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| Franklin County ranks 8th in the state in farmland acreage |
Staff Photo by Stacey Hairston:
Farms still cover much of Franklin County’s landscape, especially dairy farms like this one in Sontag. |
Monday, October 8, 2012
By KEN BRADLEY - Staff Writer
Despite pockets of commercial and residential development, farms remain the dominant feature in Franklin County's landscape.
Franklin County ranks eighth among Virginia's 95 counties in the amount of farmland, according to the most recent U.S. Census of Agriculture.
Franklin County has 166,592 acres in farmland, according to the census.
Augusta County in the Shenandoah Valley ranks first in farmland with 286,195 acres, followed by Pittsylvania County with 274,289 acres.
Bedford County ranks fifth with 212,237 acres, and Halifax County ranks seventh with 193,683, followed by Franklin County.
Franklin County also ranked among the top 10 counties in Virginia farm income, according to the census.
The average farm in Virginia generates $61,334 worth of sales, according to figures from the National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS).
The average size of a Virginia farm is 171 acres, according to NASS. |
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