Cooperative Living March/April 2019 - 38

VIRGINIA FARM AND FORESTRY EXPORTS
Virginia's agricultural and forestry exports in 2016 were valued at $2.64 billion.
The state's top markets for those products were: The Top 10 exported agricultural and forestry products are:
1. China
2. Canada
3. Switzerland
4. United Kingdom
5. Tunisia
continued from pg. 11
statewide. That's a primary finding of a 2017 economic impact
study by the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper Center for
Public Service. The state's agriculture and forestry industries
have a combined economic impact of more than $91 billion and
provide approximately 450,000 jobs. Every job in agriculture
and forestry supports 1.7 jobs elsewhere in Virginia's economy.
" Virginia's farmers are proud of their role in providing food
and other important products for our nation and the world, "
said Wayne F. Pryor, president of Virginia Farm Bureau
Federation and a Goochland County hay and grain producer.
" We're also proud to take part in Ag Day and Ag Week
activities that raise awareness of agriculture in our
communities and benefit our neighbors in need. "
Some county Farm Bureaus in Virginia mark Ag Week by
donating nonperishable food items and other supplies and
making monetary donations to food banks and other charities.
While farming is a year-round business, the winter lull in
crop production makes January through March the industry's
prime meeting season. In January, county Farm Bureau leaders
FACTS
ABOUT
VIRGINIA
FARMS
from across the state visited Richmond to talk with their state
senators and delegates about ag-related budget concerns and
legislation that would affect the state's farms. Additionally,
Virginia farmers were among delegates to the annual American
Farm Bureau Federation's 100th annual convention in New Orleans.
In February, Farm Bureau's Young Farmers Program
participants gathered in Smithfield for their annual Winter
Expo, a professional development and networking event.
Farmers also will participate in the annual Governor's
Conference on Agricultural Trade on March 5 in Richmond
and the Farm Bureau Women's Spring Conference on March
29-31 in Bristol.
" Our industry has never been static; consequently, we need
to be lifelong learners, " Pryor said. " The world is never going
to stop needing the products we raise, and today's farmer
provides food for six times as many people as he or she might
have in the 1960s.
" There is no indication that demand is going to slow down.
So farmers can't slow down either. " 
* Virginia is home to about 44,800 farms.
* Those farms occupy 8.1 million acres, about one-third of the state.
* The average Virginia farm is 183 acres.
* The average age of Virginia's farmers is 59½, though younger
generations show a healthy interest in agricultural careers.
* Approximately 17 percent of Virginia's primary farm operators are women.
6. Mexico
7. Taiwan
8. Columbia
9. Vietnam
10. Russia
1. soybeans
2. wood products
3. unmanufactured tobacco
4. pork
5. soy meal
6. processed food and beverages
(not including alcoholic beverages)
7. poultry
8. soybean oil
9. wood fuel
10. animal feed
Source: Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Farmland occupies about one-third of Virginia.
The state is home to about 44,800 farms of
varying sizes.
36 | Cooperative Living | March-April 2019
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