Eastern Virginia Agricultural Research & Extension Center

It’s Virginia Agriculture Week and wheat harvest is in full effect at EVAREC! This is a good reminder that plant breeding and agronomic research is vital for global food security. Agriculture is the #1 industry in the Commonwealth of Virginia!

Barley harvest is underway. After 9 months in the field, it’s time to see which breeding lines yield the best!

Today, we participated in the Virginia Cooperative Extension / Virginia Farm Bureau Wheat Tour. This tour give wheat buyers, millers, and researchers opportunity to see the wheat crop in the field and assess yield potential. On today’s tour, we visited wheat farms in Essex, Middlesex, King and Queen, and King William Counties. At lunch, we were joined by Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, Katie Frazier, and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Ben Rowe. Thanks to Robert Harper and local Virginia Cooperative extension agents for organizing this great event!

Good evening hosting the Virginia Farm Bureau / Virginia Cooperative Extension Mid-Atlantic Wheat Tour Dinner!

One of the highlights from yesterday's Virginia Small Grain Field Day was our panel discussion on current and future challenges in Virginia Agriculture and the impact of new agricultural policies. The panel included Ben Rowe (Virginia Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry), Anthony Pena (National Association of Wheat Growers Policy Manager), Robert Harper (Grain Division Manager, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation), and Taylor Hubbard (Director of Government Affairs, Virginia Grain Producers Association). We discussed the impact of the war and recent legislation on the impact of commodity prices and farm profitability. Take a listen!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1qHMqBYG2ZdQ6QbEla8i6X?si=hTQZ__BjTXmMvnN7jrmpow