Love of teaching + farming = agricultural hope

By Terry Harris

Surry County Native Breyon Pierce, already the full time agriculture teacher at Surry County High School as well as a full-time farmer with his father, Glenn Pierce, recently added another to his list of jobs.  The enthusiastic and very busy young man was recently named Program Assistant for Sussex County ANR (Agricultural and Natural Resources), a part-time position through VCE (Virginia Cooperative Extension).

When asked what the new job will entail, Pierce said, “I am pretty much responsible for aiding farmers, gardeners, anyone with questions pertaining to agricultural or any related science.”

Pierce related that this broad topic can includes anything from questions about types of mold to types of weeds to dealing with fire ants to how to become a beekeeper – another thing he does.  And he was quick to say that he remains firmly dedicated to his teaching position.

“I am not leaving teaching,” Pierce said. “The two go together.  I need to augment my income, and this is an opportunity to expand my knowledge and hopefully grow both Sussex and Surry.  I plan on reaching out to the youth of the community to help with growing community gardens and things like that - encouraging people to be involved with all sorts of agricultural things. We NEED farmers.  We do not have many coming up.  I want to use this platform to try to remedy that.”

“I want to use this road to help people with any questions related to agriculture or related sciences, but also to educate everyone on the beauty of agriculture,” Pierce said. “It’s a lot of hard work but satisfying to plant a seed and benefit from the fruits of your labor. Everyone loves to eat, but not all people are ready to work to grow their own food.” 

“I love farming,” he continued.  “I’ve come to realize that like Michael Jordan was born to play basketball and Emmitt Smith was born to play baseball, I was born to be a farmer. But I am also a bridge for generations, to let the youth know that agriculture isn’t just all about tractors and dirt.  I want to teach the importance of respecting traditions while keeping up with the times, like how the use of drones can help farmers of any age save money through drone workshops, for example.”

Growing ever more passionate about his love of both teaching and farming, he brought up a subject often discussed in rural areas like Sussex and Surry Counties – the tendency of young people to leave the area immediately after high school.

“It’s like young people here have little hope,” he said, “But farming can mean being a botanist or an agronomist, or an agricultural engineer – so many opportunities, and I want to inspire young people to pursue those options. As a program assistant, I’m going to do what I can to spread agricultural love – to get our communities to grow together.”

“I’m really excited about this opportunity, to say the least,” Pierce said. “I’m excited to meet new farmers and growers and any youth inspired to work or learn about agriculture. I am a teacher. I teach agriculture. I want to use the educational piece in this job. As teachers we also have to be students, and I know that meeting farmers I’ll learn a lot, too, about growing practices and how they vary from area to area.”

Admitting to the limitations caused by this position being part time, he added, “There will be times when someone calls and I’m not in the office, because this is part-time.  So, it may take a while to get back to them.  All I can say is that we’re doing the best we can with the limited resources we have, and I promise, when someone leaves a message, I’ll get back to them as soon as I can.”

“Along with my teaching, I am a sixth-generation farmer with agricultural roots running deep,” Pierce said. “Like many other famers within this community, I have learned core values and discipline from growing up on the farm.  Using those as a foundation, I hope to earn the trust, the respect, and build a rapport with the Sussex County community.”

Sussex County citizens with questions about all things agricultural can call 804-834-1309 or email breyonp@vt.edu . Information is also available at Vce Sussex Anr on Facebook.