Southern Virginia Precision Agriculture and Farm Efficiency Grant Expanded by $272,000

The Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission (TRRC) has allocated additional funding for the Southern Virginia Precision Agriculture and Farm Efficiency Grant by $272,000 to Campbell County and Virginia Cooperative Extension. In January 2022, the Commission approved a $505,000 grant to encourage producers in all 20 counties across the Southern area of the Tobacco Region to incorporate new practices and enhance their farms’ operations. The original grant limited participant numbers by county based on an equal allocation of funding for each county. The number of farm operations and number of cattle or vegetables producers, however, varies significantly by county. Because some counties had more applicants than their allocations allowed, Campbell County maintained a waitlist of applicants as part of their grant administration function. This expansion of grant funding will support the program where there is documented interest and an expressed need by the applicants from the first round who were placed on the waitlist.

The cost-share proportions for the grant expansion remain the same as the original grant. The original grant offered producers the opportunity to apply for a reimbursement of up to $5,000 per producer. Producers spent a minimum of $3,000 to be eligible for a 33% reimbursement. The maximum amount awarded was $5,000 for an approximately $15,000 project. The initial phase of the program facilitated the following cost-share practices throughout Tobacco Commission agricultural operations:

This project includes the counties of Amelia, Appomattox, Bedford, Brunswick, Buckingham, Campbell, Charlotte, Cumberland, Dinwiddie, Franklin, Greensville, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Patrick, Pittsylvania, Prince Edward, and Sussex.

For more information on this program, please contact local extension agents within the project area or the Campbell County Extension Office at (434)332-9538.