Grandview Farms
SHENANDOAH COUNTY, VA
Preserving a working landscape and the rural character
of Shenandoah County
Bullet, the chocolate lab, welcomes guests to his farm.
Nearly thirty years after falling in love with “one of the most beautiful parcels in Shenandoah County,” the owner of Grandview Farms has permanently protected the property with a conservation easement. She was “simply interested in protecting the land, the view, and its use” when she began the conservation easement process, not knowing about the financial benefits available to Virginia Landowners for land preservation. With over a mile of frontage on the Shenandoah River, picturesque views of the George Washington National Forest, and seemingly endless acres of rolling pastures, she feared that developers would capitalize on her sentiment by turning her farmland into another neighborhood. The landowner chose to place a conservation easement on Grandview, not only to protect the land and its features, but an agricultural way of life too.
The property owner moved to the area nearly three decades ago and began to fully appreciate the knowledge of the complicated aspects of working farms—a knowledge she fears is being lost. “We’re getting to the point in this world that kids think that food comes from a Food Lion.” There was no doubt that Grandview Farms needed to be protected as a place where this working knowledge could live on.​
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Aside from the 120+ acres of healthy forest, most of the property is used for cattle farming. The permanent protection of 105 acres of Prime Farmland Soils and 32 acres of Farmland of Statewide Importance at Grandview Farms helps meet not only Virginia’s goals but also the nation’s demands for food. Maintaining the farmland also contributes to Shenandoah’s goal to “maintain the rural and open space character” of the County.
Along with rural character and scenic views, the conservation easement on Grandview Farms protects over a mile of the Shenandoah River, which is home to three threatened and endangered species. The Green floater mussels, Brook floater mussels, and Wood turtles will now have a chance to flourish forever on this conserved property. The farm managers, who have shared their knowledge of operating farms, know that these fields of Shenandoah County will remain in production. Perhaps the happiest of all, besides the owner of the farm herself, is her sidekick, Bullet. The 91-pound chocolate lab named for his ability to dart out into the cattle fields adores his life as a farm dog. If Bullet could speak, he would surely echo her sentiment: “This is where I’m happy.”​
The board fence now boasts that "This property is forever protected by a conservation easement," with Virginia Outdoors Foundation.