The Shadow
The president of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation told farmers that the organization helped defeat legislation in this year’s General Assembly that would have taken away local governments’ ability to determine where commercial solar energy facilities are located.
“This is extremely important because mandates under the Virginia Clean Economy Act of 2020 include goals of having 16,100 megawatts of solar power in the commonwealth, which will require between 80,500 and 161,000 acres of land to achieve that goal,” VFBF President Wayne F. Pryor told producers from across the state on Dec. 4. “That could potentially take away over 160,000 acres of Virginia land. Between 2017 and 2022, we lost nearly 500,000 acres of farmland, and one of the causes was farmland being used for solar facilities.
“We can’t afford to lose more.”
Pryor’s remarks came during the 2024 VFBF Annual Convention in Hot Springs. He told delegates to the event that when the VFBF governmental relations staff encouraged producer members to ask their representatives to vote against Senate Bill 697, more than 700 people responded.
“We must ensure that other locations like marginal lands, brownfields, reclaimed mine sites and other sub-prime lands are used to achieve solar energy goals,” Pryor continued. “Those decisions need to remain in the hands of localities that can ensure solar facilities are consistent with their comprehensive plans and the needs of their communities.”
He also shared with convention participants that VFBF governmental relations staff created a workgroup led by the Board of Veterinary Medicine and the state veterinarian’s office to address the large animal veterinarian shortage. A lack of large animal vets has plagued many rural communities in the commonwealth for years.
Pryor told Farm Bureau’s volunteer leaders that 2024 was a successful year for the organization in many ways.
The Farm Bureau-affiliated Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Innovation and Rural Sustainability helped former Tyson Foods broiler growers establish the Central Virginia Poultry Cooperative, which began producing cage-free eggs this spring. The foundation worked with growers, localities and The Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission and governor’s office to secure over $1.8 million in grants for the endeavor, Pryor reported.
The Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom program raised a record $508,000 to fund free agriculture-themed resources for educators. Some of that funding came from county Farm Bureaus; for a third consecutive year, all 88 county Farm Bureaus in Virginia made donations AITC.
Another success was through Farm Bureau’s grain marketing division. The group moved over 6.1 million bushels of grain in 2023, which was 1.2 million more bushels than in 2022.
Pryor also thanked members who made an effort to help fellow farmers in Southwest Virginia whose farms and businesses were damaged by Hurricane Helene in September. After the destruction, Virginia Farm Bureau activated its Virginia Farm Relief Fund and began accepting donations and applications for assistance.
With more than 135,000 members in 88 county Farm Bureaus, VFBF is Virginia’s largest farmers’ advocacy group. Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, nonpartisan, voluntary organization committed to supporting Virginia’s agriculture industry. View more convention news as it becomes available at vafb.com/convention, and follow us on social media via #VFBF24 #CultivatingConnections.
Contact Pam Wiley, VFBF vice president of communications, at 804-291-6315.
