
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, March 16, 1990                   TAG: 9003162059
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE                                 LENGTH: Short

MORE VARIED CROPS ADVISED FOR VA. FARMS

Virginia farmers must increase the variety and production of specialty crops to enhance profits in the 1990s, state Agriculture Commissioner S. Mason Carbaugh said Thursday.

Carbaugh told more than 200 farmers attending the fourth annual Conference on Sustainable Agriculture that growers must continue to manage their resources "wisely for today and protect them for future generations." That means growing marketable crops and thinking internationally, he said.

Carbaugh also said that with the declining number of young people living on farms, farmers will have to recruit students with non-farm backgrounds to provide the help needed.

The conference was sponsored by the Virginia Committee on Sustainable Agriculture, the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service, the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the state Association of Biological Farmers.

by CNB