The economy of the Commonwealth of Virginia is largely built on agriculture. It is the state’s largest private industry, and contributes nearly 400,000 jobs to our economy. From cattle and turkeys to corn and peanuts, a variety of livestock and crops are raised at large scale here in Virginia. And as far as we can tell, twas ever thus – the history of the Richmond area and the state as a whole is largely one of agricultural production.
It’s difficult for us to know how far back this all goes; after all, when the English colonists first arrived in this area 400 years ago, they found Native Americans who had been raising crops here for thousands of years already. The Native American tribes those colonists found generally did not keep written records, but as far as we can tell today, they began cultivating wild plants in a manner designed to encourage growth over 10,000 years ago.
That said, some of the plants we most closely associate with this area were not native plants. Corn, called maize by the Native Americans, came to Virginia from its native Mexico via Native American trade routes around a thousand years ago, along with squash and beans. Before the colonists arrived, land alongside the James and Appomattox rivers proved a fertile base for Native American agriculture.
Things changed on a number of levels when English colonists arrived. While Native Americans grew and smoked a variety of tobacco, it was a variety Europeans found too strong and bitter. The sort of tobacco that was grown in this area completely changed once John Rolfe, a member of the Virginia governor’s council and legendary husband of Pocahontas, came to these shores. Trading with Spanish colonists for a variety of tobacco seed grown in the Caribbean, Rolfe established a new kind of tobacco crop that brought a great deal of wealth to Central Virginia in the colonial era.
The growth of tobacco agriculture in the area had immediate and wide-ranging consequences for the Native American farmers and tribes that were already here. European farmers demanded much larger swaths of land on which to grow their crops, since instead of farming for food to feed their communities, they were growing cash crops that they could then trade with European supply ships for food imported from Europe.
Some of the earliest tobacco plantations established by colonists here in the Richmond area lend their names to towns, suburbs, and neighborhoods that exist to this day. For example, Rolfe and Pocahontas settled on the northern banks of the James River in 1615, naming their 2000-acre plantation Varina. To the west of Varina, the plantation known as Bellwood was established on 1300 acres in 1619. To the east, in present-day Charles City County, Shirley Plantation was established in 1614, and remains in operation to this day.
The primary business of these large colonial-era plantations was growing cash crops, especially tobacco. These labor-heavy businesses carried out across thousands of acres of land required a massive amount of cheap labor. Rich colonists obtained such labor through the use of European indentured servants (who were given free passage to the United States in exchange for seven years of hard labor) and kidnapped Native Americans, but eventually turned to the exclusive use of enslaved African people, who were forced into a system of chattel slavery that continued for hundreds of years and is considered by many to be the United States’ original sin.
The massive demand for enslaved people created by the widespread growth of cash crops in the central Virginia area caused Richmond to become a central hub of the colonial slave trade. After the Revolutionary War, Congress prohibited importation of enslaved people, and this caused massive growth in Virginia’s slave trade, eventually becoming a bigger business in the Richmond area than the farming it originally supplemented. The moral rot of this entire enterprise is, of course, what eventually led to the United States Civil War.
In the meantime, agriculture had changed around Virginia. Unlike Native Americans, who had used the “Three Sisters” system of crop rotation to maintain the quality of their soil, tobacco farmers had exhausted their lands by the time of the Revolutionary War. This pushed farmers into growing more mixed crops, which could utilize the lands exhausted by tobacco, and required less labor than tobacco had. Reduction in enslaved labor forces on Virginia plantations were one factor that enabled the 19th century explosion in the slave trade in the Richmond area, as enslaved people were transferred in huge numbers from the mid-Atlantic to the Caribbean and other outposts of colonialism.
Of course, all that would come to an end before too much longer, and when it did, the agriculture industry of Central Virginia changed once again. While tobacco processing remained an important industry in the area, growth of tobacco moved south to the Carolinas, where the tobacco ideal for cigarettes – quickly growing in popularity in the late 19th century – was most easily grown. Meanwhile, here in Virginia, the destructiveness of the war had left plantations in ruins, and emancipation freed what had been a captive labor force. In the post-slavery era, sharecropping – a system in which tenant farmers grew crops on landowners’ property and split the take with their landlord (who often exploited the system to keep tenant farmers perpetually in debt) – grew to replace it.
More changes were coming in the early 20th century, as technology made farming more efficient, and less labor-intensive. Peanuts were a popular crop south and east of Richmond, and the invention of a peanut-harvesting machine made their growth more profitable. To this day, Virginia peanuts are one of the state’s most well-known crops. More profitable, though, are soybeans, which have become one of the state’s most valuable crops in recent years. When they were first grown in Virginia, they had mainly utilitarian uses: animal feed, oil, and industrial applications. As soybeans have become more prominent in our diets, though, the crop has become more and more valuable and essential to Virginia’s farmers.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, significant advances in farming technology were taking place just south of the city, at Bellwood Plantation. Canadian farmer James Bellwood bought the estate in the 1880s and began experimenting with new farming technologies, including crop rotation and natural fertilizers, to replenish the depleted soil. The dairy farm at Bellwood supplied a large percentage of the milk sold in local markets at the time, while the crops and livestock from the farm won awards at international expositions. After Bellwood’s death, his family continued agricultural operations on the land until the US government bought it in the WWII era to construct the Richmond Quartermaster Depot and other Department of Defense holdings around the Port of Richmond.
Agriculture has continued to be a hugely important industry here in Virginia, but increases in suburban development around the Richmond area over the past 60 years have pushed it farther and farther from the city, even as technological advances result in significant job reductions even as a similar amount of land is cultivated. Today, half as many Virginians work in agricultural industries as did 50 years ago.
That being said, Virginia remains a state dominated by agricultural production, with agriculture remaining the Commonwealth’s largest industry; today, over a third of Virginia’s land is devoted to agricultural production. The diversity of Virginia’s crop production enables the Commonwealth to rank within the Top 10 in national production in a variety of commodities including tobacco, apples, pumpkins, turkeys, peanuts, and more.
Closer to home here in Central Virginia, a variety of new developments in the world of agriculture have enabled farmers around Richmond to stay productive and competitive into the 21st century, despite no longer being able to hold massive tobacco plantations so close to the city. One big development has been the rise in so-called “agri-tainment,” where things like hayrides, pick-your-own berry patches, and Halloween haunted-house attractions end up being a significant portion of the farm’s yearly income.
It won’t be too hard to find local agricultural products, from goat milk based soaps, to your favorite local honey, in some of our local shops and markets. Ellwood Thompson’s in Carytown, Little House Green Grocery on Bellevue, and many other small shops are proud to carry these and many other Virgina made items.You can also elect to drive North, up US Route 33 (Staples Mill), towards Louisa, or East on US Route 360, where at time throughout the year there are still egg carts, that work on the honor system. If you take the Eastern Route, check out Tommy’s Produce, in King William, which is always popular and has a lot of great local stuff.
Over the last 10 years, and accelerated greatly by the confines of the Covid 19 Pandemic, many community gardens have sprung up throughout the region. Notably, McDonough Community Garden and Fonticello Food Forest in Chesterfield County, Humphrey Calder and Chimborazo Community Gardens in Richmond. All of these gardens serve their local residents, but some partner directly with Feedmore, the Central Virginia Food Bank.
One way in which to experience some of the many local agricultural products is to visit the growing number of Farmers’ Markets in the area. From Apiarists and Bee Yards, to vegetables and local poultry, pork and beef. Often you will find local crafts, makers, and artisanal goods, that are either directly related or simply complimentary to the more agricultural vendors on display. Some of our favorites include longtime Lakeside Farmers’ Market, on Brook Rd. in Henrico, South of the James Market in Richmond at Forest Hill Park, Chesterfield County Farmers Market at the CourtHouse, and Carytown Farmers Market at City Stadium. You can also check out RVA Big Market, which is cool.
Another development has been the growth of indoor and Vertical Farming, in which crops are grown on terraces under LED lights. This allows farmers to control the environment, or “control the weather”. This method of growth produces higher annual yields and enables farmers to take advantage of an increased market for locally-sourced materials. Greenswell Growers uses their $17 million facility in Goochland County to grow leafy microgreens under sodium lamps, while in Richmond’s Scott’s Addition neighborhood, Babylon Micro-Farms controls a vast empire of vertical hydroponic systems across multiple states. The Plenty Berry Farm in Chesterfield County is already growing 4 million pounds of strawberries a year, starting in 2024, with plans to add even more capacity in the coming years.
One well-known current product of local agriculture is the Hanover Tomato, which appears in late June each year and is highly sought after by many local residents. They can be found on farm stands north of the city and in local farmers’ markets, and at the popular Hanover Tomato Festival held each year in July. While skeptics will argue that there is no proper “Hanover tomato,” believers will tell you that what really makes these tomatoes distinctive is the local “terroir.” This is a French word mainly used in describing the conditions around the Champagne district of France. However, in Hanover County, folks argue that the soil, with its lower-pH levels, is essential to making the perfect tasty, juicy tomato.
Another less notable but far more ubiquitous crop in Central Virginia is hay. At certain times of year, any drive into the countryside around Richmond will take you past dozens of fields full of giant round hay bales. The appeal of hay is that it’s much easier to plant and harvest than most crops. Farmers who aren’t able to make farming their sole source of income can still plant hay in their fields and have a steady extra income stream from raising hay crops in the few hours they can afford to put towards farming each week.
Urban agriculture has become relatively popular around Richmond in recent years. Quite a few vacant plots of land in city neighborhoods were taken over by community gardeners, a project that was legitimized by Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration under the Richmond Grows Gardens initiative. It’s even possible to legally keep chickens within the city these days, though the regulations can make it difficult to put into practice. Nonetheless, you may live right down the street from enterprising folks with coops in their backyards.
No article about agriculture in the Richmond area would be complete without discussing the thriving beer and wine production community here. The passage of SB 604 in 2012 allowed breweries to offer retail sales and on-site tastings, which spurred a wave of new taprooms and revitalized areas like Scott’s Addition, Rocketts Landing, and neighborhoods near the airport. The Richmond Beer Trail now connects dozens of creative, independently owned breweries—many of them award-winning and all marked by a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Wineries, too, are flourishing just outside the city, especially in Goochland, Powhatan, and Hanover counties. While not all ingredients are grown locally, a growing share of the grains, hops, and fruits used by Virginia breweries and wineries are produced in-state, linking the craft beverage boom directly back to the land.
The Richmond area feels much more urban than it did 400 or even 50 years ago. However, agriculture has remained a crucial part of the local landscape, with the diversity of commodities around the state keeping local food production thriving even as we head into the 21st century. For better or for worse, Richmond also remains an important hub for United States tobacco production, meaning the local area’s fortunes remain tied to the cigarette industry to some extent. And of course, the growth of many new commodities and methods of production, from indoor farming to craft beer brewing, finds the city tied to what will surely be a strong agricultural future.
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