Virginia Economic Review

This issue of Virginia Economic Review takes a deep dive into the controlled environment agriculture industry’s past, present, and future, while highlighting traditional agricultural operations in Virginia.

When The Turman Group began focusing on exporting nearly 20 years ago, company executives had goals and anxieties that are likely familiar to businesses that have taken similar steps.

Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) describes a variety of systems that use technology to provide optimal growing conditions for crops, from simple hoop houses and traditional greenhouses to fully indoor vertical farms.

In 2001, when cousins Ryan and Travis Croxton took over their family’s 100-year-old oyster bed leases on Virginia’s Middle Peninsula, the Commonwealth’s oyster industry was on life support.

Consider the strawberry. Its skin, slightly glossy in a deep crimson hue, warmed by gentle light. A burst of sweet juice when first pierced by the teeth, giving way to tart flavors and a subtly gritty texture from dozens of tiny seeds.

Labor shortages have long been a challenge in agricultural operations, spurring innovative new ways of operating. Today’s farms rely as much on GPS-guided technology and artificial intelligence-driven automation as they do on manual labor.

Any discussion about Virginia peanuts needs to start with a clarification between Virginia peanuts and Virginia Peanuts. The lowercase former refers to peanuts grown in the Commonwealth; the capitalized latter is one of four peanut cultivars grown in the United States.

Agriculture is Virginia's oldest, largest private industry.

Just outside the city of Danville, Virginia, sits a farm unlike any of its neighbors. Tucked into the tree line, it stands 50 feet high, sleek, and solid white, standing out from the long, thin rows of tilled fields that surround it.

Virginia Offers Best-in-Class Export Assistance for Companies' Complete Life Cycle Exporting can be a strong strategy for connecting companies with demand or diversifying their market bases to better weather economic conditions.

The last year has been challenging to all aspects of the logistics industry, and The Port of Virginia was not immune.

Kollmorgen Ramps Up Production to Support Global COVID-19 Response Employees at Kollmorgen's Radford facilities go to work each day knowing they’re helping to save lives as the world faces the COVID-19 crisis.

Dr. Katherine A. Rowe is the 28th president of William & Mary, a position she’s held since 2018 after serving as provost and dean of faculty at Smith College in Massachusetts.

Van Manufacturer Utilizes Virginia Talent Accelerator Program to Quickly Build Workforce In the competitive arena of economic development decision-making, answering the “Where are we going?” question leads to an equally critical query: “How fast can we get there?”

International trade is beneficial for American consumers and businesses alike. Benefits for consumers include lower costs and a greater variety of goods available in their local markets.

John Keppler is chairman, CEO, and co-founder of Enviva, the world's largest producer of woody biomass and one of Virginia's largest exporters out of its private terminal in the city of Chesapeake.

With Initial Funding Approved and Bold Goals on the Horizon, Virginia's International Trade Strategic Plan is Moving Forward The fundamental conditions are in place for Virginia to significantly grow its international trade. Now, the Commonwealth is setting a course to capitalize on those assets.

Stephen Edwards joined The Port of Virginia as CEO and executive director in January 2021. Before joining the port, he was president and CEO of TraPac, which operates container terminals in California and Florida.