2009 Workshop

VAFEP Mission

The purpose of the Virginia Agriculture & Food Entrepreneurship Program (VAFEP) is to support new and existing innovative value-added food processing and food production enterprises and to strengthen agriculture and food economic development opportunities in the Virginia Piedmont region through a series of educational workshops. The VAFEP presents an excellent strategy for local agriculture and food entrepreneurs to immediately and positively impact the piedmont area economy and regional foodshed by gaining valuable information about important food safety regulations, business planning tools and local food marketing techniques.  Learning from experts such as local agriculture and food entrepreneurs, professionals at the Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Thomas Jefferson Health District, Virginia Tech, Central Virginia Small Business Development Center and Piedmont Environmental Council will allow new and existing agricultural and food-based business developers to strengthen there knowledge and understanding of these important topics, which will ultimately help generate economic impacts for there businesses and for the local economy. The direct producer-to-consumer exchange of locally produced food with those who consume it, helps to create local economic development and sustainable community food systems, integrating all members of a community, promoting sustainable agriculture, strengthening our family farms, enhancing socio-economic wellbeing and incubating new generations of farmers. This relationship also connects rural residents with urban dwellers, and unites agricultural lands with non-farming land, in the process, strengthening our communities. Enhancing our communities through the development of local and regional food systems gives us the ability to strengthen the web that interconnects all aspects and all members of society, thereby creating a more unified community. As a result, we construct an environment that is more economically diverse, environmentally sustainable and socially interconnected.

Jessie Richardson

Jesse J. Richardson, Jr.
Associate Professor
Urban Affairs and Planning
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061-0113
Phone: (540) 231-7508
Fax: (540) 231-3367
Email: jessej@vt.edu

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Jesse J. Richardson, Jr. is an Associate Professor in Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech. He is also an attorney in private practice. Prior to his appointment at Virginia Tech he practiced law Winchester, Virginia both with a large firm and, later, as a sole practitioner. He is admitted to practice in both Virginia and West Virginia. His teaching at Virginia Tech includes courses in Principles of Real Estate (completion of which allows one to sit for the real estate salesperson’s exam in Virginia), Urban Growth Management, Land Use Law, and the Law of Critical Environmental Areas. He also serves as coordinator of the Real Estate Minor at Virginia Tech.

While in private practice, Richardson focused on real estate, land use and environmental issues. His research focuses upon real estate, land use law and environmental law issues. Specifically, he addresses farmland protection, conservation easements, growth management, karst issues, groundwater law, eminent domain and takings.

He received his B.S. in Agricultural Economics, magna cum laude, and his M.S. in Agricultural and Applied Economics from Virginia Tech. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he received the Edwin S. Cohen Tax Scholarship. His teaching experience includes service as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law in Agricultural Environmental Law. Additionally, Mr. Richardson has made numerous presentations on legal and economic issues to lay and professional audiences across the country. His many publications include law review articles and papers published in professional proceedings. He received the 1999 American Agricultural Law Association Award of Excellence for Professional Scholarship and the 2004 William E. Wine Award for a history of teaching Excellence from Virginia Tech. He serves on the Virginia Farmland Preservation Task Force, the Virginia FarmLink Technical Advisory Committee and the Virginia Water Policy Technical Advisory Committee.

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