Farmers are well-aware markets ebb and flow, but the tariff tit-for-tat between the U.S. and China is testing both the patience and optimism of families who are facing the worst agricultural economy in 16 years, cautioned American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.
“Growing trade disputes have placed farmers and ranchers in a precarious position. We have bills to pay and debts we must settle, and cannot afford to lose any market, much less one as important as China’s. We urge the United States and China to return to negotiations and produce an agreement that serves the interests of the world’s two largest economies,” Duvall said in a statement.
Governor Northam has appointed Dr. Jewel H. Bronaugh Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Effective immediately through June 18, 2018, the 
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue is encouraging dairy producers to consider enrolling in the new and improved 
The House passed H.R. 1625, the fiscal year 2018 omnibus spending bill by a vote of 256-167. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 65-32. The president signed the bill into law after threatening to veto the bill earlier in the day.
Since 2015, David Hula of Charles City County has held the world record for the highest corn yield in the National Corn Growers Association National Corn Yield Contest. He’s also the contestant every farmer wants to beat in season two of RFD-TV’s Corn Wars.
Three women were recognized March 17 for their contributions to agriculture and their communities during the 2018 
Governor Ralph Northam today announced that Richlands Creamery, LLC will invest $1.7 million in Dinwiddie County to create a new commercial creamery and create seventeen new jobs over the next three years. The new creamery will be located at Richlands Dairy Farm, a commercial dairy and agritourism destination near the Town of Blackstone. As part of this project, Richlands Creamery, LLC is committing to purchasing 100% of its agricultural inputs from Virginia farmers, totaling nearly $1 million.
The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is administering the produce safety law in Virginia. The law is designed to emphasize prevention of disease outbreaks caused by fresh produce through a few basic principles such as sanitation, water quality, and worker training.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) today announced additional steps to address the unique needs of the country’s agriculture industries and provided further guidance to assist in the effective implementation of the Congressionally-mandated electronic logging device (ELD) rule without impeding commerce or safety.
Plows and Politics 