Top Virginia Agriculture Products

1. Broilers  – Broilers, or chickens raised for meat, consistently top Virginia’s agriculture commodities list with $817 million in cash receipts in 2013. Approximately 262 million broilers roamed the state’s chicken houses.

2. Cattle and calves – Out of a total inventory of 1.51 million cattle and calves, 637,000 were beef cattle in 2013. Cash receipts for cattle and calves totaled $557 million.

3. Milk – Virginia’s 93,000 dairy cows produced 19,140 pounds of milk per head in 2013 for a total production of 1.78 billion pounds of milk. Milk brought in $397 million in cash receipts.

4, Soybeans – This versatile crop brought in $284 million in cash receipts in 2013. The 25.28 million bushels harvested was enough to produce 37.92 million gallons of biodiesel.

5. Turkeys – Virginia’s second-highest grossing poultry population had cash receipts totaling $268 million in 2013. Approximately 16.8 million turkeys were raised for their meat, which is popular for sandwiches or holidays.

6. Greenhouse/nursery – A multifaceted commodity made up of floriculture, sod and more brought in $263 million in cash receipts in 2013.

7 . Corn, grain – According to the USDA, Virginia corn removed 2.8 million tons of carbon dioxide during its 2013 growing season. Corn earned $171 million in cash receipts that year.

8. Hay – Grown to feed livestock in the winter or supplement their diets year round, hay brought in $124 million in 2013. Virginia fields produced 2.67 million tons of hay on 1.17 million acres.

9. Wheat, winter – Wheat, which was first planted in the U.S. in 1777 as a hobby crop, earned $120 million in cash receipts in 2013. The 17.68 million bushels produced were enough to bake 742.56 million loaves of bread.

10. Tobacco (unprocessed leaf) – Out of the 57.65 million pounds of tobacco produced in Virginia in 2013, 54 million pounds were flue-cured. Tobacco’s cash receipts totaled $113 million.