By Micaela Williamson
For decades, Nadine Vazquez’s family had a herd of Angus breeding stock on their Clifton farm, but when her elderly mother passed away four years ago, the family needed to monetize the property in order to keep it.
“It’s the classic land rich and cash poor scenario that so many people who end up with family farms experience. But it’s our home, and we didn’t want to sell to a developer,” says Jeff Waters, Vazquez’s husband and Whitehall Farms’ business owner.
Last year when the state legislature passed SB 51, a new Virginia law that allows farms like Whitehall to operate agritourism business, the family was happy to carry on the farming tradition while educating the community about agricultural practices. This is especially unusual in Fairfax County, where there are so few farms left.
“There aren’t many close-in places where a kid can feed hay to a steer, pet a chicken, grunt with a pig or see acres of pumpkins growing,” Waters says. “We just booked our first school field trip, and many of the kids will have never seen these things.”
Besides hosting groups, the farm is holding Fall Fun Days on weekends in September and October. Theses family friendly events allow visitors to meet the farm animals, take a wagon ride through the woods, find their way through an intricate corn maze and pick their very own pumpkin off the vine. The Fall Fun Days also offer additional entertainment for the kids with moonbounce inflatables, face painting and a chance to feed Henry, Whitehall Farms’ celebrated cow. Guests can bring a picnic to enjoy in the country setting or grab some food from one of the food trucks on-site or from the farm’s market.
Whitehall Farms’ market, located on Pope’s Head Road in Clifton, is now open daily and sells farm fresh eggs and vegetables from Whitehall as well as dairy products, produce, baked goods and meat from other farms. Waters and general manager Brian Yoder are working hard to tear out miles of vine and invasive species on the property. Next year, they hope to have 5 to 7 acres of produce. Whitehall Farms cares about the environmental and social impacts of food and grows to a new standard, Sustainably Virginia Grown, which is the state’s version of organic.
Jeff adds, “In addition to produce, we have 12 grass-fed Angus steers, 110 laying hens, and this week we will take delivery of two pregnant Mulefoot sows, a heritage breed that nearly went extinct.”
Whitehall Farms is also committed to hiring veterans. Vazquez’s father, Martin, came to the U.S. from Cuba at age 14 and left medical school to join the U.S. Army during World War II. Waters’ father was also a World War II vet.
“We who aren’t veterans must do something to offset this inequity. Hiring veterans is the least that we can do,” Waters says.
Plus, Veteran Compost, a veteran-owned and -staffed company, is producing high-quality compost at Whitehall Farms using the farm’s educational exemption.
“In a few years we will have some of the best growing soil that can be found in Virginia,” Waters says.
Besides increasing productivity and educational outreach, the farm hopes to build an open-air pavilion with restroom facilities to be used for teaching, conferences, weddings and special events. They also aspire to someday build a big barn with a commercial kitchen, bakery and a small goat cheese processing facility.
“Our hope is that this farm and business will outlive us,” Waters says.
Whitehall Farms
12523 Popes Head Road
Clifton, VA 20124
- Courtesy of Tiffany Brown, Mamaratzy Photography
Micaela Williamson is a coauthor of local travel guide “Kid Trips Northern Virginia,” an extraordinary resource that provides descriptions, useful information and insider tips for hundreds of local destinations. Micaela is also an award-winning blogger who enjoys supporting area businesses and scouting out family-friendly venues with her two young sons.
