Meet our Field Staff

Roberto Franco is the Program Coordinator for AgrAbility Virginia, with seven years of involvement with the program. He grew up in Panama, but since 2017, he lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He received a B.S. in Zootechnical Engineering (Animal Husbandry) from the National University of Panama and a M.S. in Animal Health from NC A&T State University. Currently, Roberto is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Agriculture, Leadership, and Community Education at Virginia Tech. Roberto has a strong desire to help farmers with disabilities continue farming safely and with dignity. He also favors interorganizational collaborations because he believes it is the most effective way to tackle complex issues affecting farmers and their communities. Roberto has a deep understanding of site assessments and assistive technology for farm applications. He also recognizes the importance of creating partnerships and collaborations with other organizations and stakeholders. Roberto’s work experience includes a tenure at North Carolina Cooperative Extension as an Animal Science Extension Associate, where he worked with small and underrepresented farmers doing parasitology applied research and forage-based meat goat production projects. He also worked in pasture-based beef production systems and cattle ranch management in Panama, North Carolina, and Virginia. Contact him at rafranco@vt.edu.

Jeremy Daubert was raised on a Brown Swiss dairy farm in Pennsylvania. He then attended Virginia Tech and obtained a B.S. degree in Dairy Science and a Master of Natural Resources 
Upon graduation, Jeremy was a herdsman for several large dairy farms.  He and his wife Becky then owned and operated STOX Dairy farm.  Then Jeremy managed a 250 cow, 4 robot milking facility and methane digester. In 2013, he moved to Dayton, VA with his family and began working for Virginia Cooperative Extension as the Rockingham County ANR Dairy Extension Agent. In his position as extension agent, Jeremy provides educational support to dairy producers in Virginia. Contact him at jdaubert@vt.edu

James T.  (Tony) Edwards is the veteran coordinator for the Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) at Virginia State University. He served 27 plus years in the United States Army. Tony attended Lincoln University of Missouri in Jefferson City, where he received a degree in agriculture and his commission in the U.S. Army on May 13, 1973. Tony received his Masters Degree in Logistics Management from Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan.  He has been with VSU for 3 years. He has been married 44 years to Shirley M. Edwards.  They have three children (LTC. James T. Edwards Jr., Kellee N. Briggs, Brittany A. Schmid) and four grandchildren. Contact him at jtedwards@vsu.edu