THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 19, 1995 TAG: 9503170190
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Annual Business Review
Cover Story
SOURCE: BY CHARLENE CASON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
PEOPLE WHO KNOW agriculture know that ``Chesapeake is a sizable farming community,'' said Robert M. Pilch of the Virginia Cooperative Extension Service.
But that may surprise newcomers, who tend to view the city as suburban, not agricultural. Chesapeake has a reputation as a nice, quiet place to live, with good schools and shopping. It draws new residents who want to enjoy those amenities, not people who want to start farms.
Because of rich soil and weather that usually includes just the right amount of rainfall, this area, particularly the southern end of Chesapeake, has traditionally been good for farming, Pilch said.
Farming will bring $30 million of income to the city this year. About $12 million will come from field crops - soybeans, plus corn and wheat for feed - and another $12 million will come from horticulture crops - fruits, vegetables and nursery stock. Livestock, including hogs, cattle, sheep, chickens, horses and bees, will earn about $6 million.
``Even though we're a city, we're second in the state in soybean production,'' said Pilch. ``Out of 50,000 acres that are farmed, about 35,000 will be in soybeans this year.''
Other noteworthy facts about Chesapeake's agricultural community: with three dairies in Great Bridge - Bergey's, Wenger's and Lehman's - this is the largest dairy area east of Richmond; there are at least a dozen nurseries and greenhouses here, making those businesses a sizable portion of the farming income; and, surprisingly, this area has never grown tobacco, because the soil is too claylike.
Chesapeake has more farmland than Virginia Beach, and produces more grain crops. But Virginia Beach raises more hogs. Only about 30 acres in Chesapeake are planted in peanuts, while Suffolk is in the peanut belt.
Even though the number of farms in this area has gradually decreased, it is not due so much to farmers selling out, Pilch said, as to consolidation of smaller farms. The average age of a Virginia farmer is currently 58 years old.
``Everyone stays in economic straits. If they're careful, they can stay in farming. But if they make little money year after year, they go out.
``Farming pays more than a golf game or fishing, but it's still just a hobby for some people,'' he said.
Besides the usual obstacles of fluctuating prices and unpredictable weather, local farmers must now deal with Chesapeake's growing population; development brings more traffic on country roads traditionally used to move farm machinery.
Locally, summer weather has gone from one extreme to another for the past two years. A Southern drought brought only spotty rainfall to the area in 1993; last year, it rained nearly every day in July.
``Soybeans go into the ground as soon as wheat is harvested, usually late June,'' Pilch said. ``Every day after the Fourth of July that you don't plant, you can count on losing at least a half bushel of soybeans.''
So, even though Chesapeake is growing fast, it's not just new people who are raising figures; it's corn and cattle, soybeans and sheep. by CNB