West Virginia Department of Agriculture

West Virginia has 20,800 primarily family-owned and operated farms, generating nearly a half-billion dollars worth of products annually. Although the state is ranked 37th in population and 41st in geographical size, it ranks 11th in apple production, 13th in peach production, 15th in turkey production and 16th in broiler chicken production.

State agribusinesses are an expanding element of the state’s economy, annually producing at least $100 million worth of value-added, West Virginia Grown products. Nearly all of these companies are locally owned and operated and inject a large portion of their net revenue back into the local economy in the form of wages and business expenses.

West Virginia products are recognized for their high quality and improve the image of the Mountain State across the country and throughout the world. They also dovetail nicely with the state’s tourism industry, as studies indicate that vacationers seek unique culinary experiences when they travel.

Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2006

 

Value of receipts
thousand $

Percent of state total
farm receipts

Percent of US value

1. Broilers

143,520

31.9

0.8

2. Cattle and calves

113,325

25.2

0.2

3. Turkeys

43,654

9.7

1.3

4. Chicken eggs

32,210

7.2

0.7

5. Dairy products

26,398

5.9

0.1

 

All commodities

449,551

 

0.2

 

Farm income and value added data

 

2005

2006

 

Number of farms

20,800

21,200

 

 

Thousands $

       Final crop output

74,118

81,944

+     Final animal output

384,639

383,322

+     Services and forestry

174,866

183,119

=   Final agricultural sector output

633,623

648,384

 

-      Intermediate consumption outlays

357,778

390,248

+     Net government transactions

-4,366

-6,117

=   Gross value added

271,479

252,019

 

-      Capital consumption

131,055

138,753

 

=   Net value added

140,424

113,266

 

-    Factor payments

59,274

63,562

         Employee compensation (total hired labor)

30,459

31,323

         Net rent received by nonoperator landlords

-1,157

-1,800

         Real estate and nonreal estate interest

29,972

34,039

 

=   Net farm income

81,150

49,704

 

 


http://www.wvagriculture.org/