2008 PRESS RELEASES

May 5, 2008
MARKETING VIRGINIA AGRICULTURE:  BRINGING BUYERS AND SELLERS TOGETHER
By Todd P. Haymore, Commissioner, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Contact: Marion Horsley, 804.225.3820

What is Virginia’s largest industry?  I am proud to tell you it’s agriculture.  Nothing else comes close.  Thanks to the state’s climate, soil and natural resources, Virginia agriculture is amazingly diverse.  Here in Virginia we grow and process poultry, ham, peanuts, beef, wine, seafood, corn, soybeans, wheat, dairy, pork, eggs, fruit, vegetables, cotton, wool, honey, lumber, aquaculture, horticultural products, herbs, Christmas trees, and more.

However, the reality is that we can have the best farms, the best land, the best climate and the widest variety of crops, livestock and processed products, but if we don’t have a place to sell them, our farmers and producers won’t succeed.

One of the keys to turning Virginia’s diverse output into sales that add to the bottom line for growers and producers is marketing.  It’s one of my top priorities and one of the mandates from Governor Kaine when I accepted the job as Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS).  This agency’s mission statement is clear when it comes to agriculture: “We promote the economic growth and development of Virginia agriculture.”  Simply put, promoting and facilitating the profitable sale of agricultural products grown and/or processed in Virginia is our number one job.  And we’re good at it.

For example, in 2007 Livestock Marketing Services helped move almost 220,000 head of livestock into domestic and international markets; Commodity Services enhanced the marketability of $1.3 billion worth of poultry, eggs, grains, fruit, vegetables and peanuts through grading, inspection and quality certification; and Domestic Sales and Market Development helped move more than 2.5 million product units through the Virginia shipping point farmers market system during the harvest season. 

The Department’s Office of International Marketing helps Virginia producers and companies develop profitable export opportunities throughout the world.  Last year, cash from exports topped $588 million from sales of poultry, livestock, wheat, feed grains, cotton, vegetables and other Virginia agricultural products to Canada, Mexico, China, Russia, Germany, South Korea and Cuba, a country I recently visited to promote Virginia’s agricultural bounty.  In December, 2007, for the first time, Turkish buyers took delivery of nearly 1,600 bred heifers they had purchased through a Virginia exporter.  Our staff was on hand in Izmir to make sure the transaction went smoothly.

The Direct Marketing Services staff assists in developing and enhancing sales and marketing opportunities for producers – both small and large – who sell farm products directly to the consumer at Farmers Markets, roadside stands and pick-your-own farms across the state.  The Department’s Virginia Grown promotional program gives an identity and an eye-catching logo to fresh, locally grown fruits, vegetables, herbs and horticultural products and includes sellers in several annual sales guides that consumers anticipate eagerly. 

VDACS also provides administrative oversight to 17 commodity boards to assist them in their mission to provide growth to their industries through research, marketing and education programs.  Our Virginia Market News Service supplies up-to-the-minute market prices and analyses to the media and to buyers and sellers to help them make their own smart marketing decisions. 

To best serve our diverse and changing constituency, we have restructured and added key positions in our marketing division where they will have the greatest impact.  For instance, we realize the increased significance of organic agricultural products and have added a specialist in that area.  We are also exploring the fast-growing area of agritourism.  More and more Virginia farmers are adding revenue by taking advantage of the public’s interest in rural and farm-related activities.  Marketing assistance from VDACS can help them succeed.

For Virginia’s processed agricultural products, the Virginia’s Finest program offers quality assurance for foods, beverages and horticultural items that meet high standards set by industry and approved by VDACS.  Hundreds of outstanding products from traditional hams, peanuts and wine to innovative sauces, snacks and condiments have earned the right to wear the distinctive blue check mark and red “A” of the Virginia’s Finest logo.  Consumers have come to rely on it and seek it out knowing that this is one label that means just what it says.

The Department’s entire marketing division is dedicated to bringing buyers and sellers together, whether it is through buyers’ tours, trade shows, meetings or more than 200,000 personal, telephone and e-mail visits in almost 20 states and many foreign countries.  We are constantly seeking opportunities – whether they are local, regional, national or global – that add the most value for our farmers and producers.

I’m proud of the marketing efforts of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.  But I also recognize that we can climb even higher and stretch even further to develop greater marketing opportunities.  You have my assurance that we will never stop trying.