A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 3.2 a section numbered 3.2-108.3, relating to Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Office of Small Farms and Virginia Small Farms Fund established; report.
HB1169 would create an Office of Small Farms within the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, under the Commissioner’s supervision. The office would be tasked with promoting the growth of small farms across the Commonwealth, with an emphasis on rural and urban revitalization, access to fresh food, job creation, emergency food supply resilience, and broader economic development through local farm products.
The bill defines “small farms” as local agricultural operations with gross cash farm income under $350,000. It directs the new office to help farms secure resources and equipment, build needed infrastructure such as aggregation, processing, storage, packaging, and distribution facilities, expand training and technical assistance, coordinate policies with public agencies and outside stakeholders, facilitate use of public lands for growing food, track small-farm development through data collection, and work with agencies such as the Department of General Services, Department of Education, and Department of Corrections to increase procurement of local farm products by schools and state agencies.
The bill would add a new section to Title 3.2 of the Code of Virginia, creating a permanent Office of Small Farms and a nonreverting Virginia Small Farms Fund in the state treasury. The fund could receive appropriations, gifts, donations, grants, and bequests, and would be used only to support the office’s statutory duties. The measure would also require the Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services to submit an annual report on the office’s operations to the relevant House and Senate agriculture committee chairs.
The available context suggests generally favorable policy intent toward supporting small farms, local food systems, and agricultural development, but there is no recorded committee debate or vote to show broader legislative support or opposition. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources and ultimately left in committee, indicating it did not advance, though the record provided does not explain why.
No specific objections or amendments are documented in the provided transcripts or vote history. Potential areas of policy tension implied by the bill include the creation of a new state office, the establishment of a dedicated fund, the use of public lands for farming, and increased state procurement of local farm products, which could raise questions about administrative cost, agency coordination, and procurement priorities. However, the available record does not identify any named opponents or supporters.