AGRICULTURE FACTS
Did you know?
Agriculture in General

  • From the beams for your roof and the cotton for your jeans to the popcorn you eat at the movies, agriculture touches your life everyday.

  • Agriculture is the beef in your burger, the bacon and eggs for your breakfast and the wool in your sweater.

  • Virginia agriculture and forestry are tied to thousands of jobs held by people who grow, research, process, transport and market the products.

  • The American farmer produces, on average, enough food and fiber for 144 people.

  • The vast majority, more than 98 percent, of Virginia and U.S. farms are owned by individuals, family partnerships or family corporations.

  • The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation represents farmers in the legislature and in Congress.

  • American-grown foods travel a shorter distance from farm to table than do imported foods.

  • There were 236,239 farms operated by women in the United States in 2002, a 12.6 percent increase from 1997.

  • In 2002, the average age of a U.S. farmer was 55.

  • The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation is the state’s largest farm organization.

  • Agriculture definitely mattered when the first English settlers arrived in Jamestown in 1607. Settlers had to grow some of their food, and tobacco made the settlement a financial success.
Apples

  • Virginia growers produce an average of 8 to 10 million bushels of apples per year.

  • Apple varieties grown in Virginia include Red Delicious, Fuji and Granny Smith.

  • Frederick County is Virginia’s largest producer of apples.
Cattle
  • Beef cattle and calves are Virginia’s second-largest commodity in terms of cash receipts.

  • Beef cattle and calves are raised in every Virginia county, on about 25,000 farms, with the majority of them located in the Piedmont and western areas.

  • Farmers in Augusta County raise more cattle and calves than those in any other Virginia county.

  • Beef is the third-largest source of iron in the American diet, after iron-enriched cereals and breads.

  • Cows’ digestive systems allow them to eat grass, hay and other plant matter that humans cannot digest.

  • Cattle help farmers “recycle” corn stalks and other remnants of crop production.
Conservation Practices

  • As of 2004, farmers had enrolled 35 million acres of land in the Conservation Reserve Program to protect the environment and wildlife habitat.

  • Conservation tillage, methods to protect the soil and the environment, is on the rise across the nation.
Corn

  • Corn for grain or silage is raised in every Virginia county.

  • Most corn that you see from the road is raised to feed livestock and for use in processing certain foods.
Dairy

  • Virginia’s dairy industry is the state’s second-largest agricultural commodity in terms of cash receipts.

  • There are more than 100,000 head of dairy cattle in Virginia.

  • Rockingham County is by far the state’s largest dairy county, with more than 25,000 dairy cows.

  • Most of the milk produced in Virginia comes from farms with fewer than 200 cows.

  • A dairy cow with black and white spots is called a Holstein. Other popular dairy breeds are Jersey, Guernsey, Brown Swiss and Ayshire.

  • A cow’s udder can hold 25 to 50 pounds of milk.

  • A cow produces 90 glasses of milk each day and 200,000 glasses in her lifetime.

  • Milk contains nine essential nutrients, making it one of the most nutrient-rich beverages.
Forestry

  • Lumber and wood products are among Virginia’s top agricultural exports.

  • In addition to lumber, trees are a source of fruits, nuts, spices, cork, fragrances, turpentine and paper fibers.

  • Forests cover nearly two-thirds of Virginia’s 25.4 million acres.
Hay

  • Hay is grown on more land than any other crop in Virginia.

  • Hay is used to feed horses, cattle and sheep.

  • Most of the hay baled on a farm stays on that farm and is fed to animals there.

  • The round bales of hay you see in farm fields weigh 800 to 1,200 pounds each.
Horses

  • Horses raised in Virginia are used for racing, pleasure riding, hunting, competitions and breeding.

  • The state’s equine industry began in 1610 with the arrival of the first horses to the Virginia colonies.

  • Virginia is the nation’s fifth-largest equine state.
Horticulture

  • Bedding and garden plants make up the largest segment of the state’s horticulture industry.

  • Horticultural products are the state’s fourth- largest agricultural commodity in terms of cash receipts.
Import/Export

  • The United States receives most of its imported foods from the European Union, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil and China. Other significant imports come from New Zealand, Indonesia, Chile, Colombia and Thailand.

  • Foods imported from abroad must pass through food safety systems similar to our own, but domestically raised foods must pass an even more rigorous inspection.
Peanuts

  • Peanuts are grown in the southeastern corner of Virginia. Southampton County is the state’s largest producer.

  • The Virginia peanut is large and oblong and is commonly sold in-shell.

  • Peanuts are rich in antioxidants and contain high levels of protein and good monounsaturated fat.
Poultry

  • Poultry, including chickens, turkeys and eggs, is by far Virginia’s largest agricultural commodity.

  • Virginia’s poultry processing companies employ more than 12,000 people.

  • A significant amount of chicken and turkey raised in Virginia is exported to foreign countries.
  • Rockingham County is the nation’s second-largest turkey producer.
Soybeans

  • Soybeans are the state’s largest crop in terms of cash receipts.

  • Virginia farmers raise more than a half-million acres of soybeans annually.

  • The vast majority of Virginia soybeans are raised east of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Tobacco

  • Tobacco is Virginia’s second-largest crop and seventh-largest overall commodity in terms of cash receipts.

  • The state’s tobacco is raised primarily in Southside and Southwest Virginia.

  • Tobacco was Virginia’s first commercial crop.
Tomatoes

  • Virginia is the nation’s third-largest producer of fresh tomatoes. Only  California and Florida raise more.

  • Most of Virginia’s fresh-market tomatoes are raised on the Eastern Shore in Accomack and Northampton counties.

  • Farms in Hanover County and Virginia’s Northern Neck also raise fresh tomatoes.

  • Tomatoes are one of the 10 largest commodities raised in Virginia in terms of cash receipts.
Wheat

  • George Washington used horses to tread wheat loose from plant stalks for milling at Mount Vernon.
Find out more:
Safe, abundant, affordable

The American Farm Bureau Federation and 17 other national associ­ations have collaborated on Best Food Nation, a Web site created to give consumers accurate information about the U.S. food system.