VIRGINIA AGRICULTURE - FACTS AND FIGURES

Agriculture is Virginia’s largest industry by far, with nothing else coming a close second. The industry has an economic impact of $55 billion annually and provides more than 357,000 jobs in the Commonwealth. The industries of agriculture and forestry together have a total economic impact of $79 billion and provide more than 501,000 jobs in the Commonwealth.Every job in agriculture and forestry supports 1.5 jobs elsewhere in the Virginia economy.

Production agriculture employs nearly 60,000 farmers and workers in Virginia and generates approximately $2.9 billion in total output. Value-added industries, those that depend on farm commodities, employ an additional 76,000 workers and generate $26 billion in total industrial output. Agriculture-related industries contribute an additional 221,000 jobs and nearly $26 billion in total output. 

• Virginia has 47,383 farms.
• The typical Virginia farmer is over 58 years old. More than 32% of principal farmer operators are 65 or more years of age.
• Virginia farms average 171 acres in size and assets worth over $720,000.
• Farms cover 8.1 million acres, or 32% of Virginia’s total land area.
• There were more than twice as many farms in Virginia in 1960 as there are today.
• Approximately 17% of Virginia primary farm operators are female.
• The average market value of an acre of Virginia farmland is $4,213
• About eight percent of the farms in Virginia account for 85% of the total farm sales.
• Virginia farms employ more than 39,000 full-time and part-time workers.
• About 87% of Virginia farms are owned and operated by individuals or families.
• About 20% of Virginia farms share their net farm income with multiple households.
  Source: 2007 Census of Agriculture

WINE AND GRAPES
In 1979, Virginia had just six wineries and only 286 acres devoted to wine grape production.  Twenty-five years later, Virginia boasted 87 wineries and 2,380 acres growing wine grapes.  By 2007, this remarkable growth rate translated into more than 130 wineries and almost 3,000 acres of vineyards; and annual production was 5,600 tons of wine grapes and 350,000 cases of wine. In 2007 Virginia ranked 8th nationally in commercial grape production and 8th for bearing acreage.  Virginia bearing acreage saw a 14 percent increase from 2,100 acres in 2006 to 2,400 acres in 2007.  Those 2,400 acres produced cash receipts of $7,560,000.

The Chardonnay variety comprised 19 percent of Virginia’s total Vinifera production harvest in 2007.  Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Vidal Blanc were the top five varieties produced in the Commonwealth in 2007. 

EQUINE
Horses are big business in Virginia. According to a 2006 survey, the value of all equines in the state is $1.65 billion.  The number of equine operations increased 41 percent from 29,000 in 2001 to 41,000 in 2006.  The total value of 15,600 equines sold in 2006 was more than $107 million, an increase of 21 percent from 2001.  That places equines as the seventh largest ag commodity in Virginia based on cash receipts. 

Horse owners spent $783 million taking care of their animals in 2006. The largest increase was in feed and bedding — at $99.6 million.  Other large expenditures were capital improvements ($72.5 million) and labor ($74.1 million).  Virginians spend an average of $3,642 per horse per year.

The leading breeds are Quarter Horses (49,000) and Thoroughbreds (30,900).  The top five counties according to equine population are 1.) Loudoun, 2.) Fauquier, 3.) Albemarle, 4.) Bedford, and tied for 5.) Clarke, Augusta, and Washington.

AQUACULTURE
In 2003, the last year for which statistics are available, aquaculture sales were $32.5 million.  Of this, $26.5 million were for saltwater production and $6 million for freshwater production.  Clams were the leading species, with more than $20.3 million in gross sales, a number that is expected to double when figures are in from the 2008 survey.  For saltwater sales, clams accounted for 76.5 percent, soft shell crabs 12.7 percent, oysters less than one percent and all other sales at ten percent.

In freshwater production, tilapia accounted for more than 75 percent of sales with trout accounting for 21 percent.  Though still a viable industry segment, trout sales are decreasing due to the extended severe drought and recreational sales.

Shellfish aquaculture continues to grow, and saltwater fish species are gaining momentum, as well as other freshwater fish species and freshwater prawns.

CENTURY FARMS
In 1997, the Virginia General Assembly created the Century Farm Program that recognizes and honors those Virginia farms that have been in operation for at least 100 consecutive years.  Just over ten years after its creation, the Century Farm Program has recognized more than 1,000 Virginia farm families whose diligent and dedicated efforts have maintained these farms, provided nourishment to their fellow citizens and contributed so greatly to the economy of the Commonwealth.  A list of Century Farms and an application form is available at www.vdacs.virginia.gov/century

FARMLAND PRESERVATION
In 2001, the Virginia General Assembly established the Office of Farmland Preservation (OFP) within the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to help reverse the loss of farmland to development. OFP has five missions: to work with other governmental and private organizations to help establish and support local purchase of development rights (PDR) programs; to create programs to educate the public about the importance of farmland preservation; to help farmers with farmland preservation efforts; to assist local governments in developing additional farmland preservation policies and programs; and to administer the Virginia Farm Link program – www.vafarmlink.org – which brings together aspiring and retiring farmers.

To date, OFP has allocated a total of $4.75 million in state matching funds to 15 local PDR programs.  Of the $4.75 million allocated, $1.21 million has been used so far to help protect 1,007 acres of farm and forest land.  OFP also has provided almost $25,000 over the last year to Virginia Cooperative Extension to help fund farm transition workshops for farm families and their service providers.