Paul House, 2006 Virginia Farmer of the Year

According to the Webster dictionary, survivor is defined as someone who remains alive, or in existence; to outlive or outlast.

It’s a perfect description of Paul House of Nokesville, Va.

“I’ve heard ever since I was a child that there wouldn’t be any farming in Prince William or Fauquier counties,” said House. “When we first started farming, there were about 125 dairy farms in the county. Now, we are down to two: ours and one owned by my brother and cousin.

“We have lost a lot of land to developers, especially in the last 20 years,” he went on. “The area we farm in has become densely populated with some of the worst traffic problems in the country.

“Plus, we are only 50 miles from Washington, D.C., which makes for a very expensive operating environment in many areas. It’s been a struggle, but we’re still here.”

Not only is House “still here,” but in his 38-year career he has succeeded in developing one of the top farming operations in the state, leading to his selection as the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year for Virginia for 2006. He was nominated for the award by Tim Mize of the Virginia Tech Extension Service.

House and eight other state finalists from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee will be honored during the Sunbelt Expo in Moultrie Oct. 16-19. The 2006 Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year will be announced at a luncheon on Tuesday, Oct. 17.

House, as the Virginia state winner, will receive $2,500 from Swisher International of Jacksonville, Fla., who along with the Sunbelt Expo, have sponsored the Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award for 17 years. He will also receive a jacket and a $200 gift certificate from the Williamson-Dickie Company; a $500 gift certificate from Southern States; and a fireproof home safe ($300 value) from Misty Morn Safe Company.

Additionally, the 2006 Southeastern Farmer of the Year will receive a $14,000 cash award from Swisher; a custom-designed jacket, another $500 gift certificate and $500 cash from Dickies; the use of a Massey Ferguson tractor of their choice for a year from Massey Ferguson North America; a $3,600 custom-made gun safe from Misty Morn; and another $500 gift certificate from Southern States.

In 1968, House launched his farming career when he applied for a loan and leased 174 acres of farm land. It was also the year he married his wife, Flora.

“We leased the 174 acres and started with 35 Springer heifers and grew corn and hay for feed while I finished my first year of college,” he said “We got married in June 1968 and started shipping milk on July 17th.”

That 174 acres has grown into today’s 3,188-acre operation and there are now 280 dairy cows with a rolling herd average of 21,000 pounds of milk per year. There’s also 250 head of dairy calves/heifers and 70 dairy steers.

Corn covers another 785 acres with a 103-bushel-per-acre yield while wheat is grown on 200 acres (45 bushels per acre) and there’s 122 acres of hay producing 2.75 tons per acre. Soybeans also cover 379 acres, yielding 36 bushels per acre.

In 1977, sod was added and has vaulted into one of the major crops in the operation.

“We had looked into the sod for several years,” said House. “Another sod farmer came down and tried to rent some of our land so we decided we better get into the sod business.

“We started with 100 acres and it will be increased to over 1,400 acres this fall,” he added. “We grow blue grass and fescue. Because of the housing and commercial development in the area, we are now delivering sod in the surrounding area to landscapers and homeowners.”

Another major role in the success of the farm has been low labor turnover among his employees.

“We’ve been very fortunate with our employees and have very little turnover,” said House. “We’ve had one worker for 30 years and others with over 20 years of working with us. They are like part of us.”

In addition to his wife, Flora, two of their children are also active in today’s operation. Son Kyle works with the dairy and sod operations and daughter Stephanie has returned home to work in the office. Another daughter, Vicki Elmore manages a Nationwide Insurance office.

“Kyle plays a major role in today’s operation and decisions,” said House. “He is basically in charge of the dairy and sod operations and a tremendous help to me.

“My dad use to tell me if you can make a living at something you really enjoy doing, you’ll be lucky,” he added. “I’ve been very lucky for a lot of years.”

Previous state winners from Virginia include: Nelson Gardner of Bridgewater, 1990; Russell Inskeep of Culpeper, 1991; Harry Bennett of Covington, 1992; Hilton Hudson of Alton, 1993; Merle (Buck) McCann of Carson, 1994; George M. Ashman of Amelia, 1995; Bill Blalock of Baskerville, 1996; G. H. Peery III of Ceres, 1997; James A. Bennett of Red House, 1998; Ernest Copenhavcr of Meadowview, 1999; John F. Davis of Port Royal, 2000; Jim Huffard of Crockett, 2001; J. Hudson Reese of Scottsburg, 2002; Charles Parkerson of Suffolk, 2003; Lance Everett of Stony Creek, 2004; and Monk Sanford of Orange, 2005.

Nelson Gardner of Bridgewater was the first recipient of the Swisher/Sweets Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award in 1990. Virginia added its second overall winner in 2003 with Charles Parkerson of Suffolk.