Awards & Recognitions

2023 Annual Farm Tour

Our guests visited several locations in Roanoke designed to highlight different conservation initiatives currently being implemented in the Blue Ridge Soil Water Conservation District.

Stops included:

Boone Tractor: Joe Boone, the President of Boone Tractor, had the privilege of growing up in the Farm and Agricultural Industry. Having begun his career in what was a family owned and operated dealership, he decided to strike out on his own. In 1984, the birth of Boone Tractor began as a modest tin building in Bedford, VA where Woodford Brothers & equipment once was.

Fishburn Mansion: The Fishburn Mansion is a historic home in the Mountain View neighborhood in Roanoke, VA. It is a 2+1/2 story, rectangular Georgian Revival-style house that was built in 1907. VDOF’s Denny McCarthy showcased the Roanoke City Urban Forestry Program and the Roanoke Tree Stewards Volunteer Program.

C & F Farms: C & F Farms is a small family farm in the Bonsack area of Roanoke County. The first parcels of land that now make up the home farm for C & F Farms were purchased in 1948 by Emory Cox, where he farmed for over 45 years. The farm started out raising a variety of things from row crops, vegetable crops, as well as different types of livestock. Over time as the markets changed the farm moved away from crops and began concentrating more on livestock production, still selling into the commodity market.

Rockydale Quarries: Headquarted in Roanoke, VA, Rockydale Quarries Corporation provides a wide variety of aggregate lime, and bio-mix soils to serve the needs of many industries, including construction, agriculture, and residential. since 1932, Rockydale Quarries has been serving Virginia and the Carolinas with quality, excellence and value.

Blue Cow Ice Cream: One of the highlights of each Annual Farm Tour is to make a special stop at a local specialty ice cream store. This year, Blue Cow Ice Cream was featured. Owned and operated by Emily Goff, Blue Cow Ice Cream went out of their way to serve our Farm Tour guests a unique variety of delicious homemade ice cream treats!

This 2023 Annual Farm Tour would not have been possible without the support and generosity of our sponsors: Angle Hardware, Bank of Botetourt, Berger Farm, Dale & Daniel Angle, DeShazo OIl Company, Exchange Milling Company, Four Oaks Farms LLC, Harvester Performance Center, Ippy’s Restaurant & Lounge, Land and Farm LLC, Melvin’s Farm to Fork, New Dawn Acres, Rockingham Co-Op (Wirtz), Rocky Mount Lifestyle Health Center, Seven Oaks Landscapes & Hardscapes, Shelton & Alderson Insurance Agency, The Growing Place, White Horse Farm and Windy Gap Apiary.