Piedmont farmland is some of the richest in the nation, with many acres of soils that are considered "prime" farmland by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. These exceptionally fertile fields, along with other productive farmland, bring forth vegetables and fruit, cattle and dairy products, corn and soybeans, hay and timber, and other essential foods and fibers every year.

Careful use and conservation of the Piedmont's natural abundance can help assure that America continues to feed its own people as well as people around the world. But like other communities throughout Virginia and across America, the Piedmont is losing much of its finest farmland to residential development. Virginia ranks among the top 20 states in the country for the number of prime acres lost, developing more than 20,000 acres of its highest quality farmland each year.

Locally Grown Foods

Ben Boyd, a cotton and peanut farmer from Georgia, said it well in a CBS news broadcast, "If you like being dependent on foreign oil, you're going to love being dependent on foreign food." In an encouraging trend, many people in the Piedmont and throughout America are choosing instead to feed themselves and their families from food that was grown near home. When people buy food from farmers markets, fruit stands, pick-your-own enterprises and other farm businesses, they can enjoy the abundance of the local landscape for themselves. They can also seek out food that meets their standards for quality and health, and they can help keep nearby farms in production. Working farms provide other important benefits to communities in the Piedmont, including benefits for water quality, wildlife habitat, and local quality of life.

Water Quality

Although farms have drawn attention as a source of pollution from fertilizers, pesticides, and livestock wastes, farms' open ground provides irreplaceable water-filtering services. When farmers take practical steps to protect streams and rivers on their land, they are often excellent stewards of water quality. Many of Virginia's cost-share programs for Best Management Practices provide funding and support for landowners who improve the health of waterways on their property. Many farmers and other landowners who donate conservation easements protect streams and rivers by requiring riparian buffers as part of the easement. Meanwhile, it is also worth noting that the #1 source of phosphorous found in regional waterways is not farms but fertilized yards, and 30% of nitrogen comes from areas of impervious cover.

Wildlife Habitat

Open farmland provides corridors along which wild animals can travel in search of food, shelter, and places to breed and bear young. Farm field crops provide an important source of nutrition for birds and wildlife, although this can involve economic sacrifice on the part of the farmer.

Local Quality of Life

Farmers have been working in the Piedmont for 400 years, and people value their ongoing contributions to the life of communities. A 2005 poll of residents in The Journey Through Hallowed Ground corridor, from Gettysburg to Monticello, found that 93% of respondents consider "the agricultural community and farmlands" important to their quality of life. Seventy percent called these "very important."

Ways to Support Viable Local Agriculture

The Farm Bureau Federation has found that the top concern of young farmers nationwide is whether there will be enough farmland in the future to stay in business. PEC works actively to preserve productive farmland. As of the beginning of 2007, almost 182,000 acres of farmland in our nine-county region have been permanently protected through conservation easements. PEC also supports a variety of other effective tools that can preserve farmland. PEC often consults with the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation to develop uniform policy the benefits agriculture and the environment. We work to promote local farm businesses and support resources for farmers in our communities, particularly through our new Buy Fresh, Buy Local campaign.

If you have any questions related to agriculture in the Piedmont, please contact Gray Coyner at (540) 219-9485 or gcoyner[at]pecva.org.