Spring is planting season, but some farmers are harvesting profits from old junk that’s been lying around their buildings and fields, sometimes for decades.

Dr. Jewel E. Hairston has been appointed dean of Virginia State University’s School of Agriculture. 

Farm families and their relatives across Virginia are welcoming the recent decision to withdraw proposed federal restrictions on underage farm employees. 

Farm real estate accounted for 84 percent of the total value of U.S. farm assets in 2009, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released earlier this year. And strong farm earnings might have helped farmland real estate markets withstand the downturn in the residential housing market.

The demand for information on how to start farming continues to grow, and a new U.S. Department of Agriculture website is designed to be an easy place to start looking.

The recently released Virginia Farm to Table Plan: A Strategic Plan for Strengthening Virginia’s Food System and Economic Future can be downloaded from Virginia Cooperative Extension’s website.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun calling on the nation’s farmers and ranchers to sign up for the 2012 Census of Agriculture, ensuring that they will be counted among their peers.

Virginia’s apple growers are concerned that an unusually early warm spell this spring could be damaging to their apple and peach crops. Meanwhile, wheat farmers are worried a serious cold snap could hurt their winter wheat yields.

State Fair of Virginia Inc., the nonprofit organization that produces the State Fair of Virginia, converted its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in Richmond District Court on March 7. 

Due to routine website maintenance between March 2 and March 5, the log-in function of this site will be temporarily unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Just in time for spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released an updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map for the country. 

“The Real Dirt” offers information and commentary on agricultural news and issues, as well as photos from Virginia farms and seasonal recipes that include Virginia farm products. There’s also video commentary related to agricultural issues.

Big companies are trying to change the way U.S. farmers operate their businesses, but some things don’t need changing.

Andy Hankins of Virginia Cooperative Extension shows how hoop houses can help grow seasonal foods year-round. 

The event is sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Innovation & Rural Sustainability  and Virginia Cooperative Extension in conjunction with the Rural Development agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It will feature workshops on how to get local foods into schools and how to better sell and market local food items. 

Young people and the contributions they make as members of farm and ranch families are vital to American agriculture, according to Missouri hog farmer Chris Chinn. Testifying on behalf of the American Farm Bureau Federation, she told the House Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade that proposed U.S. Department of Labor regulations on child labor would have negative impacts on rural America. 

Virginia’s Beginning Farmer & Rancher Coalition Project has been in development since late 2010, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture gave Virginia Tech a $748,000 grant to get the ball rolling.

Under the leadership of the Virginia Food System Council and the Virginia Tech Farm to Table Team, a variety of groups produced Virginia Farm to Table: Healthy Farms and Healthy Food for the Common Wealth and the Common Good. The plan will be shared with state legislators during this year’s General Assembly.

Economic assistance is available for aquaculture enterprises that experienced damage from Hurricane Irene.

While prices for basic holiday meal ingredients have risen, the portion of your food dollar that farmers receive has decreased.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency has announced the availability of a new website called Rural Tax Education at ruraltax.org.

Farmers can reduce feed costs and increase their profit by teaching cows to eat more weeds than grass, a nationally known livestock expert says.

Choice cuts of beef such as filet mignon are among the most-shoplifted merchandise in the country, trade publication Adweek reported recently.

The U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance wants consumers to be informed about how their food is produced.

The Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Innovation & Rural Sustainability recently received a $225,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Cooperative Development Grant program.

The Virginia Department of Forestry has received reports of a man who, posing as a representative of that agency, has approached older landowners about buying the timber on their property.

Become a farm follower—keep up with Virginia’s largest farm advocacy group via Twitter and Facebook, and get Farm Bureau’s latest articles, video of the week and more.

Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger underscored Virginia Tech’s ongoing commitment to the state’s agriculture and natural resources industries recently during the university’s annual meeting with leadership from the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation and the Virginia Agribusiness Council.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced today that federal crop insurance will be available to farmers whose crops were damaged by severe flooding from tropical storms Irene and Lee.

Consumers are interested in unique products, and small-scale value-added agricultural producers can meet those needs.

Homeowners who sustained property damage from the recent earthquake and Hurricane Irene or from tornadoes earlier this year might find some financial relief on their 2011 tax returns.

In Facebook’s Farmville game, players can "instant grow" crops, but on MyAmericanFarm.org, visitors learn that real crops take much more than pushing a computer button.

After a brief reprieve in 2009, farm production expenditures began climbing again in 2010. That’s according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, which released findings of an annual expenditures survey on Aug. 2.

After a brief reprieve in 2009, farm production expenditures began climbing again in 2010. That’s according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, which released findings of an annual expenditures survey on Aug. 2.

Fairfax County has more than a million residents, and four-story townhome complexes line many of its major roadways. Yet the local 4-H program just held its 63rd annual fair Aug. 6 and 7 at Frying Pan Farm Park. What are youth livestock show participants doing in a place like this?

A Virginia farmer is one of 10 young leaders in agriculture selected by American Farm Bureau Federation to participate in its Partners in Agricultural Leadership program.

With at least 17 states seeing 100-degree and hotter temperatures in recent weeks, electric bills are not the only household expenses that are likely to climb.

When the temperatures soar, farm animals lose their appetites and farmers lose income.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Aug. 10 that it will not propose new regulations governing the transport of agricultural products.

The American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee recently donated money and local produce to the Roanoke Ronald McDonald House.

Virginia Cooperative Extension agents play a critical role in the state’s agriculture industry. Find out what it will mean for all Virginians if further cuts are made to agent staffing. Visit the Farm Bureau website video section or Facebook page.

The American Farm Bureau Federation has voiced concerns about the amount of discretionary cuts in the recently passed Agriculture Spending Bill, HB 2112. The bill results in a 13.4 percent reduction in discretionary spending from fiscal year 2011.

Virginia Cooperative Extension’s services to farmers and consumers remain in demand as funding cuts threaten Extension’s viability.

Farmers who market their products directly to the public are using the Internet and social media sites like Facebook to promote their operations.

Honeybee numbers have decreased after a rough winter, and that could cause problems for Virginia farmers. 

Earlier this year economists began predicting retail food price increases of 2 percent to 5 percent. Prices have gone up, but the extent and causes—both domestic and global—remain topics of discussion.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has launched a campaign to stop the accidental spread of gypsy moths by people who are moving from an infested area to an uninfested one.

One of Virginia’s most valuable agricultural assets, the honeybee, continues to struggle to survive.

Nominations are being accepted through May 8 for a contest to honor U.S. farm mothers.

Become a farm follower—keep up with Virginia’s largest farm advocacy group via Twitter and Facebook, and get Farm Bureau’s latest articles, video of the week and more