Phil Blevins, senior agriculture and natural resources in Washington County
Phil Blevins is a Virginia Cooperative Extension senior agriculture and natural resources agent and unit coordinator in Washington County. During his 37 years with Extension, his work has focused on livestock, forages, and crop and soil sciences.
A University of Tennessee graduate and native of Shady Valley, Tennessee, Blevins has served in Washington County since 1991.
This story is part of Get to Know Extension, a Q&A series highlighting the people who make Virginia Cooperative Extension’s mission possible.
How did you get started in Extension, and what brought you to this work?
"I started in Dairy Extension through the University of Tennessee and worked with the Dairy Herd Improvement Association (DHIA) program. I came to Virginia to manage the Virginia DHIA program. When the agent in Montgomery County retired, I applied for that job.
I was always going to work for Extension. I grew up in Shady Valley, Tennessee, just across the county line from Washington County. I had a good 4-H agent and agriculture agent growing up. I always liked the idea of the work."
What have you enjoyed most about your role in Extension?
"I think it’s a combination of the people and the work. I love the work, and I like the people. This is just a great county to work in.
I like learning. Extension gives me an opportunity to learn more about agriculture all the time. I love agriculture, and I always wanted to be in agriculture."
Is there a moment in your Extension career that has made you especially proud?
"Any time somebody tells me, “You helped me.” That’s the big moment to me."
How does your work make a difference in the community and the region?
"I don’t take credit for it myself because we work as a team down here.
We work with cattlemen and marketing, educational programs for beef producers, and research and demonstration plots in forages. We’ve got good producers who are interested in learning. Once you provide them good, solid information, they’re willing to take advantage of it."
What is one misconception about Extension that you would like to clear up?
"I’ve run into people over the years who didn’t feel like they could ask for anything from Extension. They felt like they weren’t high enough in society or qualified to ask. Extension can help anybody who asks."
What does a typical day or week look like in your role?
"We have a lot of producer meetings and research and demonstration projects. It depends on the season of the year. This time of year, we’re harvesting research plots or getting ready to harvest a big silage test at the research station. I don’t guess there really is a typical day.
It’s a lifestyle to me. I’ve always said that if you work for Extension, it has to be part of your life. It can’t just be a job."
What advice would you give someone who is just beginning a career in Extension?
"Two things come to mind. First, you’ve got to enjoy the way of life. If you don’t like that, then you might as well find another job.
The other would be to find something that’s important to your county and get involved in it. From that, you can grow a good program because it can branch out into other things.
It’s difficult when you first start out as an agent. Everybody expects you to know what the agent before you knew. Find a project in your county and really get involved with it."
What are you currently excited about as you look toward 2027?
"We’ve got some forage demonstration work that we think is going to be beneficial to beef producers. We’ll either show that it does work or that it’s not worth it, one of the two.
There are things I’d still like to do before I retire. The forage work, to me, is the foundation of our livestock industry down here, so it really excites me."
Extension is important because…
"If it does its job like it was designed, it provides information to people that improves their place in life, whether it’s economically or aesthetically, or just from a personal standpoint. I think that’s what Extension is about."