Jennifer Poff Cooper,
contributing writer
Though the New River Valley is one of the fastest growing areas of the state, its roots are decidedly rural. It maintains some of that character through the state’s Century Farm program.
As established in the Code of Virginia, the Virginia Century Farm Program recognizes and honors those farms that have been in operation for at least 100 consecutive years and the generations of Virginia farm families whose diligent and dedicated efforts have maintained these farms, provided nourishment to their fellow citizens, and contributed so greatly to the economy of the Commonwealth.
In recognition of their designation as a Virginia Century Farm, families receive a certificate signed by the Governor and the Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), and a sign appropriate for outdoor display. In addition, the name of the farm and its owners is listed on the VDACS website.
Montgomery County has five Century Farms, one of which, Mountain View Farm, belongs to this writer and her mother, Karen Keith Poff.
My son initiated the inclusion of our farm into the program. As a geography major at Emory & Henry College and a summer intern at the New River Land Trust two years ago, Jacob Alexander “Alex” Cooper became interested in the Land Trust’s efforts to conserve local properties. The Land Trust identifies the most valuable lands to conserve based on a variety of factors, Cooper said, and this includes Century Farm status.
Mountain View Farm was just reaching its century mark when Cooper decided to apply for Century Farm status as a gift to Poff, his grandmother and the oldest living relative connected to the land.
“I knew the farm was important to other members upstream in the family tree.” said Cooper about his reasons for undertaking the process. “There is a long family history that connects us to the place. Multiple generations find meaning in it. It has contributed to who each of us is as individuals and as a family unit. It was a nice way to give official meaning to the land. Plus it was free.”
A farm must meet the criteria determined by the Virginia General Assembly to be certified as a Virginia Century Farm:
- It must have been owned by the same family for at least 100 consecutive years;
- It must be lived on or actually farmed by a descendent of the original owner; and
- It must gross over $2,500 annually from the sale of farm products.
The application process itself was not onerous, Cooper said, but keeping it a surprise was since he needed information that Poff possessed. “It was a matter of demonstrating knowledge of the family’s history,” Cooper said, “and proving the direct family line has been there for 100 years.” Cooper surreptitiously obtained the documentation, receiving the designation for Mountain View Farm in exactly its one hundredth year of existence.
Poff reflected on the history of the property, saying that her grandfather and great-uncle, Waller Preston (W.P.) Keith and David Howell started farming together near Riner starting in 1917. When Route 8 was built through the middle of the farm, the two divided up the land. Howell took the part that would later become his grandson David Myers’ farm, Ridgeway Farm, and then the subdivision Ridgeway Farm Estates.
Keith took remaining 320 acres, which would become Mountain View Farm, and turned it into a dairy operation. Cooper’s great-grandfather, Jacob Edwin Keith, for whom he was named, grew up on that farm. Poff recalls Edwin Keith’s stories of riding his pony to school and back home to work until dark. Edwin Keith continued working there after graduating from Auburn High school and eventually inherited the farm from his father W.P. Keith.
“Edwin Keith sought out and practiced new, cutting-edge farming practices to have the most modern and up-to-date dairy operation in Montgomery County. Examples include building and operating the first Grade A dairy barn in the county (1922) and partnering with Virginia Tech to use the sod planting method of planting crops. Farmers came from many areas to learn about and observe his new planting technique,” said Poff.
At his retirement in 1981, Edwin Keith and his wife, the former Edna Akers, sold about half of the property to Henry and Susan Sink, and that portion eventually became Sinkland Farms. The rest is maintained by my family. The Coopers now reside in the original, albeit remodeled, farmhouse where the W. P. Keith family settled. Poff and her husband, Arthur, live in a home on the property as well. The farming of Mountain View Farm, now approximately 173 acres, is outsourced to the Floyd Childress family.
The other Century Farms in Montgomery County are: Kinmill, owned by Robert K. Miller; Morris Farm, owned by Clyde R. and Dean R. Morris; Shanklin Acres owned by John William Shanklin; and The Wall Farm owned by Mr. William G. Wall, II and Mrs. Dorothy R. Wall.
The Century Farm program began in 1997 as the result of legislative action, according to Elaine Lidholm, Director of Communications for VDACS. The designation does not impart any “special powers but is honorific, Lidholm said. The people who are recognized, and have gone through the exercise to apply, take the designation seriously, she said.
Lidholm emphasized that the 100 years of ownership must be continuous. That is, a family cannot have sold a farm and bought it back. Documentation is on the honor system, with the only verification being a notarized application.
There has been a steady growth in applications as people become aware of the program and more farms qualify, Lidholm said. Awareness is achieved through word of mouth, people seeing the signs, and brochures distributed by extension agents. The biggest spike in applications comes when the Century Farm program hits a landmark number and VDACS sends press releases to newspapers.
The minimal costs for the program – signage, postage, and staff time – have been absorbed into the administrative costs of the agency, Lidholm said.
“This is a very important program,” Lidholm continued, “because, number one, it raises awareness of the state’s largest industry – farming has a $70 billion annual economic impact – at a time when fewer people – about two percent – have connections to farms; and number two, it truly honors the people designated.”
On a personal level, these lands are not just random spaces, concluded Cooper. “They are common binding factors that connect families to the history of their farms.”
