Pictured are crops of Hay and tobacco being harvested in Patrick County. Agricultural Producers are working hard this time of year, some doing “double duty.” Virginia flue-cured tobacco production was forecast at 50.4 million pounds, up two percent from 2015. Yield was projected at 2,400 pounds per acre. Alfalfa hay production is forecast at 248,000 tons, 10 percent above the 2015 level. Other hay production was estimated at 2.53 million tons, up five percent from last year. Agriculture is Virginia’s largest private industry. Many Virginia commodities and products rank in the top 10 among all U.S. states. These include leaf tobacco, third; fresh market tomatoes, apples, grapes and Christmas trees, all rank seventh; and peanuts, eighth. Livestock rankings based on number of head include turkeys, sixth in the nation, and broilers, 10th. (VDACS, Photo by Sandra Heath, September).
