks with Virginia Cooperative Extension Service. She completed a bachelor’s degree in 1987 in forestry and wildlife, with a minor in biology, also at Virginia Tech. She currently lives in Davis, West Virginia.

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. -  Lunch

1:30 – 2 p.m. -   Visit Exhibitor Booths

2 – 2:50 p.m. -  Breakout Session 2

Livestock and Forages Track:
Is Copper Deficiency Killing Our Sheep?
Speaker: Alexandria Smith, WVU Extension Agent – Hardy County

Alex will be speaking on her current research project that dives into micronutrient availability and their effects on sheep health and production. This project is funded by SARE Northeast. 

Alexandria Smith earned her bachelor’s degree in animal and veterinary science, minor in horticulture, and a master’s degree from West Virginia University. As an agriculture and natural resources Extension associate professor in Hardy County, her goal is to help the people in her community increase knowledge in agriculture, which will make lives more fulfilling and profitable. Aside from her role as an Extension agent, she raises and manages sheep and goats.