Category: Agriculture & forestry
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Trump Policies Hurt Virginia Farmers
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The 2025-2026 soybean harvest and market began in September with Virginia soybean farmers having lost their biggest customer as a result of Trump’s tariff policies. In 2023 (the latest year for which figures are available), soybeans were Virginia’s top agricultural export at over $1.4 billion. Exports to China accounted for $784 million (56…
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Trump Backs Off from Deporting Some Undocumented Immigrants
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Immigrants who work in certain sectors of Virginia’s economy, and their employers, can rest a little easier now. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Trump administration has ordered immigration agents to cease their sweep operations at agriculture and hospitality industry worksites. On June 12, a senior ICE official sent an e-mail…
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The Trump Tariffs and Virginia Farmers
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Virginia farmers will soon feel the effect of President Trump’s 25 percent across-the-board tariffs on all imports from Canada and Mexico and an additional 10 percent tariff on products from China. According to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer services, the top two export markets for Viriginia agricultural products in 2023…
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Deja Vu, All Over Again
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Today’s Washington Post has an article about efforts to preserve farmland in Loudoun County. That headline instantly took me back to the late 1970s and early 1980s when there was a flurry of activity regarding the need to preserve farmland and provide landowners incentives to keep their farmland from being developed. Loudoun…
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The Chinese Are Coming?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Remember when Gov. Glenn Youngkin was warning us about the dangers of the Chinese owning “the rich and vibrant agricultural lands God has blessed us with?” Even the publisher of Bacon’s Rebellion thought that was far-fetched. At Youngkin’s urging, the General Assembly passed legislation prohibiting any “foreign adversary” from acquiring “any interest…
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One of My Pet Peeves
by Dick Hall-Sizemore State law exempts from registration fees trucks, trailers, and other motor vehicles, used solely for farm purposes either on highways near a farmer’s land or for hauling farm products to market (see here and here). This is one of the most abused Code provisions. The picture above was taken in my…
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Why the Agitation Over Chinese Acquisition of Virginia Farmland?
by James A. Bacon Look, I consider myself a China hawk. I detest the communist regime, I consider China a threat to the global order, I think the U.S. should commit to defend Taiwan, and I support measures to crack down on China’s cyber theft and unfair trade practices. But there’s one thing I don’t…
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How are Virginians Preparing for the Coming Food Price Shocks?
by James C. Sherlock Virginians have only begun to experience price inflation at the grocery store. Price increases are in the food pipeline that will be a much bigger problem starting this summer. Farmers and ranchers invest up front. They borrow money to do it. They are incredibly efficient at what they do, but are…
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Workplace Heat Rule Given Cold Shoulder
by Steve Haner First published this morning by Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy. Virginia’s Safety and Health Codes Board on Friday voted down a proposed workplace heat protection standard, strongly opposed by the state’s business community but ardently sought by organized labor and farmworker advocates. The Department of Labor and Industry (DOLI) was seeking…
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Step Aside Gypsy Moths, There’s a New Bug in Town
by Bill Tracy The next bug infestation: Spotted lanternflies. Have you seem them yet? If not, you probably will in the next few years. The Winchester region is already a quarantine area. Prince William County has them. Yesterday someone found a dead one in Fairfax County — in a grocery-store produce shipment.
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Can Virginia Tap into California’s Liquid Gold Rush?
by Bill Tracy Jed Clampett of the Beverly Hillbillies struck it rich when his wayward shotgun blast accidently discovered Black Gold. Regrettably, due to his fossil fuel habit, we must now cancel old Jed for his crimes against humanity and his wanton destruction of the planet. Today there is a newfangled, politically acceptable liquid gold…
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Delta – 8 THC and the Government’s Marijuana Plans Go “Up in Smoke”
Is cannabis legal in Virginia? Most followers of this blog are aware of the recent legislative efforts in Virginia to decriminalize and then legalize the possession of intoxicating marijuana by adults. Most followers of this blog believe that Virginia is presently in a twilight world where recreational possession of intoxicating marijuana is legal while the…
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Agriculture in Great Falls?
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Well, it seems as if rich folks in leftist-leaning Albemarle are not the only rich folks availing themselves of real estate tax breaks. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports today that Glenn Youngkin and his wife have saved 95% of their real estate taxes on their horse “farm” in Great Falls, the posh area…
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From Farming Corn to Electrons
By Dick Hall-Sizemore In light of recent denials by local governing bodies, there has been some skepticism expressed on this blog as to whether the Commonwealth could meet its goals on solar energy. Going against recent trends, however, has been the city of Chesapeake. According to the Virginian-Pilot, the city council recently approved an application…
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Trees and the Chesapeake Bay
by Dick Hall-Sizemore There was a scuffle on this blog a few days ago over the production of more hardwood seedlings by the Department of Forestry. There were some who questioned the efficacy of planting more trees in the attempt to mitigate climate change. Others questioned why the state should be subsidizing the production of…