The Virginia Century Farm Program, which recognizes families who have owned and operated farms for more than 100 years, turns 20 this year.
Nearly 1,400 Virginia farms have been designated Century Farms since the program was established in 1997.
“For many families, farming is both a tradition and a business that has been passed down from one generation to the next,” said Sandy Adams, commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). “Agriculture remains Virginia’s largest private industry, contributing $52 billion annually to the commonwealth. It speaks volumes about our state’s long commitment to agriculture when there are nearly 1,400 farms designated to have been in operation for more than a century.”
Ninety-two of the state’s 95 counties and six cities have designated Century Farms, including 23 in Patrick County: Apollo M Farm, B.H. Cooper Farm, Bateman Farm, Breezy Ridge Farm, Buffalo Ridge Farm, C&N Ayers Heritage Farm, Charles Gunter Farm, Dunkley Farm and Homeplace, Fulton Farms, Glenn Gunter Farm, Howell Bottoms Farm, John Conner Stanley Farm, Kirby Farm, Mitchell Farm, Moran Farm, Palmetto Farm, Poplar Hollow Farm, Slate Farm, The Woods Farm and Homeplace, Waller Farm, Will David Slate Farm, Windy Haven Farm, and Windy Hill Orchards.
The Century Farm program is administered by VDACS. To be eligible, a farm must have been owned by the same family for at least 100 consecutive years, be lived on or farmed by a descendant of the original owner and gross more than $2,500 annually from the sale of farm products.
