Seven generations of Linzy Cumbia’s family have stewarded farmland in Page County. Each generation has seen transformations in the surrounding landscape and overseen transformations on their farm on the Shenandoah River. Linzy now shoulders the family responsibility to care for the livestock, manage the soils and pastures, and maintain the clean water from Big Spring that runs through their property just before joining the South Fork of the Shenandoah River. And while Linzy is certainly carrying on his family legacy, he is also providing valuable services to us all.
Valley-wide, it is farm families like the Cumbias that steward the rolling pasture and crop fields, dense hardwood forests, and meandering streams and rivers that make our Valley so beautiful and maintain our region’s renowned rural character. Together, these abundant natural resources and the Valley’s small-town charm are what keep many of us here and inspire countless visitors each year. Public investments help farmers maintain this natural wealth, prevent future costs and compromises to our water, soil, and even the food we eat, and provide benefits that extend far beyond the farm gate.
While the pillars of our economy—agriculture and tourism—have remained the same for many generations, farming itself is an ever-changing endeavor. New pest species, droughts, floods, market demands, and a growing population require farmers to adopt new technologies and techniques to make farms more productive and sustainable.
In 2017, Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley spearheaded the creation of the Shenandoah Valley Conservation Collaborative (SVCC), a partnership of nonprofit organizations with state and federal agencies, to better coordinate and deliver conservation assistance to landowners and farmers. Since then, SVCC partners have brought in more than $8 million to protect rural land in permanent conservation easements, help farmers implement best practices that improve local water quality and build healthy soils, improve outreach and networking with landowners and farmers, and test innovative approaches to land and water conservation.
(Click image to learn more about the Shenandoah Valley Conservation Collaborative)
Why Invest?
On the farm, investments in conservation practices can improve nutrient management, build soils, increase future yields, fix eroding stream banks, reduce nutrient and sediment run-off going into our streams, rivers and groundwater, and improve herd health. These improvements lead to more efficient and sustainable food production.
While they generally pay off for farmers in the long term, adopting the practices and technologies for conservation can be prohibitively expensive or difficult to implement in the short term. Technical and financial assistance from federal, state, and nonprofit partners in the SVCC can help farmers get over this near-term financial and practice change barrier.
(Click image to learn more about conservation practices)
These public investments in farm conservation don’t just support farmers and family farm businesses. Much of the funding is circulated through our local economy when farmers and landowners hire local contractors to build fences, drill wells, and plant trees, or when they purchase materials, seeds, and farming implements from local distributors.
Furthermore, public dollars invested in farms are also investments in public health, cleaner water in our streams, rivers, and drinking water supply, better wildlife habitat, flood and drought resilience, and our rural economies and communities. By sharing the cost and the risk, farmers are encouraged to adopt practices that serve their bottom line and the public good.
Why Public Investment in On-Farm Conservation Matters
Conservation practices, like riparian buffers, keep nutrients, soil, and chemicals out of rivers and drinking water. That means cleaner water, safer communities, and lower drinking water treatment costs for towns and cities.
Practices like cover crops help soil hold more water and store more carbon. This helps both farms and nearby communities withstand droughts, floods, and extreme weather, and saves taxpayers money when natural disaster strikes.
Conservation dollars stay local—hiring contractors, buying supplies, and supporting businesses like fence builders, well diggers, engineers and planners, and seed and equipment suppliers.
These practices also create habitat for pollinators, birds, and game species—benefiting farmers, hunters, and outdoor lovers alike.
Most land is privately owned, but what happens on farms affects us all, of course, in the food we eat, but also the water we drink and the air we breathe. Investing in conservation helps farmers care for land in ways that protect clean water and healthy ecosystems, and creates climate resilience for all.
On the Cumbia’s land, the pristine water that bubbles up from Big Spring stays clean—and it will for many more generations to come—as it makes its way across their farm because of their commitment and our collective investment in conservation. The health of Big Spring, as well as countless other natural resources stewarded by farmers across our region, directly translates into tangible benefits for all of us, from more affordable water treatment to a thriving local economy fueled by agriculture, tourism, and outdoor recreation. Public investment in agricultural conservation isn’t a cost–it’s a strategic move to ensure the long-term well-being and prosperity for the entire Valley.
(Click image to learn more about resources for implementing conservation practices)
Farmer Profiles
These articles highlight local examples where conservation investments—such as improving nutrient management, building soil health, and restoring streambanks—also support public health, the local economy, cleaner water, and better wildlife habitat.
