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Farmers welcome China soybean deal but remain cautious
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — American farmers welcomed China‘s promise to buy some of their soybeans, but they cautioned this won’t solve all their problems as they continue to deal with soaring prices for fertilizer, tractors, repair parts and seeds. The Chinese promise to buy at least 25 million metric tons of soybeans annually for next three years will bring […]
Ham producer to build $1.2M facility in Isle of Wight County
The Isle of Wight County is bringing home the bacon in the form of a $1.2 million Darden Hams production facility.
USDA reopens 2,100 offices to deliver $3B farm aid
The Agriculture Department will reopen about 2,100 county offices all across the country Thursday despite the ongoing government shutdown to help farmers and ranchers get access to $3 billion of aid from existing programs. The USDA said each Farm Service Agency office will have two workers who will be paid even though the government remains shutdown. These offices […]
Trump suggests US will buy Argentine beef to bring down prices for American consumers
President Donald Trump says the United States could buy Argentine beef in an attempt to bring down prices for American consumers.
Fruit Growers Association to close after 80 years
The Frederick County Fruit Growers Association, which was founded in 1945 to support the area’s orchardists, is dissolving.
Trump’s trade battle with China puts soybean farmers in peril
China stops buying U.S. soybeans, leaving Virginia farmers with fewer export markets. Simultaneously, farmers face rising expenses.
Agriculture 2025: KING, JOHN
After multinational food company Pilgrim’s Pride announced it was closing a Hinton poultry processing plant in 2004 — constituting a major hit to the local economy — Shenandoah Valley turkey growers formed the Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative. The co-op employs 565 people and has 165 member-growers; 100% of VPGC’s profits go back to its growers. […]
Agriculture 2025: WIGNER, PRESTON D.
Wigner took the helm at Universal in October 2024, succeeding George C. Freeman, who retired after 16 years of running the world’s leading supplier of leaf tobacco. Wigner, who joined Universal in 2003, was appointed the agriproducts company’s senior vice president in 2023, as part of a succession planning process. Previously, he’d served as the […]
Agriculture 2025: SINK, SCOTT E.
The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation has new leadership for the first time in 18 years. During the December 2024 annual meeting, voting delegates picked Sink as the leader of the state’s largest farmers‘ advocacy group after Wayne Pryor decided not to seek re-election at the end of his ninth term. Growing up on a multigenerational […]
Agriculture 2025: HEATWOLE, CORWIN
Sixth-generation chicken farmer Heatwole started his humane, sustainable and traceable chicken company in 2014. Originally named Shenandoah Valley Organic but rebranded as Farmer Focus in 2020, the company lets farmers own their flocks, make key decisions and receive fair compensation. Farmer Focus has more than 120 farming partners and more than 1,300 team members. In […]
Agriculture 2025: HOUFF, NEIL A.
Starting as a liquid fertilizer business on a Shenandoah family farm in 1975, Houff Corp. grew to provide a range of agricultural and industrial services, including agronomy, supply chain solutions, transloading and biosolids management. Houff, who earned an agriculture education degree from Virginia Tech, has been the corporation’s president since the early 1990s. In recent […]
Agriculture 2025: SMITH, SHANE
Smith became CEO and president of Smithfield Foods in 2021, just as the world’s largest pork product manufacturer and hog producer announced an end to slaughter operations in its hometown of Smithfield, the country’s self- proclaimed “ham capital.” In January, Smithfield launched its initial public offering of 26 million stock shares at $20 per share […]
