Virginia
Agriculture
Virginia ranked 30th among the 50 states in 2002 with farm marketings of more than $2.4 billion. The commonwealth is an important producer of tobacco, soybeans, peanuts, cotton, tomatoes, potatoes, and peaches. There were an estimated 49,000 farms in 2002, covering 8.7 million acres (3.5 million hectares).
The Tidewater is an important farming region, as it has been since the early 17th century. Crops grown include corn, wheat, tobacco, cotton, peanuts and truck crops. Truck crops and soybeans are cultivated on the Eastern Shore. The piedmont is known for its apples and other fruits, while the Shenandoah Valley is one of the nation's main apple growing regions. In 2002, Virginia ranked 4th among states in tobacco, 7th in peanuts, and 6th in apples. The following table shows data for leading crops in 2002:
| ACRES (1,000 S ) | PRODUCTION | VALUE ($) | |
| Tobacco | 29,570 | 66,180,000 lb | — |
| Hay | 1,370,000 | 2,050,000,000 tons | 197,300,000 |
| Soybeans | 440,000 | 10,120,000 bushels | 55,154,000 |
| Corn for grain | 305,000 | 20,130,000 bushels | 55,358,000 |
| Peanuts | 57,000 | 119,700,000 lb | 23,701,000[/ |
| Wheat | 230,000 | 10,710,000 bushels | 29,988,000 |
| Apples | — | 250,000,000 lb | 30,250,000 |
| Tomatoes | 3,800 | 1,520,000 hundredweight | 41,040,000 |
| Barley | 65,000 | 3,080,000 bushels | 4,312,000 |
| Potatoes | 6,300 | 220,000 hundredweight | 304,920,000 |
| Peaches | — | 7,000,000 lb | 2,800,000 |
| Sweet potatoes | 500 | 105,000 hundredweight | 1,680,000 |
| Cotton | 98,000 | 99,000 (480lb bales) | 19,388,000 |