Agriculture 2023: MATTHEW J. LOHR

Lohr has worked in agriculture and public service for his entire career. As Virginia’s secretary of agriculture and forestry since January 2022, he manages an 810-employee department that oversees Virginia’s largest private sector, which has an annual economic impact of over $105 billion.

A three-term state delegate and former commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Lohr previously served as chief of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, which provides financial and technical services to U.S. farmers and ranchers. He also worked as knowledge center director for agricultural lender Farm Credit of the Virginias.

He also has managed his own family’s Valley Pike Farm in Broadway, which has been in the Lohr family for five generations and produces poultry and cattle, as well as corn and other crops.

Lohr earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural education from Virginia Tech and taught middle school agriscience in Shenandoah County for two years. He was active in FFA as a student and as a teacher.

HOBBIES: Traveling, exploring Virginia’s wineries, cheering on my Hokies

NEW LIFE EXPERIENCE: Skydiving with my daughter