Good Manure

10/07/2025

🌬️Crisp Air
☕️Cozy Drinks
🍂Golden Leaves
🍎Apples
🎃Pumpkins

The North Rockbridge Trail is fully embracing fall! Check out our upcoming events and put them on your calendars. We’d love to see you soon!

🔗Be sure to check individual business websites & socail media sites for information on upcoming events and hours at each local business!

10/07/2025

🍂🎃 Mark Your Calendars! 🎃🍂

We’re closing out the season with a Fall Festival you won’t want to miss!
Join us at the Natural Bridge Farmers Market on Sunday, October 26th from 2–5 p.m. for an afternoon full of autumn fun:

✨ Tent-or-Treating
✨ Costume Contest
✨ Makers Market
✨ Live Music
✨ Games & Challenges

Bring the whole family, dress in your best costume, and celebrate fall with your community! 🧡

📍 100 Asian Pear Way, Natural Bridge, VA
📅 Sunday, October 26th | 2–5 p.m.
RSVP to Fall Festival End of Season Celebration event to ALSO get a reminder!!

🍁 See you there for the end-of-season celebration! 🍁

10/05/2025

Just the most beautiful afternoon learning about extending our garden's growing season from Mitch at Paradox Farm and meeting the folks at

09/14/2025

It's just the best group of people celebrating our community at the Rockbridge Regional Fair & Expo. We had a wonderful time with the Rockbridge County, VA 4-H watching all these amazing kiddos showing off their wee beasties. This was my girls' first year with the poultry chain and they were so pleased to take home Grand Champ and Grand Champ reserve for their birds! Congratulations to all the participants. What a blessing to be able to experience this with our kids. More images available here: https://goodmanure.pic-time.com/-rockbridgeregionalfairandexpo4h2025

09/09/2025

🚨Calling All Food & Beverage Entrepreneurs!🚨
We’ve recently transformed a 35,000-square-foot former manufacturing building into Junction 245 — a vibrant, community-driven marketplace located right on the river in Buena Vista, VA.

We’re looking for an anchor tenant or any food and beverage vendors to join our café space 🍴☕. Whether it’s coffee, pastries, handheld sandwiches, BBQ, pork dishes, or other creative eats — we’d love to feature YOU at Junction 245!

This is more than just a place to sell — it’s a space built for connection, support, and real growth. Vendor spaces start at just $75/month — and you don’t have to be there every day. We handle the sales for you, so you can focus on cooking, baking, and creating.

When you join Junction 245, you’ll gain access to:
✨ A built-in customer base
✨ On-site commercial kitchen
✨ Built-in marketing & visibility
✨ 24/7 business support
✨ A supportive, entrepreneurial community

Space is limited — don’t wait!
📍 Find us at 245 W 21st St, Buena Vista, VA
✅ Apply today & get sent information: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQnRB9LUZd7pnyKf0OYOoHTi1qoWnwLn35WNi2NKdkRFZv6Q/viewform?usp=header
📞 Questions? Call or text us at 540-815-7625 — we’re happy to chat!

Apply by September 27th to become part of this incredible vendor community. Let’s build something amazing together.

09/04/2025

Have you “herd”?

08/22/2025

🚩🚩🚩 Hear this: more small ventures are about to get flagged unless they get legit. Here’s what’s going on and what you can do.

Virginia law says any activity for profit counts as a business. That means even a teenager’s car wash or a neighbor’s side hustle technically needs a license. In Lexington, one mom got a letter after her son’s car wash was spotted on social media and officials flagged it as an unlicensed business.

But why now?

Fairness & duty. The county is required to enforce BPOL (Business, Professional, and Occupational License) rules, and Virginia’s Dillon Rule leaves them little room for exceptions.

Social media is the storefront. When you advertise on Facebook, Instagram, or anywhere online, the county sees it as doing business. AND THEY'RE WATCHING.

So what should you do?

🔴Know when you’ve crossed from hobby to business. If you’re charging or posting, you probably have.

🔴Apply for a BPOL license: register with the Commissioner of the Revenue, pay the fee (based on receipts/type of business), and renew annually by March 1.

If you think the law should change, speak up to your delegates. Locals are already pushing back on how enforcement affects youth and micro-entrepreneurs.

But here's the bottom line: Hustle and creativity are good things. Your local government does want to encourage these ideals and the growth of new business. But make sure you’re covered so your side hustle doesn’t get shut down before it has a chance to grow into something more.

👉 Full story here: https://www.wfxrtv.com/rockbridge-county/rockbridge-county-cracks-down-on-businesses-operating-without-a-license/

Follow along at www.thegoodmanure.com as we help new and hopeful businesses like you along the path to a successful AND legal Virginia business.

LEXINGTON, Va. (WFXR) Along with all the professional businesses in Rockbridge County, people who want to earn extra money by offering their own services need a business license. It has left folks …

08/22/2025

Social media for your farm or small business doesn’t have to be all-consuming. The trick is finding those small windows between the big stuff: snapping a quick photo, sharing a story, or posting one reminder that keeps your name out there.

I’ve pulled together a new Field Notes post with practical, no-fuss tips to make social media feel doable, not overwhelming. https://thegoodmanure.com/farm-social-media-basics/

Annnnnd it’s not lost on me that it’s been more than a minute since I last posted on the Good Manure social. 😂 Between the back-to-school rush, making sure the tomato harvest ended up in jars instead of the compost, and digging into fresh brand audits for Valley small businesses… life happened!

So here’s my question for you:
👉 What in your life has been getting in the way of working on your business—and what’s one easy win you could post today or accomplish this weekend?