Tag Archives: environment

Of Farmers and Farmland: Virginia’s Declining Agriculture of the Middle

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The dilemma of Virginia’s small to mid-level farmers and lost farmland

For some people, the loss of small to mid-level farms is inevitable because these farms either lack the economy of scale to compete in an ever-changing globally oriented commodity-based market or do not have the flexibility and resources to transition to a more direct-to-consumer market. Indeed, many small and mid-level farms in Virginia, those with annual gross sales of between $50,000 and $500,000, are struggling to survive financially.

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Welcome to the Virginia Farm to Table Website

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Welcome to Virginia Farm to Table! I am glad you are here. I hope you find this website and the posts about local food and farm connections, and ways to strengthen Virginia’s food system informative as well as entertaining.

If you have not already become a friend of Virginia Farm to Table on Facebook, I hope you will and help fan the flame for healthy farms and healthy food in and throughout Virginia. As the website and blog develops, we will add more photos to our Flickr gallery for you to enjoy.

6 Things You Need to Know about Virginia Farm to Table

Virginia Farm to Table blog posts will focus on key attributes and principles of the food system: farms, food, health, economics, community and the environment.

1. Although many of us are one or two generations removed from actual farming, farms and working landscapes are critical to a healthy, vibrant and resilient food system and economy. Virginia is fortunate to have a diverse agricultural industry with various sizes and types of farms.

2. Food is fundamental and we all like to eat. Therefore, all Virginians should have access to good healthy, nutritious food necessary to lead healthy active lives at all times.

3. Farming and food are critical to advancing the health of individuals and the population.

4. Food and farming are important economic drivers of local and state commerce. For example, Virginia families and households spend $19 billion annually on food purchases.

5. A strong, diverse food system encourages and fosters community food security and resilience.

6. Sound environmental stewardship that sustains profitable thriving farms and protects farmland is an integral ingredient of economic success and Virginia’s food system moving forward.