Mountain View Vineyard Awarded 2018 Farmer of the Year

Pictured Left to Right: MCCD District Manager Adam Schellhammer, Mountain View Owners Linda and Randy Rice, MCCD Resource Conservation Specialist Amber Funk

​The Monroe County Conservation District is dedicated to protecting the lands and water of Monroe County. Each year, we like to award a farming operation that holds the same values and respect for our unique natural resources and demonstrates good land use practices. On Wednesday, August 14th, the Monroe County Conservation District presented the 2019 Farmer of the Year award to Mountain View Vineyards for their commitment to this cause.
 
Mountain View Vineyards has been in business since 2009 and have been practicing sustainable agriculture ever since.
 
Since they planted their first grape seed into the ground they have then continued to install a plethora of Eco-friendly & Sustainable Practices such as:

• Mulch at the base of vines for weed suppression to minimize use of herbicides
• Compost wood chips from local tree trimmers with animal manure instead of using synthetic fertilizers
• Minimize the use of fungicides by growing disease resistant grape varieties
• No irrigation, dry farming 
• No till farming to minimize erosion
• Planted grass between vineyard rows to avoid erosion and clover to replenish nitrogen removed from the soil by the vines
• Geothermal for heating & cooling winery
• LED lighting
• Rain gardens for water infiltration and erosion control
• Planted wildflower fields as pollinators, to attract beneficial insects, & for feeding winter birds.
• Organically grown vegetable garden
• Recycle spent beer grains for feeding chickens & livestock, composting for fertilizer back in the vineyard, and for making 

• Recycle bottles, cans, water bottles
• Eliminated paper tasting sheets and use reusable laminated tasting sheets
• Compost all cardboard packaging

 
https://mountainviewvineyard.com/