Salute to Women 2024 – Farmers

Lucia Henderson – Chapel Hill Farm

Lucia Henderson came to the world of beef relatively recently. Her previous life was as an academic with a PhD in Precolumbian art history, specializing in the art and ideology of the ancient Maya and neighboring cultures. Lucia now runs sales and distribution for Chapel Hill Farm, her family’s farm in Berryville, VA, where they are working to save the critically endangered Randall Lineback cattle breed by building a sustainable market for their extraordinary beef. As one of only two remaining American landrace cattle breeds, Randall Linebacks predate conventional beef breeds by 150 years. They are smaller and slower growing, but also much more flavorful than the beef available today. Lucia took over sales and distribution for the farm in the Spring of 2020, as a result of the disruptions wrought by the COVID pandemic. Lucia rebuilt and redesigned the business as a self-distributor, first creating a direct to consumer retail market and then building back to food service distribution to chefs and restaurants. This allowed the catalog of available Randall products to grow to sausages, salamis, and paté, and has also allowed for broader reach, as Randall Lineback beef can be shipped nationwide through the MeatCrafters website.

Erica Cavanaugh – Honey Suckle Farm

Erica’s love and knack for growing plants is a pastime she has inherited from both of her grandfather’s. She has spent the last few years helping her paternal grandfather grow a variety of vegetables on his Fluvanna property both as a way to spend more time with him and as a way to cultivate her love of gardening.

With continuous bountiful harvests, they were often giving much of the produce away. In the Spring of 2022, Erica decided to open Honeysuckle Creek Farm alongside her grandfather, father, and brother. At times, you can even find other family members contributing to the effort including her mother, young daughter, nephews, and cousins. 

Amanda Green – Yonderyear Farm

Born in Lexington, Virginia, Amanda graduated from Rockbridge County High School and Washington and Lee University, with a focus in Business Administration and Environmental Studies. She then went on to serve in the Peace Corps in the Kingdom of Tonga where she volunteered at a non-profit focused on technical skills training in organic agriculture.

After earning an MSc in International Rural Development from the Royal Agricultural University in the UK, Amanda shifted to pursue her passion in understanding agriculture through the lens of an industry that depends on it. This began a successful career at several James Beard Award-winning restaurants focused on local ingredient sourcing, working as a line cook and eventually a pastry chef.

Coming home to Virginia in 2015, Amanda and husband Kevin found 30 acres of woods and hayfield in Rockbridge Baths, and Yonderyear Farm was born. Their vision for sustainable small farming became reality as livestock, flowers and creative floral design matured into one system in step with nature. At Yonderyear Farm, the mission is to grow the most beautiful flowers and raise the most delicious grassfed meat using practices that support people, animals and the environment. Yonderyear Farm’s meat sheep and flowers are Certified Naturally Grown, free of harmful agricultural inputs, and the operation is 100% solar-powered.

March 10th –
Journey through Food

March 11th –
Think Tank Summit

Attend Both Events!
Discount Available

Plan your weekend around this great destination

Taste of Blue Ridge has special discounts you can use for your stay at the Quirk Hotel. Itinerary ideas will be added so you can plan a weekend around this Root to Table event.

Charlottesville, VA is about an hour from Richmond, VA and about 2 and a half hours from Dulles International Airport and Washington DC.

Erik Foxx-Nettnin
4th Annual Open Air Feast

“Chef T” Torrece Gregoire
The Great Chefs Table

Jan Van Haute
4th Annual Open Air Feast

Daniela Williams
Fall Harvest Dinner