Tomatoes Surpass Tobacco, Peanuts as Leading Field Crop in Virginia

Source from:  delmarvanow.com Associated Press  10/23/2007

In Virginia, tobacco, peanuts, cotton and soybeans have been the dominant crops for years. But the tomato has jumped to the head of the class: Virginia now ranks No. 3 in the United States in producing tomatoes, behind California and Florida. State officials are't sure how tomatoes moved up the food chain. It could be that many other crops have been having such a hard time with weather and prices, or that tomatoes are so versatile and can be used in many other products, officials said. With a worth of $98.7 million in 2006, tomatoes topped soybeans, No. 1 the year before. Cash receipts for soybeans were $86.4 million last year. Corn receipts in 2006 were $86.1 million, followed by tobacco and hay, according to the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation. Virginia's Eastern Shore and Hanover County are the top tomoto-growing regions. The tomato-growing season is almost over on the Eastern Shore, where tomatoes and other crops suffered in the statewide drought, said Lynn Gayle, a grower who works for Taylor & Fulton, growers and shippers. The crop is shipped every year from Virginia to almost every state on the East Coast. Gayle said he was surprised when he heard the new figures. "But 2006 wasn't that good of a year, either," Gayle said. "And, just like other farmers, our expenses have been up by about 30 percent for the last two years. That figure is a surprise." In terms of acres harvested, hay at more than 1.2 million acres is tops. It is followed by soybeans, corn, winter wheat and cotton. Tobacco sales, at $71.6 million, were 18 percent higher than the previous year. Peanuts, once the top crop for western regions of Hampton Roads, fell to the lowest price since 1973, partly because of the demise of the peanut quota system. Enditem