Local farms grow green for Va.

James Clements
Published: August 10, 2008

Just when I thought I was buying and eating local because the food tasted better and I didn’t want to have to wonder where it had been before it made it to my plate, now it turns out I’m also supporting Virginia’s “No. 1 industry” and helping to sustain our area’s green space.

Saturday was the official end to Virginia Farmers Market Week 2008, but this year the state added a unique twist that should keep us enjoying local meat and produce a little longer.

According to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the state has issued a challenge to all Virginians to “Eat Local for a Day” and make a video of “what you bought, where you bought it, how you cooked it and, of course, how much you enjoyed it.”

The winning video will be featured on the VDACS Web site and YouTube, and the winner will receive a prize basket full of Virginia foods, beverages and other goodies. You were technically supposed to select one day during last week’s Farmers Market Week to do this, but since the video submission deadline isn’t until Sept. 2, you can probably bend the rules.

The Virginia Farm Bureau also launched a new awareness campaign and Web site last week, Save Our Food (SaveOurFood.org). In its press release, the Farm Bureau cited 2002 Census of Agriculture findings that Virginia farmers sold $16.8 million worth of foods directly to consumers in that year. From that number, they estimated that if each Virginia household spent $10 a week on Virginia-grown and Virginia-produced food and other farm products, those purchases would directly add $1.65 billion to the state’s economy.

“As you can tell by these numbers, expanding the sale of locally grown foods in Virginia has tremendous potential to boost local farm income — and thereby help more of our hard-pressed farmers stay on their land and remain profitable,” Matt Benson, a community viability specialist for Virginia Cooperative Extension, said in the release.

Though it may not be as glamorous as other industries, and certainly doesn’t garner the headlines, farming is big business in our state and local community. According to the VDACS, there are 46,000 farms throughout the state employing almost 400,000 workers.

Our own Downtown Farmers Market showcases well over a dozen local farms — Saturdays 7:30 a.m. to noon, across from the Depot — selling everything from locally raised meats to produce to honey (even Culpeper bees are getting into the spirit).

I’ve shared several stories of my own efforts to provide locally produced food for my family, and there are some exceptional backyard gardens in this area. (Looking at last week’s winner of the Star-Exponent’s biggest homegrown tomato contest, I’d guess I could feed my whole family with just that one two-and-a-half pound beefsteak.)

Of course, my plot contributes to the local economy more by way of chicken wire and diamond lattice trusses to keep the groundhog out — even if I could get a permit to shoot in town, my wife wouldn’t let me — than in starter plants, but it’s money that stays in the local economy all the same.

And the results are inspiring. You should try my $50 carrots! (That’s cost to produce, not cost to purchase.)

Inevitably, I end up supplementing my own bounty with the work of others. And it’s never felt so good to do so. Knowing you can personally contribute to our own local economy, help keep farms in the agriculture and not the subdivision business, and get the best food available seems like a win-win for everyone.

Hope to see you all at the Farmers Market next weekend with your video cameras. Who knows, maybe you’re the next Cecil B. DeMelon? And even if you’re not, discovering local foods for a day isn’t such a bad consolation prize.

James Clements is a Culpeper resident and independent columnist who appears each Monday. E-mail