Legp 604

1996 SESSION
INTRODUCED
960012480
INTRODUCED
1 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 45
2 Offered January 17, 1996
3 Directing the Departments of Economic Development and Agriculture and Consumer Services to
4 develop and implement a rural economic development plan.
5 ––––––––––
6 Patrons––Kilgore, Armstrong, Bennett, Bloxom, Crouch, Johnson, Phillips, Ruff, Sherwood, Stump, Tate,
7 Van Yahres, Weatherholtz and Wilkins; Senator: Hawkins
8 ––––––––––
9 Referred to Committee on Agriculture
10 ––––––––––
11 WHEREAS, agriculture is very important to Virginia's economy; and
12 WHEREAS, the agricultural sector employs nearly nine percent of all working Virginians, including
13 49,000 Virginians employed on farms, 51,000 in the processing of agricultural products, 81,000 in
14 distribution, and 69,000 in those companies that supply farmers with machinery and materials; and
15 WHEREAS, farming accounts for 11.6 percent of Virginia's economy, with the leading agricultural
16 commodities (broilers, cattle and calves, wholesale milk, turkeys, tobacco, green houses and nurseries,
17 soybeans, peanuts, hogs, and eggs) generating approximately $1.74 billion annually in at-gate farm
18 income; and
19 WHEREAS, nationally, Virginia ranks third in the production of fresh market tomatoes, fifth in
20 tobacco, fifth in peanuts, sixth in turkeys, sixth in apples, ninth in broilers, twenty-first in sheep and
21 lambs, twenty-second in hogs, and twenty-sixth in cattle and calves; and
22 WHEREAS, a number of organizations and agencies such as the Center of Rural Development, the
23 Rural Economic Analysis Program, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the
HJ45
24 Community Resource Development Program, regional Economic Development Councils, and selected
25 community colleges have identified rural economic development issues and have begun to address some
26 of the problems facing Virginia's rural communities; and
27 WHEREAS, "Opportunity Virginia; A Strategic Plan for Jobs and Prosperity" recognized the need to
28 develop a strategic plan for agriculture; and suggests that such a plan have the following goals: (i) create
29 an environment that strengthens the agriculture industry by (a) educating the public on the economic
30 benefits of agriculture, (b) developing the necessary infrastructure to support rural Virginia, (c)
31 expanding the worldwide market opportunities for Virginia products, and (d) continuing to develop a
32 skilled and productive workforce; (ii) create rural and urban partnerships to increase the contributions of
33 agriculture to the state's economy, and (iii) enhance the environment and ensure the safety and
34 abundance of the food supply; and
35 WHEREAS, nowhere is such a plan more needed than in the tobacco communities of southside and
11/12/22 1:13
36 southwest Virginia; and

37 WHEREAS, a recent study by Dr. John L. Knapp of the University of Virginia's Weldon Cooper
38 Center for Public Service highlighted the importance of tobacco to certain communities when it found
39 that tobacco represents 48.5 percent of the value of farm products in major Virginia tobacco counties;
40 and
41 WHEREAS, census data suggests that in counties like Halifax and Pittsylvania and in the southside
42 region, 60-80 percent of all farm sales revenues received are generated by tobacco; and
43 WHEREAS, diversification in Virginia's tobacco communities is difficult because the net returns
44 generated by other agricultural pursuits are far below those generated by tobacco at current prices and
45 costs of production, and tobacco counties afford few natural advantages for diversification in terms of
46 topography, soil quality, rainfall, and proximity to markets; and
47 WHEREAS, farm employment and farm income have been dropping in the tobacco region of the
48 state, in that from 1969 to 1993 farm employment's share of total employment fell from 14.7 to 6.9
49 percent and the share of personal income earned from farms fell from 6.2 to 0.9 percent; and
50 WHEREAS, currently there does not exist a cohesive and widespread policy of economic
51 development for rural Virginia; now, therefore, be it
52 RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the Departments of Economic
53 Development and Agriculture and Consumer Services jointly develop and implement a rural economic
54 development plan that at a minimum addresses the following:
55 1. Education, including pre-kindergarten, primary, secondary and post-graduate resources (new
56 schools and day care);
57 2. Infrastructure, including capital for water and sewer upgrading, waste management, law
58 enforcement, housing, primary and secondary roads, and telecommunications;
59 3. Traditional industrial development-industrial parks and shell buildings and industry retention
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60 programs (including help in financing and in workforce training);

61 4. Recreational and cultural enhancement (parks, civic centers, and theaters);
62 5. Agribusiness incentives to promote the use of new technologies and reduce labor costs on the
63 farm;
64 6. A revolving loan fund or loan guarantee program to help start or expand entrepreneurial activities,
65 especially small business activities in rural communities; and
66 7. Development of an information base on potential employee interests and skills to assist in guiding
67 economic and rural development efforts.
68 RESOLVED FURTHER, That these agencies report their progress in establishing and implementing a
69 rural economic development plan to the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on
70 Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources by November 1 of every year, until the plan has been
71 implemented.

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1996 SESSION

36 southwest Virginia; and

60 programs (including help in financing and in workforce training);

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