Census finds dramatic loss of Virginia farmland

Findings from the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture, conducted in 2007, indicate Virginia lost 521,000 acres of farmland between 2002 and 2007, the largest decline in the past 20 years, according to Herman Ellison, director of the Virginia office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.

That leaves the Old Dominion with 8.1 million acres of farmland.

"Compared to previous census counts, we lost almost as much land out of agriculture in the past five years as we did over three census periods," Ellison said.

The Census of Agriculture is conducted every five years, and the 2007 census results were released Feb. 4.

In the three previous census counts—from 1987 to 2002—the Old Dominion lost

• 379,325 acres between 1987 and 1992;
• 68,785 acres between 1992 and 1997; and
• 128,796 acres between 1997 and 2002.

"This is absolutely something to be concerned about," said Virginia Farm Bureau Federation President Wayne F. Pryor. "Once farmland goes out of production, it's rarely ever used for farming again later. ...