Meet Beth Sastre, Horticulturalist
By: Susan VanEpps
Are you a current agricultural producer, or thinking of becoming one in 2014? Now is a great time to visit the Loudoun office of the Virginia Cooperative Extension, where Beth Sastre is on staff as a commercial horticulturalist. Whether you’re an experienced producer or a newcomer to the field, she welcomes everyone who comes in the door – bring your weeds, your pests or your plants in hand. With multiple degrees and years of related research to guide her, chances are very good she’s seen it all before.
“People walk in with insects, or with something they think is an insect, but it [turns out to be] nothing,” she said with a smile. She explains she never minds their visits. In addition to her assistance in the diagnosis of horticultural problems, she establishes and conducts agricultural training sessions, and provides overall production guidance. Consulting can be wide-ranging, from where on one’s property is best to grow a crop, to how to locate specific agricultural supplies.
“VCE is an education institution; we are here to help and support anyone if they have an issue,” she said. She welcomes in-person appointments and emails.
Her director Jim Hilleary agrees. “Beth works really well with the public one-on-one. Her customer service is very, very important to what we do. People should know there’s a person who can help them. She is very conscientious, and determined, and she will get an answer,” he said.
On any given day, you might find her helping growers combat pests. While stink bugs and Japanese beetles are ongoing problems, an insidious invader – the spotted-wing drosophila – is a new challenge. Arriving on the East Coast just three years ago, it devastates fruit crops from the inside, often remaining undetected until it’s too late.
“The effort for Virginia Tech right now is to figure it out,” says Sastre. “The pest is very hard to control. Producers don’t see that the fly is there and the eggs are inside until it’s already harvest time. If they apply a chemical at that time, you cannot eat the fruit because you have to wait for the pesticide to break down.”
Integrated pest management is just one of the topics covered by VCE’s training sessions. Sastre says Loudoun classes addressing the USDA’s Good Agricultural Practices are hot topics. While producers may choose not to pursue full-fledged USDA certification, she recommends they learn about the program’s evolving standards through training. She is currently developing sessions in both English and Spanish for the county, on topics including safe pesticide application and worker safety protection.
Assisting the next generation of new farmers is also an essential goal. Sastre meets many people who want to start niche horticultural production, often as a side business. While she sees great potential in many of their specialized crops – berries, hops for breweries, ginseng, mushrooms, and organically-grown crops among them – she also spends time carefully advising these new farmers of things to consider.
“Sometimes these niche products are just very hard to achieve here. They say ‘I have the money, how can I do it?’ So I ask: are you willing to risk that money? Because maybe you’ll put a lot in, but [success] is just not possible.” She adds that once they realize the full extent of the hard work and costs required, some reconsider, while others push forward.
“We support those who go forward, and we say let’s see how this goes. And many do very well. [For example], with organics, when we’re talking about the population here, people are aware of their value. Some organic crops cannot be grown easily in this area, and expenses are high, but if you go to the farmers market and you see organic, they always sell.”
At the end of the day, all of her work is about supporting rural economic development, and the county as a whole.
“We are here to help people, improve their lives, and help prevent issues from arising in Loudoun County by educating our growers,” she concluded.