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The Forum
Ann F. Jennings
Donna Pugh Johnson
fields and pastures. These tools, called best management practices, include fencing to keep livestock out of streams, “buffers” of vegetation along streamsides to trap and filter runoff “no till” planting to minimize erosion, cover crops to absorb leftover fertilizer, and nutrient management plans to minimize fertilizer use.
At one time such practices were considered demonstration or teaching tools and were not widely employed on farms across Virginia. Today, however, they are increasingly recognized as critical, not only for healthy, productive farms but for healthy, productive rivers and a clean Chesapeake Bay.
Virginia farmers today are working five million fewer acres than in 1950, yet they are producing more food, fiber and fuel for the Commonwealth than ever. Most farmers strive to be good stewards of the local environment. Across the Commonwealth, farmers have invested their own dollars, time and effort into the con- - servation programs that protect land and water.
But unlike other regions of the country dominated by large agricultural operations, the average Virginia farm is small — about 181 acres — and the average annual farm income is just over $49,000. Given the inherent risks associated with farming (weather, commodity prices, global markets, etc.), farmers do not always have a predictable income, and farm profits one year are needed to cover future years when the farm operates at a loss.
That’s why state costshare programs that help Virginia farmers pay for the costly conservation practices that protect the environment
71.7%