The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has announced that the agency’s surveys for the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) indicate that this invasive pest has become established in Clarke and Warren counties. As a result, Virginia’s Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine will expand in mid-March to include Clarke and Warren counties. Expansion of the quarantine is necessary to slow the spread of this insect pest to un-infested areas of the Commonwealth.

To slow the spread of the spotted lanternfly, businesses in the quarantined area are required to obtain a permit from VDACS and inspect regulated articles to ensure that the articles do not contain any life stage of the spotted lanternfly.

Continue reading →

Check out this week’s Merchandiser Minute!

When Botetourt County received Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act funds to help local small businesses, county officials decided to use some of the money to help area farmers.

That led to the August 2020 creation of the Botetourt County COVID-19 Farm Operation Grant Program, which is similar to the county’s small business grant program. The Botetourt County Board of Supervisors voted to appropriate a portion of the CARES Act money for farmers experiencing losses due to the pandemic.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted nearly every part of our community, and our local farms have felt that impact too,” said the board’s vice chairman, Dr. Richard Bailey, who proposed the farm grant idea. “As a county with a strong agricultural heritage, I am proud that the board is able to support our farmers in this time of need.”

Ken McFadyen, the county’s director of economic development, said Botetourt officials recognized farmers also are operating small businesses, as well as providing food and important resources for the community. Many area farms sought assistance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which county officials used as a qualifier for farmers to apply and receive funds from the farm grant program. It helped offset losses not covered by the FSA grant program.

Continue reading →

Virginia’s farmland acreage has decreased considerably over the past several decades, yet farmers continually find ways to improve production.

According to research conducted by the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, farmed acreage in Virginia dropped 50% from 1949 to 2016, while farming output increased by 33%.

Kyle Sturgis, a Northampton County row crop, vegetable and aquaculture producer, credited the added production to advancements in land management practices and expanded crop variety selections, specifically those developed through Agency 229 research.

“The assistance we get from agency research is phenomenal,” Sturgis said. “They’re looking at variety trials and are telling us which crop varieties did best during their research; that way we can pick the right crops that will produce higher yields on those smaller plots of land and feed a growing population.”

Continue reading →

Check out this week’s Merchandiser Minute!

It was another busy week at the General Assembly for Farm Bureau! Andrew and Stefanie break it all down for you below.

Data from a new agricultural best management practices survey will help document Virginia farmers’ voluntary soil and water conservation efforts. Virginia Farm Bureau Federation is sending its producer members in the Chesapeake Bay watershed a link to the online survey; producers are asked to complete the survey by March 12.

Farmers in the bay watershed must meet certain nutrient reduction goals by 2025 to avoid mandatory conservation practices. The “Voluntary Agricultural Best Management Practices Inventory” will collect details about voluntary farm practices like planting cover crops, installing stream fencing for livestock, and applying nutrient management plans.

The confidential survey was designed by members of Virginia’s Voluntary Agricultural Best Management Practices Task Force. Virginia Cooperative Extension will integrate verified survey results into the state’s reports to the Environmental Protection Agency for documenting nutrition reduction loads required under Virginia’s Phase III Watershed Implementation Plan.

For more information about the survey, frequently asked questions, or to access the survey link online, please visit https://vaswcd.org/virginia-farm-voluntary-agricultural-bmp-inventory. Participants are asked to submit their responses by March 12, 2021.

Cattlemen and beef consumers went on a roller-coaster ride in 2020, but the outlook for beef cattle production and consumption is looking brighter this year.

Industry experts at a Jan. 12 workshop during the 2021 American Farm Bureau Federation Virtual Convention discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic sent consumer prices skyrocketing last spring as farm prices plummeted. But both prices returned to near previous-year levels quicker than expected.

By the end of 2020, “we were able adjust and get back over” the pace set the year before for processing cattle and hogs, shared Michael Nepveux, an AFBF economist. He noted that in early May, American beef production dropped 34% below the same time in 2019 due to panic food buying in supermarkets and health concerns in processing plants. In November 2020, away-from-home food sales totaled $50 billion, a 20% decline from 2019. Grocery store sales totaled $63 billion in the same period, well above pre-pandemic levels.

Continue reading →

Phil Satolli, a first grade teacher at Lacey Spring Elementary School in Rockingham County, has been named Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom 2021 Teacher of the Year.

The award recognizes a Virginia educator for incorporating agriculture into his or her core curriculum. 

Satolli integrates agricultural topics into his teaching, and his passion for gardening has led him to create real-life learning opportunities for his students. He established a school-wide composting project and raised-bed garden, which help teach his students about amending garden soil, cultivating their own food, and harvesting and cooking the foods they grow.

Satolli’s first graders help educate other students and staff on the benefits of composting, and the project has converted nearly 2 tons of the school cafeteria’s food waste into usable compost. Students in all grades have opportunities to work in the school garden, planting a variety of vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Continue reading →