Ed. — From the Sunday, Aug. 13, print edition.
VIRGINIA BEACH — Gov. Glenn Youngkin was among the thousands of people who visited rural Blackwater on Thursday, Aug. 3, for the Virginia Ag Expo, which was held for the second time in Virginia Beach at Land of Promise Farms.
The expo is the largest agricultural field day in the commonwealth, and it drew a range of farmers, industry representatives and government leaders to look at the latest technology, equipment and growing methods, as well as examine some productive Virginia Beach soil.
“Welcome to the largest agricultural field day in the commonwealth of Virginia,” Youngkin said during remarks.
He thanked the Horsley family for welcoming everyone to the event, and he noted that he previously had a corn-harvesting lesson on a combine from Ryan Horsley, one of the partners in the family-run Land of Promise Farms.
“I did really well, and they told me that if the governor thing didn’t work out I could have a job,” Youngkin said.
“It’s just an extraordinary opportunity to come together. To come together and celebrate what’s happening in agriculture in Virginia. … This is our largest private industry in Virginia.”
“This is critical, not just for Virginia employment and for Virginia economic growth, but it’s critical for Virginia’s food supply,” Youngkin said, noting $5 billion in agricultural exports from the commonwealth this past year. “And it’s critical for the nation’s food supply. It’s critical for the world’s food supply.
“This is an extraordinary expression of not only the work all of you do but the quality of what is being grown in Virginia means. That allows us to do more work, to open up new markets.”
As an example, he noted the use of soybean oil in tire production as a potential growing market for the use of agricultural products.
The governor was joined in making remarks by Don Horsley of Land of Promise Farms, state Del. Barry Knight, the chair of House Appropriations and a longtime local farmer, and Virginia Agriculture & Forestry Secretary Matthew Lohr.
“People here at Land of Promise Farms are very proud to welcome everybody,” Horsley said, introducing his family and all on the farm who worked to make a big event happen in rural Virginia Beach.
“We’re very pleased to have all of you show up today,” Horsley added. “We’ve seen a lot of friends. We’ve made a lot of friends.”
“I think the very first thing that we need to do today is thank the Horsley family for their generosity,” he said, and he pointed out a number of state and local officials who attended, including elected officials and Virginia Beach City Manager Patrick Duhaney, before introducing Lohr.
Lohr, himself a farmer, thanked Horsley and noted that he visited the farm before when he was the state agriculture comissioner and the expo was held in Virginia Beach.
“We get to oversee the largest and the third-largest industries in Virginia with agriculture and forestry,” he said. “We get to work with the best people. Many of those people are here today in all parts of agriculture. We get to promote the best food products and the best beverages, and next week we’re going to be celebrating Secretariat’s 50th anniversary of winning the Triple Crown.”
He said the Youngkin administration has made agriculture a top priority, including supporting the rise of indoor farming in the commonwealth and highlighting exports of farm products.
A number of families and young people attended the event.
Liberti Sell, 18, traveled to the expo from Rappahannock County, where she participates in the Virginia FFA Association.
Sell grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, but came to love agriculture when her family moved to Virginia and she became involved with agricultural organizations for youth.
“I learned so much,” Sell said, and she plans to study sports media at Virginia Tech with agriculture as a second major.
She was glad to meet the governor and others and represent FFA during the expo – and she said she cannot wait to share the message of agriculture with others down the road.
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