Farming is in His Blood
Vernon Health, Small Farm Outreach Agent of the Year
Farming has been in Vernon Heath’s blood since he was a boy.
At age 12, he sold vegetables to his neighbors after asking his father for a section of the family garden to grow produce. His interest in agriculture blossomed from there.
Heath, a native of Accomack County, said he always enjoyed gardening and learning about plants. So it probably didn’t come as a surprise when he took vocational agriculture classes in high school, and his teacher encouraged him to pursue studies in agriculture business at Virginia State University (VSU).
Armed with the knowledge he gained at VSU and a strong interest in plant sciences, Heath poured himself into a 31-year career as a Virginia Cooperative Extension agent at Virginia Tech.
He created educational programs and trained farmers, worked with relevant agriculture agencies and businesses to achieve community and industry goals and developed solutions designed to solve social, economic and environmental problems in agriculture and natural resources.
But it is working directly with farmers that gives Heath the most pleasure.
After retiring from Virginia Tech, he was “called” back into the field so to speak. In 2005, he was asked to be an agriculture management agent for the Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) at VSU, and continues to devote his life to educating farmers.
“Farmers are always learning,” Heath said. “I encourage farmers to be good decision makers. Farmers need to stay updated, read, go to meetings, communicate with other farmers.”
And because farmers are learning from one of the best, it should come as no surprise again that Heath was recognized as the Agent of the Year at the 2018 VSU Small Farm Outreach Program Annual Conference held in Danville, Va.
“It was very rewarding, very touching to be recognized as Agent of the Year. It made me feel important. There are not words to explain how I felt.”
Helping farmers get the most out of their operations is Heath’s mission. He teaches a three-hour small farm orientation course that he developed to help farmers understand best practices in farm management, including financial management and labor management.
“Farmers need to have an economical operation. They can’t just farm and break even. They have to have a profit over the long term. Farming is a business and they have to operate that way.”
Farmers, like Dennis Harvey of Harvey Gardens Homemade in Richmond, say that Heath is dedicated to giving farmers the tools and resources they need to be successful. Harvey said that Heath gives farmers a lot of much-needed encouragement.
Heath especially enjoys working directly with small, disadvantaged farmers like those served by the SFOP. “The most beneficial thing I get from it is the display of appreciation from the farmers for the programs that SFOP offers.”
He often gets calls from farmers with questions, but sometimes they are calling just to say thank you, Heath said. “It’s very rewarding for me to receive those types of calls and for the recognition from farmers.”
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