The government wants, and says it will take, Cory Garrett’s farmland. Garrett’s response to the government’s eminent domain grab of ground worked by his family over five generations? No. Period.

High-value, high-yielding, and postcard picturesque, Garrett’s acres rub against a bend of the Rappahannock River in northeast Virginia, the precise spot chosen by county government officials to build a 14-million-gallon per day water intake plant and adjoining pipeline.

Beyond seizing Garrett’s acreage and offering a cellar-dweller sum for his riverfront property, the county claims the water plant will have zero effect on his farm operation.

“False. Absolutely untrue,” Garrett exclaims. “They comprehend absolutely nothing about farming, but pretend to know all. And per day, guess where up to 4.63 million gallons of this project will go? To cool industrial and commercial facilities.”

“This is a steamroll job by county officials. You don’t have to rely on my words to figure that out,” he adds. “Look at the facts and the county’s actions and draw your own conclusions. The whole thing stinks and they know it.”