What’s the issue?
Currently, farmers in Virginia Beach are prohibited from producing value added products on their farms as this is considered “processing” and would require a change to zoning regulations and/or city code. This means that a farmer who grows mint cannot dehydrate that mint and sell it as tea. A farmer who grows tomatoes cannot can those tomatoes and sell them as sauce. A farmer who grows hemp cannot de-shell the hemp seeds and sell it as hemp hearts. Etc etc.
This has nothing to do with rural character and the preservation of rural community / farmland as some may tell you. Whether or not there is a facility already onsite that the VA dept of Agriculture would approve for making value added products or someone wants to build said facility, no matter the size, it’s illegal. Our goal is to keep agricultural land intended for agricultural uses first and foremost, but with respect to the farmers, allowing them to simply process on site the crops already being grown on site.
Our situation - we have a building on our farm that is approved for processing by the VA dept of Agriculture. No additions need to be made. No traffic would increase. No significant additional waste would be created. Value added products can be made on site as is. The city is saying that we need to attempt to have the code changed or zoning regulations changed in order to legally produce value added products on site.
Why is this important?
Farms need all the help they can get to be able to derive enough income to be able to continue to grow food for our community. It’s as simple as that. This IS a matter of national security on a local and regional level and one that exposes farmers to risks that we can’t afford to force them to take - that financial risk being not being able to use their land to produce, process and sell products to their communities at the best possible profit margin. Forcing them to sell their raw products is just wrong, and dangerous.
Not only this, but the further the crops must be transported in order to be processed, the more CO2 emissions are released into the atmosphere. The whole concept of agricultural preservation is to reduce environmental harm.
What we need to do:
We need the support of our VB community to show city council and the agricultural advisory committee that we are serious about food freedom. We need everyone who enjoys eating to sign this petition and to share the information with their family and friends. Our plan is to present this petition to city council and ask for an ordinance that allows farms the ability for small scale production on their farms.
Look around the world, places you have traveled to or read about. From wealthy to poor nations. Those places with “the best” food are the ones that do not prohibit their farmers from making a living. They are the ones that support and celebrate this. From small batch artisanal wine and cheese makers, heritage breed hog farmers, pasture raised cattle farmers, organic hemp farmers - these small scale producers are very likely to be operating businesses that not only are producing extraordinary products but also the ones that are doing it in a way that not only causes little environmental damage but actually mitigates it! This is about food security and environmental protection but it’s also about delicious food and our local community; they go hand in hand.
Updates
July 30, 2020
I spent all morning reading through the messages you left and it is wild how many other farmers are dealing with this exact same red tape regarding their own harvests. It feels like we are finally starting to pull back the curtain on why this city code makes absolutely no sense for anyone trying to actually sustain a farm around here.
July 30, 2020
I really thought this might just disappear into the void but seeing people jump on board makes me realize how many folks actually care about the survival of these farms. It is honestly kind of surreal to see this much momentum building because I am just sitting here in my kitchen staring at a pile of paperwork and hoping for some common sense to finally prevail.
Reached 100 supporters
July 30, 2020
25 Comments
Hi Cielo, the issue is within Virginia Beach, VA. The only VA county I have seen so far to amend this ordinance is Fairfax County.
farming is the act of providing food to feed people. they should be allowed to process it and add value. farming is not a high profit profession and, as COVID has shown us, local food sources are critical to the food supply.
Quit government overreach and allow the farmers to sell value added products. Their products are healthier and less chemically treated !
Highly important and much needed changes for the security of our local food system.
I am a hemp farmer unable to process my handmade salves using my hemp grown on site. This not only effects me, but effects my neighborhood farmers that grow wheat for bread, tomatoes for salsa, fruits for jams, veggies for pickling, and so on. Our goal is to raise awareness to agricultural commodities by producing amazing quality organic products using the crops grown on our farm. We need to do away with this outdated ordinance for the well-being and financial security of our local farmers. If people are worried about the size of a farming operation next door, imagine if your neighbor farmer was forced to sell their property to a commercial builder because they were unable to make a decent living selling vegetables.
I support the changing of this policy for farmers.
Get rid of outdated or useless laws. They do more harm than good.
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What’s the issue?
Currently, farmers in Virginia Beach are prohibited from producing value added products on their farms as this is considered “processing” and would require a change to zoning regulations and/or city code. This means that a farmer who grows mint cannot dehydrate that mint and sell it as tea. A farmer who grows tomatoes cannot can those tomatoes and sell them as sauce. A farmer who grows hemp cannot de-shell the hemp seeds and sell it as hemp hearts. Etc etc.
This has nothing to do with rural character and the preservation of rural community / farmland as some may tell you. Whether or not there is a facility already onsite that the VA dept of Agriculture would approve for making value added products or someone wants to build said facility, no matter the size, it’s illegal. Our goal is to keep agricultural land intended for agricultural uses first and foremost, but with respect to the farmers, allowing them to simply process on site the crops already being grown on site.
Our situation - we have a building on our farm that is approved for processing by the VA dept of Agriculture. No additions need to be made. No traffic would increase. No significant additional waste would be created. Value added products can be made on site as is. The city is saying that we need to attempt to have the code changed or zoning regulations changed in order to legally produce value added products on site.
Why is this important?
Farms need all the help they can get to be able to derive enough income to be able to continue to grow food for our community. It’s as simple as that. This IS a matter of national security on a local and regional level and one that exposes farmers to risks that we can’t afford to force them to take - that financial risk being not being able to use their land to produce, process and sell products to their communities at the best possible profit margin. Forcing them to sell their raw products is just wrong, and dangerous.
Not only this, but the further the crops must be transported in order to be processed, the more CO2 emissions are released into the atmosphere. The whole concept of agricultural preservation is to reduce environmental harm.
What we need to do:
We need the support of our VB community to show city council and the agricultural advisory committee that we are serious about food freedom. We need everyone who enjoys eating to sign this petition and to share the information with their family and friends. Our plan is to present this petition to city council and ask for an ordinance that allows farms the ability for small scale production on their farms.
Look around the world, places you have traveled to or read about. From wealthy to poor nations. Those places with “the best” food are the ones that do not prohibit their farmers from making a living. They are the ones that support and celebrate this. From small batch artisanal wine and cheese makers, heritage breed hog farmers, pasture raised cattle farmers, organic hemp farmers - these small scale producers are very likely to be operating businesses that not only are producing extraordinary products but also the ones that are doing it in a way that not only causes little environmental damage but actually mitigates it! This is about food security and environmental protection but it’s also about delicious food and our local community; they go hand in hand.
Updates
July 30, 2020
I spent all morning reading through the messages you left and it is wild how many other farmers are dealing with this exact same red tape regarding their own harvests. It feels like we are finally starting to pull back the curtain on why this city code makes absolutely no sense for anyone trying to actually sustain a farm around here.
July 30, 2020
I really thought this might just disappear into the void but seeing people jump on board makes me realize how many folks actually care about the survival of these farms. It is honestly kind of surreal to see this much momentum building because I am just sitting here in my kitchen staring at a pile of paperwork and hoping for some common sense to finally prevail.
Reached 100 supporters
July 30, 2020
25 Comments
This is a critical issue that requires necessary change for Virginia Beach agricultural operations. I fully stand behind this measure and strongly invite our City Council to review this matter in an unbiased manner that is focused on the well-being and growth of their constituents instead of their self-interests.
Hi Cielo, the issue is within Virginia Beach, VA. The only VA county I have seen so far to amend this ordinance is Fairfax County.
farming is the act of providing food to feed people. they should be allowed to process it and add value. farming is not a high profit profession and, as COVID has shown us, local food sources are critical to the food supply.
Quit government overreach and allow the farmers to sell value added products. Their products are healthier and less chemically treated !
Highly important and much needed changes for the security of our local food system.
I am a hemp farmer unable to process my handmade salves using my hemp grown on site. This not only effects me, but effects my neighborhood farmers that grow wheat for bread, tomatoes for salsa, fruits for jams, veggies for pickling, and so on. Our goal is to raise awareness to agricultural commodities by producing amazing quality organic products using the crops grown on our farm. We need to do away with this outdated ordinance for the well-being and financial security of our local farmers. If people are worried about the size of a farming operation next door, imagine if your neighbor farmer was forced to sell their property to a commercial builder because they were unable to make a decent living selling vegetables.
I support the changing of this policy for farmers.
Get rid of outdated or useless laws. They do more harm than good.
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This is a critical issue that requires necessary change for Virginia Beach agricultural operations. I fully stand behind this measure and strongly invite our City Council to review this matter in an unbiased manner that is focused on the well-being and growth of their constituents instead of their self-interests.