RD273 - Report of the Center for Rural Virginia on the Expansion and Promotion of Farm Businesses and Rural Enterprises - November 2010


Executive Summary:
Chapters 797 and 833 of the 2010 Virginia Acts of the Assembly directed the Center for Rural Virginia to facilitate the creation of a rural enterprise opportunity task force to develop strategies that expand and promote economic opportunities for the agriculture industry throughout the Commonwealth. The legislation also called for the task force to examine and make recommendations on the issues related to expansion and promotion of farm businesses or rural enterprises.

The legislation provided that the members of the task force include the Deputy Secretary of Commerce and Trade for Rural Economic Development, representatives from the Virginia Farm Bureau, the Virginia Agribusiness Council, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Virginia Association of Counties, the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association, and an owner of a farm business or rural enterprise interested in expanded economic opportunities.

In accordance with its legislative directive, the Center for Rural Virginia convened the initial meeting of the Rural Enterprise Opportunities Task Force on June 14, 2010. The Task Force held five meetings and concluded its deliberations at the end of October 2010. All of its meetings were open to the public and interested parties participated in the Task Force’s discussions. Each meeting also included presentations on farm business, rural enterprise, and related topics.

The Task Force’s report includes three recommendations that the members feel will have a positive impact on the expansion and promotion of rural enterprise opportunities in the Commonwealth if implemented.

Those recommendations include:

1. Adopt various process streamlining amendments to the Agricultural and Forestal Districts Act (Chapter 32, Title 15.2, Code of Virginia).

2. Adopt legislation modeled on the Agricultural Enterprise Act of 2005 with proposed additional provisions.

3. Encourage local governments to use the checklist “Is Your Community Planning for Agriculture” to help local leaders determine if their locality is supportive of both traditional agriculture and farm based value-added enterprise.