September 2nd, 2025 by WCBC Radio

Partnering with a major coal company, a West Virginia nonprofit is using coalfields for agricultural development. Residents in McDowell County are growing food on company land in hopes of revitalizing their economy and gaining access to fresh produce. Jason Tartt, of Economic Development Greater East, says they are leasing 335 acres of land to teach people how to farm in the mountains…

  

“What we’re doing here is very different from your traditional farm, but it is defining what agriculture is in the region, and we have a long list of things that we could be very good at producing.”