Virginia Agriculture Week

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution of Virginia in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, there is hereby officially recognized:

Virginia Agriculture Week

WHEREAS, agriculture, the Commonwealth's largest private industry, has an annual economic impact of $82.3 billion in total industry output, generates more than 381,000 jobs, and has an additional value-added impact of $43.8 billion; and

WHEREAS, broiler chickens top the Commonwealth's 2024 list of commodities ranked by cash receipts of more than $1.2 billion, followed by cattle and calves, miscellaneous crops, milk and dairy products, soybeans, turkeys, and corn; and

WHEREAS, Virginia is a top producer of a diverse range of commodities, ranking third nationally in tobacco, fifth in apples, sixth in turkeys, eighth in peanuts, ninth in trout, and tenth in pumpkins according to 2024 cash receipts value; and

WHEREAS, Virginia is home to approximately 38,600 farms with 95 percent of Virginia farms owned and operated by individuals or families; and

WHEREAS, the success of the Commonwealth's agriculture industry is reflected in the innovative technologies and management practices that Virginia farmers utilize to increase efficiency and steward the Commonwealth's land, water, and other natural resources; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth joins the United Nations in recognizing 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer, spotlighting the impact women farmers have on the state's agricultural industry;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Abigail Spanberger, Governor, do hereby recognize June 7-13, 2026, as VIRGINIA AGRICULTURE WEEK in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA and call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.