Posted by Carrie Dungan at The News & Advance
APPOMATTOX — As the sun rose over a tract of Appomattox County farmland Thursday, Glenn Dye kept a keen eye on the GPS system in his tractor as it steered itself across the field. The system is a key aspect of a nutrient management conservation method Dye is implementing on his farm, as it allows him to lay fertilizer only on areas that truly need it.
Farming is in Dye’s blood. He can trace the agricultural line in his family back five generations, but didn’t think seriously about the prospect of farming as a career until he was a teenager.
“What really got me into it was when my grandfather died in [19]99. I was 13,” he said. “… I guess it was one of those life-changing experiences where I realized I needed to pitch in to get it all done.”
Dye studied Crop and Soil Environmental Science at Virginia Tech, returning to his family’s farm in Fredericksburg after graduation to work the land. Then, after connecting with a fellow Hokie who knew of an older farmer with a large tract of land, he purchased a farm not far from his wife’s hometown of Appomattox.