West Virginia University Extension will host the Health and Farm Vitality Forum to identify common issues and concerns among farmers in West Virginia and determine actionable solutions.
This free forum will be held on Feb. 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center. It will be held in conjunction with the 2024 West Virginia Small Farm Conference, but conference registration is not required for the forum.
WVU Extension agents across West Virginia have been working with rural and farm communities to determine their needs and pinpoint barriers that can be broken down. This forum is an opportunity for farmers, stakeholders and organizations to exchange ideas and find creative solutions that serve all corners of our state’s agriculture industry.
“The goal is to build and maximize our collaborative efforts across the state to help our rural and farming communities, highlight some of the issues they’re having, and look for opportunities to better their experience,” said Dave Roberts, WVU Extension agent in Lincoln County. “This is an opportunity to identify some common issues and concerns and see what kind of solutions can be brought up at the table.”
In the morning, there will be an open discussion, and in the afternoon, it will transition to a process called strategic doing. Attendees will work in small groups to determine solutions to the problems discussed in the morning, so everyone will walk away with immediate and long-term action steps toward solving problems.
“West Virginia communities are sometimes isolated, so bringing people together in this way helps us achieve our goals a lot faster and a lot easier because we have so many people who can work on these collective issues together,” said Ami Cook, WVU Extension agent in Braxton and Clay counties. “But if we’re just each doing the work in our own little community and not working together, we just can't achieve as much.”
The Health and Farm Vitality Forum is open to anyone who would like to attend. Visit this link to register for this free forum: link.ext.wvu.edu/health-and-farm-vitality-forum.
If you want to learn more about WVU Extension, visit extension.wvu.edu or follow @WVUExtension on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.
-WVU-
slk/01/31/24
CONTACT:
Sydney Keener
WVU Extension
304-293-8986; Sydney.keener@mail.wvu.edu