Spring is planting season, but some farmers are harvesting profits from old junk that’s been lying around their buildings and fields, sometimes for decades.

Twenty-one percent of U.S. farmers and ranchers 35 and younger who participated in a recent survey ranked government regulations and “red tape” as a top concern. Another 21 percent cited securing adequate land to grow crops and raise livestock as their top challenge. 

If you’ll be firing up the grill on Memorial Day weekend, take steps to keep your meal—and yourself—from going up in smoke. 

Two agriculture-friendly bills were signed into state law during a May 9 ceremony. Both will provide opportunities for producers to grow their businesses. 

The United States may be the land of plenty in many ways, but for one in six Americans, hunger is a reality.

It’s part of the job: Raising food on a farm sometimes entails moving tractors and other equipment on the road. 

Dr. Jewel E. Hairston has been appointed dean of Virginia State University’s School of Agriculture. 

Farm families and their relatives across Virginia are welcoming the recent decision to withdraw proposed federal restrictions on underage farm employees. 

Domino’s Pizza has bucked the trend of restaurants buying meat from suppliers who shun industry-accepted animal welfare practices. 

Farmers’ markets—both retail and wholesale—are booming in Virginia.

The Virginia General Assembly earlier this year appropriated $125,000 in state funds to help beekeepers build up Virginia’s honeybee population. 

Beef cattle prices may have dropped off from historic levels, but they are still high.

A weekend of soaking rain has eased moisture concerns, but the threat of another freeze hovered the week of April 22—past the average date of last frost in most of the state.

Farm real estate accounted for 84 percent of the total value of U.S. farm assets in 2009, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released earlier this year. And strong farm earnings might have helped farmland real estate markets withstand the downturn in the residential housing market.

A few weeks ago Virginia farmers were weighing whether to gamble and plant corn and cotton crops early, taking advantage of unseasonably warm weather to jump-start their growing seasons.

The American Farm Bureau Federation <http://www.fb.org/>  recently honored Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-6th.) with its Golden Plow award, the highest recognition the organization bestows on members of Congress.

The demand for information on how to start farming continues to grow, and a new U.S. Department of Agriculture website is designed to be an easy place to start looking.

When Louisa County Farm Bureau secretary Susan Warren felt an earthquake hit last Aug. 23, she wasn’t sure what to do. So she rode the trembler out at her desk before checking to see if everyone was OK.

Last year the nation’s food banks helped feed 37 million Americans, according to FeedingAmerica.org. But 49 million Americans suffered from hunger that year.

Three county Farm Bureaus in Virginia will be working to educate elementary school students about agriculture with the help of 2012 White-Reinhardt Fund for Education mini-grants.

The recently released Virginia Farm to Table Plan: A Strategic Plan for Strengthening Virginia’s Food System and Economic Future can be downloaded from Virginia Cooperative Extension’s website.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has begun calling on the nation’s farmers and ranchers to sign up for the 2012 Census of Agriculture, ensuring that they will be counted among their peers.

Kendra Bailey Morris, a food writer, cooking show host and culinary instructor, is the new host of the “Heart of the Home” cooking segment on Real Virginia, Virginia Farm Bureau’s monthly television program

Virginia’s apple growers are concerned that an unusually early warm spell this spring could be damaging to their apple and peach crops. Meanwhile, wheat farmers are worried a serious cold snap could hurt their winter wheat yields.

Virginia strawberries are at least one holiday earlier this year.

Organizers of youth livestock events formerly held at the State Fair of Virginia say the show will go on this fall. 

The American Farm Bureau Federation  is endorsing legislation that would help protect farm families from federal estate tax levies when a farm owner dies. 

The details of the 2012 farm bill are being ironed out in Congress now, as much of the current law in the 2008 farm bill expires in 2012.

National farm policy must strike a balance between the need for a strong, effective safety net to protect farmers and ranchers against catastrophic revenue losses and fiscal soundness for the nation, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

One text or phone call really could wreck it all. That’s the message the U.S. Department of Transportation has been trying to send drivers.

Details are available at VaFarmBureau.org/contests on how to prepare an entry for the silver anniversary Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Journalism Awards, to be presented in November.

Two recent free trade agreements between the United States and other countries are expected to increase agricultural exports.

Virginia farmers are doing their share to help President Obama’s initiative to double U.S. exports by 2014.

While high-stakes poker players have to worry about what’s in their opponents’ hands, there are only 52 cards in a deck.

Volunteers from county Farm Bureaus and other Virginia agriculture organizations turned out in force to read to children across the state during the Agriculture in the Classroom program’s second annual Agriculture Literacy Week.

Gov. Bob McDonnell announced on March 13 that the commonwealth exported a record $2.35 billion in agricultural products in 2011, an increase of more than 6 percent from 2010 and more than 2 percent from 2009.

Farmers and farmers’ market customers have known for years that buying local foods builds relationships and boosts local economies.

Congress has not given the U.S. Department of Agriculture the money it needs to track the full impact of Colony Collapse Disorder, a problem that’s killing thousands of honey bee colonies each winter.

The American Farm Bureau Federation has said a bill before Congress would be good for the Chesapeake Bay and good for farms and rural economies in the bay’s six-state watershed—while staying true to the original intent of the Clean Water Act. 

State Fair of Virginia Inc., the nonprofit organization that produces the State Fair of Virginia, converted its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation in Richmond District Court on March 7. 

As Virginia moves closer to a constitutional amendment to protect private property owners from eminent domain abuse, Congress is considering similar legislation. 

Interest in local foods has increased over the years in Virginia, and so have the avenues that farmers can use to distribute their products.

School nutrition directors across Virginia have been actively seeking out more locally produced foods to serve students. 

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Farmers whose land is taken using eminent domain should be able to access what’s left of their property and should be compensated for profits lost when a condemning authority has decided to take their land.

Findings from a new University of Delaware study indicate the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has overestimated the amount of chicken manure in nutrient runoff that originated with the Delmarva poultry industry and enters the Chesapeake Bay. 

Just in time for spring, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has released an updated Plant Hardiness Zone Map for the country. 

If you’ve ever struggled to install a child safety seat, you know it can be a physical challenge. National surveys have shown that as many as 80 percent of all child safety seats are improperly installed, according to Jimmy Maass, Virginia Farm Bureau safety manager.  

“The Real Dirt” offers information and commentary on agricultural news and issues, as well as photos from Virginia farms and seasonal recipes that include Virginia farm products. There’s also video commentary related to agricultural issues.

Big companies are trying to change the way U.S. farmers operate their businesses, but some things don’t need changing.