Ability to predict tractor fuel consumption is very useful for budgeting and management. The objective of this factsheet is to develop relationships using field measurements and Nebraska Tractor Test Laboratory results to estimate tractor fuel consumption. Using these equations, farmers can estimate and compare the fuel consumption for different operating and loading conditions.

The Virginia Natural Resources Leadership Institute (VNRLI) trains agents, community leaders, activists, educators, industry officials, and environmental professionals in group strategies and personal skills for pursuing consensus-based solutions to complex local problems.

Grain and soybean production is a critical component of Virginia agriculture — the state’s No. 1 industry (VDACS 2013). Virginia’s farmers produced more than half a billion bushels of grain and soybeans over the span of 2006 to 2012 (USDA-NASS 2013b)1. The objectives of this publication are to characterize the market for grain production and storage in Virginia.

Agriculture is the largest industry in Virginia, with an economic impact of about $52 billion, and it provides over 357,000 jobs to Virginia’s residents (VDACS 2013). In addition, those value-added industries that depend on the farm products employ an additional 76,000 individuals, which generates another $34.6 billion in value-added revenue (VDACS 2013a). Despite the impact that the agriculture industry has on Virginia’s economy, there are several issues of concern.

Who is the most valuable person on your farm? Herdsman? Milker? Tractor driver? Many owners forget that they are the most important person on their farm. Why do many dairy farmers immediately call their veterinarian when an animal is sick? Yet many farmers postpone visiting the family doctor when they are sick because “they are too busy and it will get better in a couple of days.” How many times does delaying visiting the family doctor result in the owner visiting the local hospital emergency room and spending several days in the hospital? How many farmers have an annual checkup with their family doctor? How many illnesses (e.g. diabetes, hyper tension, and skin cancer) can be detected at the annual checkup? Many of these health problems can be treated and monitored by their family physician before they grow into major problems. If the owner cannot manage his business when he is ill, who will manage it for him? The farmers’ health and well being is the most important asset on his/her farm.

This fact sheet is a product of the 2014 Spring Kohl Centre Experience. To find out more about this project team and related information, please go to the Kohl Centre at Virginia Tech’s website: www.kohlcentre.aaec.vt.edu.

Over the past decade, agritourism became a significant sector within Virginia agriculture, and there have been an increasing number of research studies in this area. Nevertheless, most literature has focused more on the motivating factors in starting an agritourism operation and less on the financial aspects. This study discusses the findings of a recent statewide survey of Virginia agritourism operators and evaluates the current status of the Virginia agritourism industry and its overall profitability.

This fact sheet is a product of the 2014 Fall Kohl Centre Experience. To find out more about this project team and related information, please go to the Kohl Centre at Virginia Tech’s website: www.kohlcentre.aaec.vt.edu.

This winter USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) released cash rental rates for irrigated and non-irrigated cropland and pastureland for Virginia counties and cities.

There are many factors to consider before you start a new farm enterprise. Labor issues are often underemphasized in the decision-making processes of beginning farmers. It is important to consider who you will hire, where you will find help, how you will manage your employees, and what legal matters are relevant to your farm.

The purpose of the Introduction to Whole Farm Planning module is to help beginning farmers and ranchers in Virginia make informed farm planning decisions by introducing them to the whole farm planning process.

The Land Acquisitions and Tenure module is designed to help beginning farmers and ranchers develop and implement their farmland tenure and transfer goals as part of the whole farm plan. Established farmers who are planning for the transfer of their farm may also find this module useful. The module includes concepts, worksheets, and examples to help you assess your resources and preferences for successful start-up planning.

Starting a farm is an exciting yet challenging opportunity. As with any new undertaking, there is a lot to think about before beginning a farm venture. Gaining access to farmland, viable markets, capital and credit, as well as hands-on training and resources are some of the most important startup issues to consider as part of the planning process. You are likely asking yourself, “Where do I begin?” The purpose of this resource is to help newcomers make informed decisions at the start of the planning process. This “quick guide” is primarily designed for beginning farmers and ranchers, but service providers will also find this resource useful for answering questions about the farm startup process. This foundational work offers a valuable starting point on which to create a successful whole farm plan for a new agricultural venture.

The purpose of the Technical Assistance and Resource Directory is to help beginning farmers and ranchers in Virginia know what resources and resource professionals are available to them as they plan their new farm or ranch. The service and resource professionals featured throughout this directory are Coalition partners and are excellent points of contact for beginning farmers/ranchers and other service providers. The Virginia Beginning Farmer & Rancher Coalition Program is a state-wide and coalition-based Extension program housed in Virginia Tech’s Department of Agricultural and Extension Education.

This Virginia Farm to School Resource Guide is designed to help cultivate connections between the many diverse stakeholders that support the Virginia Farm to School Program. This guide is intended to help facilitate locally and regionally-grown Virginia foods to school cafeterias and school-based meal programs. It contains research-based information, resources, and advice that can help start or expand a Farm to School initiative in your community. Farm to School programs locally and nationally come in many different shapes and sizes that are ultimately unique to the communities that develop them. Stakeholders that may find this guide helpful include: Virginia school nutrition directors, farmers, food distributors, Virginia Cooperative Extension professionals, and other school-based and agriculture-based educators and service providers interested in Farm to School programs.

With funding from the USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program in fall 2010, the Virginia Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coalition Program aims to meet the expressed needs of Virginia’s beginning farmers and support the development of social networks through which they can gain vital skills, information, technical assistance, and business capacity for long-term agricultural viability (see www.vabeginningfarmer.org).

A survey by the Center for Public Leadership suggests that despite some Americans’ belief that “our leaders are effective and do a good job,” 69 percent of Americans believe there is a leadership crisis (Rosenthal 2012, p. 1). Extension is well-positioned to address this need for leader development due to our role in developing and delivering leadership programs that serve youth, college-aged students, and adults. Even still, practitioners are desperately trying to respond to this crisis with deliberate and appropriately planned leadership development programming (Murphy and Johnson 2011).

Shiitake mushroom production offers an income opportunity for Virginia’s small-farm operators and smallwoodlot owners while providing enjoyment for others. It is also a relatively simple food-production activity, like gardening, that can be a hobby or used for teaching. This publication describes a technique for shiitake production and marketing that can be used and adapted by Virginia farmers, hobbyists, or teachers. It describes common techniques based on the available research, as well as areas of disagreement and typical difficulties producers may face, such as pests. In addition to production methods, this publication describes some of the basics of the finances and marketing of shiitake mushrooms for those interested in using them for income production.

The demonstration and research plot results discussed in this publication are a cooperative effort by six Virginia Cooperative Extension agents, extension specialists from Virginia Tech, and an assistant professor at the Virginia State University School of Agriculture. We are proud to present this year’s on farm small grain plot work to you. We hope the information in this publication will help farmers produce a profitable crop in 2015.

Tom Stanley, Extension Agent, Farm Business Management Eric Eberly, Extension Agent, Farm Business Management (Retired)

You are likely asking yourself, “Where do I begin?” The purpose of this tool is to help you gather a solid basis of information as you consider your “start-up” situation. Once you have completed as much as you can of this worksheet (or if you have any questions along the way), please bring it to your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office to get guidance on where to go next: http://www.ext.vt.edu/offices/index.html. Good Luck! We look forward to helping you bring your farm vision to life!

The objectives of this publication are (1) to outline some climate-related challenges facing agriculture, (2) to address challenges in communicating climate change issues, and (3) to propose best practices when attempting to communicate climate change issues to agricultural stakeholders. Extension educators and agricultural service providers can use the information presented here to develop outreach and educational programs focused on the impacts of climate change, the effects of climate change on agricultural production, and the best ways to motivate behavior change.

Variable-rate applications (VRA) of nitrogen (N) fertilizers are a new option to assist producers with real-time fertilizer rate decisions. Two commercially available systems that allow variable-rate nitrogen applications are GreenSeeker (Trimble Navigation Limited; www. ntechindustries.com/greenseeker-home.html) and the OptRx Crop Sensor (Ag Leader Technology; www. agleader.com/products/directcommand/optrx/). A discussion of the science behind these systems, potential economic benefits, and other methodologies to make VRA is discussed in Virginia Cooperative Extension publication 442-505, “Precision Farming Tools: Variable- Rate Application” (Grisso et al. 2011).

Virginia farmers sell their produce through many venues including on-farm sales, farm stands, and farmers’ markets. Wherever the produce is sold, it must be sold by weight, count, head/bunch, or dry measure. If the produce is sold by weight, the produce will be weighed on scales that have been certified by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Office of Weights and Measures.

Dairy farmers are usually subject to net income fluctuations due to volatility in both milk and feed prices. Risk management tools, such as hedging milk prices in the futures market, may be used to protect dairy farmers against milk price volatility. Alternatively, dairy farmers selling milk in Virginia can buy Virginia milk commission base (MCB) to obtain higher milk prices and, therefore, sustain or increase net cash flows.

This video intends to facilitate the learning process about newborn calf management by Hispanic employees. The video is narrated in Spanish and subtitled in English so that English-speaking employers can also improve communication with their labor force.

Typically, feed costs are directly related to milk production, so the more you feed, the more you produce. However, milk production is not necessarily related to profitability. Production-oriented management, which focuses on maximizing outputs (i.e., milk yield) through increased utilization of inputs (i.e., feed), does not necessarily ensure the dairy business will be profitable.

The price of milk in the global market has been decreasing substantially during the last year. The last bid from Global Dairy Trade resulted in a price for whole-milk powder equal to $1,590 per metric ton. This price is 13 percent lower than the minimum price for whole-milk powder reported by Global DairyTrade in 2009.

Container-grown plants are constrained with regard to root growth, and are affected by factors including container size, substrate, weather, nutrition, and irrigation. Typical soilless substrates will hold less plant-available water than a typical field soil, making water management a critical component of any container-grown plant production system. A well-designed and managed irrigation system, which works in concert with the aforementioned factors, can provide the necessary quantity of water to support plant growth in an efficient manner.