A Look at Virginia Agriculture
Capital: Richmond Population: 7,882,590 Founded: June 25, 1788 (10th) State Bird: Cardinal State Flower: American Dogwood State Tree: Flowering Dogwood Number of Counties: 95 Largest City: Virginia Beach- 440,415 Nickname: Old Dominion Number of Farms: 47,000 Average Farm Size: 171 acres Total Farmland: 8.1 million acres
Climate & Soil
The average temperature in Virginia is 55.7 F and the average annual rainfall is 42.7. There are five different climate regions within the state. They are Tidewater, Piedmont, Northern Virginia, Western Mountain and Southwestern Mountain. Winters on the Blue Ridge can be bitterly cold while other parts of the state, Charlottesville, Lynchburg and Warrenton for example have long growing seasons and temperatures rarely drop below 0 F. Similarly, annual rainfall totals can vary from 33 in the Shenandoah Valley to more than 60 in the mountains of southwestern Virginia. Pamunkey soil is the state soil of Virginia. These soils formed in the basin of the James River and are made up of sediments from all over the state. The soil was named after the Pamunkey Indian Tribe. Pamunkey soils were first identified on a farm near Jamestown, Virginia which is known as the oldest tilled farm in the United States.
Crops & Livestock
In 2008 soybeans were Virginias number one cash crop bringing $136 million dollars to state. Nationally Virginia ranks 20th in the production soybeans. The majority of Virginia corn is grown for grain. Corn for grain generated $101 million in sales in 2007 and is Virginias #2 cash crop. Tobacco is now Virginias third ranked cash crop. Tomatoes are primarily grown on in the eastern part of Virginia. This is Virginias 4th ranked cash crop. Virginia also ranks 4th nationally in tomato production. Chickens (broilers) are Virginias most valuable agricultural product. The states poultry farms produced 250 million broilers or 1.3 billion pounds of chicken in 2007 worth over $559 million. Virginia ranks 9th nationally in broiler production.
www.agclassroom.org/va
Virginia has 692,000 head of cattle. Beef is the 2nd leading commodity in the Commonwealth bringing in $429 million in 2007. There are 98,000 dairy cows in Virginia. Milk is Virginias third largest commodity with $372 million in sales. Virginia ranks 4th nationally in turkey production producing 22 million head valued at $299 million. With 170,000 horses, Virginia is the fifth largest equine state in the U.S.. Triple Crown winner Secretariat was born in Doswell, VA. Virginia hams and pork products are famous around the world. Only hams produced in the town of Smithfield, VA can be called Smithfield hams.
General
Agriculture is Virginias largest industry by far! 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. Every job in agriculture and forestry supports 1.5 jobs elsewhere in the Virginia economy. The typical farmer in Virginia is 57 years old and about 14 percent of Virginias primary farm operators are female. There are more than 1,000 recognized Century Farms, farms continually operating for 100 years or more, in Virginia.
Revised 7/10
