Ira Wallace Recognized for Lifetime Achievements in Soil Health and Farming

Ira Wallace of Southern Exposure Seed Exchange was recognized as the 2025 Carl Luebben Soil Health and Water Quality Award for a lifetime achievement in conservation and reimaging gardening and our relationship to food and seed preservation. 

Ira is a renowned seed saver, educator, and author. She’s also the energy behind Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (SESE), a worker-owned cooperative on a 72-acre farm with goats, chickens, hayfields, an herb garden, and vegetable gardens for seed production, trialing, and eating in Louisa County, Virginia. Ira and her colleagues continue to keep economic and environmental justice at the forefront of their farming and business.

Renard and Chinette Turner of Vanguard Ranch Natural Gourmet in Louisa County received the award on behalf of Ira during the 2025 Virginia Farm to Table Feast & Harvest Celebration.

Ira was also featured in the Soil, Conservation and Place project, an educational project aimed to deepen community understanding of the importance of agriculture and soils to a sense of place, community, and culture.