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Julia Hillegass, Suffolk’s Agricultural Specialist, presented to the Suffolk Division of the Hampton Roads Chamber on Wednesday, June 25. She shared some state and city statistics on agriculture, as well as local concerns and the measures being taken to address them.

She said in Virginia, 85% of the farms are owned by families, many of them being in the same family for generations. There are just under 39,000 farms in the commonwealth, making up 7.3 million acres of farmland, with the average farm size being 187 acres. 

“Farming includes everything from the folks you’re seeing now that are at farmers markets in Suffolk that might have eggs or some little batches of produce, that sort of thing,” Hillegass said. “It includes them all the way up to folks who own 1000s and 1000s of acres for commodities.”

She mentioned there are only 184 certified organic farms in Virginia because it’s a difficult designation to receive. An alternative to organically grown fruits and vegetables is naturally grown, Hillegass said. While farmers have to meet certain USDA requirements to be considered organic, natural farms can grow produce in similar ways without having an official USDA certification.

Hillegass said according to the most recent agriculture census, there were 20,000 new farmers in Virginia. Most of these are “boutique farms,” she said, that operate on a smaller scale. 

“If there was a silver lining from COVID, I think it’s that people began to be more aware of where their food and fiber comes from, and even some of them began to grow their own,” she said. “So I think that’s a good thing.”

Hillegass said more retired veterans are also becoming farmers, several of which are located in Suffolk. Bradley Farms, Lakeside Harvest, and Faithful Harvest Farms are a few local veteran-owned farms.

According to the USDA, active farmland in Suffolk is declining, with just over 41,000 acres currently. 

Hillegass mentioned some ways to help increase that number and continue to support farmers. She said they want to support more direct market activities. One possibility is to have more mid-week farmers markets at social services that are accessible by bus and to have farmers accept the SNAP program or similar kinds of assistance. 

She added agriculture education is also important and wants to see more of it happening in Suffolk. She said there’s one agriculture teacher in Suffolk Public Schools at Lakeland High School.

There’s an Agricultural Land Lab in Isle of White County Hillegass mentioned during her presentation. They have a small working farm where they grow crops and a barn with livestock. The students learn how to cultivate, produce and harvest the animals.

Hillegass said she’d love to have something similar in Suffolk, but it’d cost approximately $2 to $3 million to get it up and running.

The agrotourism industry is also something she’d like to expand upon, and she wants to look into a purchase of developmental rights program to ensure current farm land stays farm land. 

 She added her department is working hard to increase the amount of farm-to-table food in Suffolk as well.