The masterplan for this rolling 262-acre farm in central Virginia balances livestock production, vineyards, and production gardens with new goals of improving water quality and biodiversity. The new plan incorporates rotational cattle grazing, ecologically balanced crop production, native forest and meadow plantings, stream restoration, and pond design to ensure that land cultivation will enrich and preserve the regional landscape. This is the first NBW project to undertake a “bio-blitz” exercise, in collaboration with SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which will document the current site biodiversity, and to provide a reliable baseline from which to assess the future success of the design. The masterplan for this rolling 262-acre farm in central Virginia represents the culmination of a unique collaboration between a team of scientists from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and NBW’s Conservation Agriculture Studio. Our ultimate goal was to establish a sustainable balance between agricultural production and ecological conservation. Specifically, this new approach to farming in Virginia strives to integrate organic livestock production, viticulture and vegetable production with an intensive riparian, forest and open-land restoration/conservation effort. The above plan incorporates rotational livestock grazing, extensive warm season meadows/ ‘open-land’ habitats, organic vegetable production, an existing vineyard, riparian corridor and habitat restoration, 15 acres of proposed wetland, invasive species removal/ forest restoration, and a family homestead into a complex, yet selfcontained, sustainable working farm system.
Collaborative: Historical Concepts, Steven Gabrel, 2rW, PHR+A, Biohabitats, Department of Environmental Quality, Army Corp of Engineers, Alexander Nicholson, Bartlett Tree Service, Roger W. Ray & Associates, Inc., Grelen Nursery
