Meadowview Research Farms
The Wagner Farm,
TACF's original research farm in
Meadowview, Virginia
14005 Glenbrook Avenue
Meadowview, VA 24361-3349
276-944-4631
Meadowview
Meadowview , Virginia is home to the research farms of The American Chestnut Foundation with almost 34,000 trees planted on over 150 acres.
In 1989, TACF established the Wagner Research Farm in Meadowview, Virginia, to execute the backcross breeding program developed by Philip Rutter and the late Dr. Charles Burnham. Chestnut trees have been planted, crossed, and grown on the Wagner Research Farm over the last 17 years.
In 1995, the farm was filled to capacity with over 5,800 chestnut trees at various stages of backcrossing. A generous donation enabled purchase of land nearby, now known as the Glenn C. Price Research Farm. A third farm was purchased in 2002 and a fourth farm in 2006. Today, TACF’s Meadowview Research Farms have over 34,000 trees at various stages of breeding, planted on more than 150 acres of land.
To visit, tour, and/or volunteer at our research farms please contact
Dr. Fred Hebard
Meadowview Staff
Dr. Fred Hebard, Staff Pathologist
contact about TACF's
breeding program or about growing chestnut trees
Fred Hebard brings to TACF many years experience researching chestnuts along with practical farm experience. Fred has headed up TACF's research in Meadowview, VA since the farm was established in 1989. Beginning as Superintendent of our Wagner Research Farm, and later becoming Staff Pathologist, he has guided TACF's research over the years.
Prior to joining TACF, Fred was a research specialist (post-doc) at the University of Kentucky, working on disease physiology of chestnut blight, with Dr. Lou Shain. Fred received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Columbia University in 1973, where he worked on tissue cultures of chestnut and their interaction with the blight fungus. He continued the tissue culture work at the University of Michigan, where he received an master's degree in Botany in 1976.
He then studied the histopathology (microscopic studies) and epidemiology of chestnut blight at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and worked measuring blight resistance in American and Chinese chestnut. He received a PhD. from Virginia Tech in 1982, where his advisor was Dr. Gary Griffin. "This is my dream job, to breed chestnut trees for blight resistance in a practical field setting. I hope that someday, the mountainsides of the Appalachians will once more be white with chestnut blossoms on the fourth of July."
Fred and his family reside in the Meadowview area.
Dr. Robert L. Paris, Research Geneticist
Bob has extensive background in executing breeding programs, including developing disease-resistant soybeans with the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
Bob holds a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Virginia Tech, where he also served as a Research Associate, and a Master of Science degree in the same field from the University of Tennessee.
Danny R. Honaker, Farmer & Mechanic
Danny's mechanical skills are an important part of his work at Meadowview. He grew up in Emory, Virginia, just three miles from the original Wagner farm in Meadowview. He now resides (with his dog ,Annie) in Tumbling Creek, which is seventeen miles from the farm. Danny enjoys hunting, fishing, restoring old trucks and, of course, farming.
Danny holding the official White House
shovel used for the Arbor Day 2005 planting.
Wallace (George) A. Sykes, Farmer
Wallace, whom we also know as George, was raised in Mendota, Virginia, not far from the original Wagner farm. He is happily married, and he and his wife April have 3 children. George enjoys hunting, fishing, and farming.
George started working at the Wagner Farm in 1989, the year it was founded. When a full-time position at the farm opened up in 1997, George began working steadily for TACF.
William White, Research Technician
William White has joined the TACF Meadowview team as a Research Technician. William graduated in May 2006 from Emory and Henry College, located about two miles from our Wagner Research Farm, with a dual major in Environmental Studies and Geography. He was born and raised near Richmond, VA, but his family is from the Abingdon/Meadowview area, and he would like to work in an outdoor setting helping to restore the environment. He worked last summer at the Research Farms, and was well-liked and respected by everybody at the farms. William also was highly recommended by his professors at Emory and Henry, so we are confident he will do a fine job here.
William’s charge is to assist with laboratory and field experiments, such as performing rapid screens for resistance in chestnut and virulence of the blight fungus. In addition, he will collect and ship pollen to our state chapters, and assess pollen viability to ensure that we ship viable pollen from Meadowview to the chapters.