Virginia encourages local buying during holidays

Virginians need not leave the Old Dominion during the holiday season for their food and beverage purposes as the state is very well equipped to accommodate them from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day, according to a press release issued by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Virginia peanuts and snack foods produced by Virginia's Finest are perfect to snack on during parades, television specials during the holiday season and football games. Turkey, beef and ham developed in Virginia mesh very nicely with sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin and apples also grown in state for Christmas dinner.

"I think the most challenging part of farming is actually the marketing end of stuff," farmer Zachary Miller with Timbercreek Organics in Albemarle County told NBC29.com.

Supporting the effort to buy local aids municipal and state economies and helps sustain the agricultural industry. Boosting the state's economy by $55 billion per year and providing jobs to 357,000 people, agriculture is Virginia's biggest industry.

Additional ideas include purchasing Christmas trees grown on Virginia farms, oysters and clams from Virginia waters are perfect for New Year's Eve and Virginia vineyards produce many fine wines.

Ag student lives off the fat of his own backyard

Sophomore agriculture student Andrew Bell is paying for his education at the University of Delaware by tilling the land in his backyard.

UDaily reports the Southern Delaware man already had the farm in operation – since his junior year of high school. The quarter-acre farm will double in size next year. In the meanwhile, it's helping him pay for his higher education.

"I actually never wanted to be a farmer, but after a rough summer I grew to love it," he told the publication. He said he discovered farming is "surprisingly soothing, especially in the early spring when everything looks so new. The calmness you get from spending time out there, and the happy exhaustion you feel afterward, is something people are losing as more jobs move indoors."

Tomatoes, yellow squash, cucumbers, zucchini and string beans are among the produce yielded in his backyard and he's got his eyes peeled on additional produce like shallots.

Delaware's College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, where Bell is a student, offers coursework in agribusiness, food science, environmental quality, ecology and animal biology, among additional disciplines.

Virginia Farm Bureau's young award recipient looks ahead

The past couple weeks have seen life simplified for Virginia farmer John Henry Anderson Smith IV, the Bristol Herald Courier reports.

The gentleman, who runs a 1,000-acre farm in Southwest Virginia and goes by Andy, was honored by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation who bestowed him with the Young Farmer Achievement Award. This past summer saw him tapped for the award while toiling through the busy season, which ended in mid-November when the year's calves were auctioned.

"I was very shocked," Smith told the publication about when he emerged as the winner amongst five finalists in late July. "All of the other applicants were just excellent. I was surprised, because I don't have the biggest farm, or the most animals."

The land he works has been in his family since the late 18th century. One of his strongest passions is a devotion to assist farm families cast plans for the benefit of future generations.

The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation has at least 150,000 members dispersed among 88 county farm bureaus and is the state's largest advocate group for farmers.

Pennsylvania farm bureau turns down solicitations to permit hunting on Sundays

The Pennsylvania State Farm Bureau is supporting farmers' preference to outlaw Sunday hunting in the state, according to the York Daily Record.

Their stance was especially prominent at last week's annual meeting in Hershey, where the summit considered 158 resolutions. Two of those resolutions were germane to hunting on Sundays.

"Pennsylvania farmers have spoken once again on the issue of Sunday hunting and, once again, they have emphatically stated that they want a day of peace and quiet on Sundays, where they can work less and enjoy more time with family and friends around the farm," farm bureau president Carl T. Shaffer told the publication.

The farm bureau stood united when turning down a motion presented on the delegate floor to adjust the Sunday hunting policy. Delegates from 54 county farm bureaus representing 67 Pennsylvania counties rejected resolutions to permit Sunday hunting.

WHPTV reports the farm bureau's 61st annual meeting was at the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center from Monday through Wednesday of last week. The summit aims to establish policy for the the organization regarding issues germane to farm and rural families.

Virginia, Maryland governors aim to open Indian market to state farmers

Farmers in the Commonwealth of Virginia are poised to benefit from spade work performed by Governor Bob McDonnell in India, according to WHSV.

While on a two-week tour of India and Israel, the Republican leader secured additional shipments of Virginia exports to the subcontinent. Virginia poultry farmers view with optimism increased business opportunities to additional countries as well given that roughly one of every five chickens cultivated in the U.S. ends up being shipped overseas.

"You've got countries that are developing their middle classes that have more purchasing power, which will provide a positive opportunity for Virginia-raised poultry products to go into their markets," President Hobey Bauhan of the Virginia Poultry Federation told the news source. "It brings money back into the Commonwealth and to the farm."

India checks in at the 15th largest exporter for Virginia, an increase from the 24th spot the state held in 2008, according to the Washington Business Journal.

McDonnell is not the only mid-Atlantic governor with his eyes set on enhancing trade with India. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley is scheduled to visit later this month through early December. The Democrat will be accompanied by roughly 100 business, education and elected leaders.

Grant money to be used for furthering sustainable farming in Maryland

Healthcare company Kaiser Permanente issued more than $285,000 in grant money to a model for sustainable farming and a ministry that aids youth as they grow up, according to a press release.

Both ECO City Farms and End Time Harvest Ministries have their base in Prince George's County, Maryland, a community east of the nation's capital where health concerns are apparant. ECO aims to boost the Chesapeake foodshed with sustainable strategies to make food and money. The Ministry aspires to endow young people with skills that will guide their upbringing and have a strong influence on the community.

ECO's grant is for $198,000 to build food security and increase access to farm fresh foods for residents of Prince George's County. It plans to construct an education and learning center on its farm in the port town of Edmonston as well as create a revenue building produce market stand.

The Ministry's grant is for $89,200 will bolster the Port Towns Youth Council Wellness Ambassador Public Policy Program.

In addition to Edmonston, the three additional port towns in Prince George's County are Colmar Manor, Bladensburg and Cottage City.

Prince George's County is the focus because obesity and related chronic illness rates are among Maryland's highest.

The five Cs of seeking a loan

Are you ready to buy that farm you've been looking at? First, you'll need to apply for a loan. This can be confusing for people who don't have a lot of financial experience, so it's a good idea to break down a banker's expectations into models that are easy to understand. Before you approach a credit union or loan office, use the five Cs to think about your situation - Capital, Capacity, Conditions, Character and Collateral.

Capital
Simply put, this is how much money you have on hand at the moment. This has a big impact on the line of credit that you'll be able to get, so the more cash on hand, the better.

Capacity
This refers to your capacity to repay a loan. It is affected by your loan history and credit rating, so people who have been good with bills in the past will have more luck securing a good farm property loan.

Conditions
Think about the economy in general and the type of farming you're interested in specifically. If there are a lot of farmers working with a certain crop in your area, banks might not think it's a very good investment.

Character
What kind of organization do you want to start? Knowing the basics about how a farm will be run (and proving it to a loan officer) is a good way to appeal to creditors.

Collateral
Unfortunately, banks want to make sure that even if they make bad investments, they'll be able to get some of their money back. Collateral refers to houses, equipment and other items that creditors can reclaim if a farm ends up not working out. Even a sound business plan and good investments need to put up collateral, so think about what assets you have that can serve this purpose.  

Delaware ag secretary: Encourage legal immigrant labor

The U.S. agriculture industry has been a saving grace since the financial tumult of 2008 and the Delmarva Peninsula is in a perfect position to capitalize on that boon, states a column penned by the secretary of the Delaware Agriculture Department.

Despite the successes, there are focal points that call attention to the struggle, according to the November 9 column in the Daily Times authored by Ed Kee. Poultry and livestock require feed that is expensive and is soaring in price.

Yet the industry also is doing its part to contribute to responsible caretaking of the Chesapeake Bay, Kee writes.

"I believe all agriculture asks for is fairness and recognition that we are leaders in the Bay restoration," the editorial states. "Agriculture is not an enemy of clean water; indeed, it has proven to be the most aggressive sector in improving water quality."

Kee also argues for the value of immigrant labor, underscoring the value of legal immigrant labor for harvesting fields, milking cows, processing chickens and assisting with feeding the nation.

If the nation does not encourage legal immigration farm labor, the country's food supply will be disrupted.

Virginia's workshops for advice on farms, forestland to continue next year

Official efforts to safeguard working farms and forest land in Virginia will continue next year, according to a state press release.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will continue the workshops and listening engagements it has been conducting this year. The topics of conversation circle around preserving forest and farmland and the sessions serve as a resource for individuals in need of advice and assistance.

"The land is our farmers' greatest asset, and often they have an emotional as well as an economic tie to the old home place," Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Matt Lohr said. "The tradition of passing down the land from generation to generation is getting harder and harder to maintain."

He also noted the sessions serve as a vehicle for better informing farmers of the options available to gain a clearer understanding on how best to preserve the land in regard to purposes for business, financial and estate planning. Information about farm credit can also be an important aspect of preserving farms.

The one-day workshops cost $5 in advance. For the next one, scheduled for December 13 at the Olde Dominion Agricultural Complex in Chatham, the registration fee will climb to $10 after December 10.

Dickinson College hosts conference on farming's role in liberal arts colleges

Approximately 240 professors, school officials and students made the trek to a 180-acre farm in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, to attend Dickinson College's conference on the role of farming at liberal arts colleges, the first such event to be held in the country.

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, reports the participants came from 57 private and public universities across the U.S. and in Canada. During the event, current and former Dickinson students, who work the farm, offered lessons from establishing small gardens to running a farm.

Jenn Halpin, the manager of the farm, demonstrated its energy systems including a solar-hot water system for greenhouse heating and a solar-powered vehicle termed the Solar Wheeler, which was designed by a Dickinson professor and constructed by a physics student, according to the news source.

Anna Farb, a current student at the college, offered a student's perspective on the escape that working on the farm offers.

"The farm is where I clear my head, where I get to release all the trivial matters of college life and just think about the soil, the plants and the food," the senior explained.

The website of the Dickinson College Farm notes that 60 percent of the harvest is given to the campus dining hall, with the remainder going to a local food bank and members of the farm's co-op.  

USDA to begin 150th anniversary celebration in Virginia

The top-ranking U.S. Agriculture Department official visited the hometown of the founder of the agency he leads to begin marking its 150th anniversary, according to a press release.

Department secretary Tom Vilsack visited the Old Illinois State Capitol in Springfield to commence one year of celebrations for the department President Abraham Lincoln signed into law in 1862.

"Through our work on food, agriculture, economic development, science, natural resource conservation and a host of issues, USDA still fulfills President Lincoln's vision as "The People's Department" - touching the lives of every American, every day," said Vilsack. "As we commemorate 150 years, we will look for lessons from the past that can help us strengthen USDA in the future to address the changing needs of agriculture and rural America."

By establishing the Department of Agriculture, Lincoln viewed potential ahead for farmers in America and their strategies of tilling the land to make it productive, according to the Agriculture Department.

The Agriculture Department underscores the valuable contributions that ranchers and farmers make to U.S. strength and health.

The federal agency is scheduled to formally begin marking the 150th anniversary in February 2012 at the Annual Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington, Virginia.

Pennsylvania to receive USDA funding for anaerobic digester projects

Anaerobic digester projects in eight states - including Pennsylvania - will be funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The federal entity said that it was pursuing the projects to cut down on farm-based pollution, spark renewable energy production and to lower energy costs. Anaerobic digesters are bacteria that break down manure in environments that are oxygen free, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The initiative will be funded by the USDA's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which has already reduced greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 14.5 million metric tons and helped to significantly reduce electricity consumption.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said that the efforts will help small farmers move forward with new revenue streams.

"Since its creation this program has assisted almost 9,600 small businesses, farmers and ranchers and created or saved an estimated 15,000 jobs," he said in a statement. "It also provides producers with new opportunities to diversify revenue and make American agriculture and rural small business more competitive."

According to FarmAndDairy.com, three anaerobic digester projects will be funded in Pennsylvania.

USDA crop insurance education program to target Mid-Atlantic states

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that it would begin an education and outreach program to teach small farmers in 47 states about crop insurance.

The USDA's Risk Management Agency (RMA) will have about $13.6 million in funding - from two different sources - to help teach farmers how to remain productive while managing risk, according to a release from the federal body. Proper risk management will likely help producers handle their farm credit.

Sixteen states will receive extra attention in the effort because they have been underserved in respect to farm insurance education in the past. These states include Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that the RMA's program will be important for farmers in the targeted states, as well as those in other parts of the country.

"USDA is committed to diversity, inclusion and performance in everything we do, and we need to continue to ensure opportunities in agriculture for all Americans," he said. "Through these partnerships, traditionally underserved agricultural producers and those in targeted states will receive assistance in understanding and using risk management tools."

The RMA was established in 1996 to help farmers and agricultural producers better manage their businesses' risks.

Farm credit crop insurance agents are also available to answer any producers’ questions about the programs. They can be reached at 888.339.3334.