As Virginia's farms continue to cope with unstable economic markets, one operation is blazing a new trail for a more equitable and economically stable agricultural model.

Established in 2019, the West Virginia-based New Roots Community Farm aims to provide resources and opportunities, both for producers and consumers.

Susanna Wheeler, farm director of New Roots, said the group develops and transfers land to the Agrarian Commons, a nonprofit which permanently preserves land and leases it out to other farmers.

"We felt that brought more security and stability," Wheeler explained. "And also offered us an opportunity to really workshop this concept of what it means to operate on land held by another entity."

The Agrarian Commons aims to lower barriers for new farmers by signing long-term leases, which
reduce upfront land-acquisition costs. The group places an emphasis on getting property into the care of farmers of color and other marginalized groups.

A 2021 report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the average cost of an acre of farmable land in Virginia is $4,700.

Michael Reilly, co-founder and executive director of Foodshed Capital, a Virginia-based nonprofit which lends money to new farms, including New Roots, said finding and purchasing land can be a struggle for people new to farming.

"The biggest need that farmers have is access to land," Reilly pointed out. "You can't farm if you don't have land. And so, that is a significant challenge for many of the farmers we work with, particularly socially disadvantaged farmers."

Black farmers in particular have seen a sharp drop in participation over the past century, largely due to discriminatory federal and state farm-aid programs prioritizing white farmers.

The 2017 U.S. Ag Census recorded about 45,500 Black farmers, down from nearly 950,000 in 1920.

Rural advocacy groups in Iowa have released their priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill, which is already being discussed in Washington, D.C.

The Center for Rural Affairs has spent months gathering input from Iowa farmers, which the group wants lawmakers to consider. The Center is focusing on improving funding for crop insurance, more investment in conservation programs, and supporting entrepreneurial farmers. Those small farmers may otherwise be hesitant to take chances on progressive farming methods without a financial backstop.

Kayla Bergman, the group's policy manager, said the Center set its priorities by listening.

"The priorities outlined in our platform come directly from farmers, rural leaders and other individuals in rural communities that are directly impacted by USDA programs," Bergman pointed out. "These programs are doing great things for rural communities."

The current Farm Bill, which has a price tag of $428 billion, expires next September. The direction of the new bill will be determined in part by the ultimate makeup of the U.S. House and Senate.

Dan Voss, a corn and soybean farmer near Cedar Rapids, is a proponent of progressive farming methods. He's used no-till farming for more than 30 years and plants cover crops in the winter to reduce soil erosion.

Voss said those methods, and support from Congress in this Farm Bill, are critical for preserving Iowa's farmland for future generations.

"Our land's under a lot of stress," Voss noted. "We've got this climate shift going on. We demand more from the land; we'd like higher yields. Adopting these conservation practices helps enable the land to not only maintain - we can actually end up with land that becomes better over time."

Voss added he and other farmers have had substantial input into what may wind up in next year's Farm Bill. He was one of 5,000 farmers who completed a survey about what he thinks would best serve Iowa's farmers in the new legislation.

Thirteen livestock producers in Iowa are getting grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep meat and money closer to home.

The dollars are part of a program designed to bolster and protect smaller livestock producers from consolidation.

Right now, four companies account for about 85% of the beef purchased and processed in the U.S. The grants are meant to curb consolidation, lower farmers and consumers' reliance on those mega-producers and help people running smaller cattle operations.

Margaret Chamas, livestock viability manager for Practical Farmers of Iowa, said having a processor nearby means more of the meat stays close to home, in local grocery stores and restaurants.

"Versus I send that animal to an auction. That animal might go to Chicago, it might go to New York City, who knows? It's going to end up somewhere else, on someone else's plate," Chamas pointed out. "And all of the value of the meat, whoever is doing the down-the-road processing and further value-adding of that, they're going to keep that money."

The government said the grants are also designed to modernize, upgrade, and in some cases, expand,
smaller livestock production sites and options for livestock producers.

Chamas noted having a processor nearby gives her the option of having the meat she produces custom-butchered -- into ground beef, sirloin, or chuck roast, for example -- while giving local people access to another one of the state's resources.

"But when we do have a situation like the Midwest, especially Iowa, where there's such rich soil, and we can grow extremely high-quality beef, it's nice to be able to try to keep it all in the family, keep it in the neighborhood," Chamas asserted. "Have the animals grown here, processed here, and then consumed here, and the money stays in the local system."

Agriculture Department data showed a majority of the country's feedlots have fewer than 1,000 head of cattle, but the larger ones raise most of the nation's beef.

The Appalachian Regional Commission has announced its 2022 POWER grant awards, and Garrett County Maryland is on the list.

The POWER program focuses on communities in Appalachia affected by coal-related job losses. This year's grants totaled $47 million and went to a variety of projects throughout the Appalachian region.

Garrett County won $435,000 dollars for expansion of broadband internet service to hundreds of homes in the county.

Cheryl DeBerry, broadband and energy manager for Garrett County, said they will be using the grant to help reach homes and communities far from existing broadband infrastructure.

"In places where our providers can't make money by extending to homes, we are trying to do things like digging or boring for them to install the conduit to reach the homes or businesses they're trying to reach, to help offset their costs," DeBerry explained.

She estimates there are 6,000 homes in the county without broadband service.

The Appalachian Regional Commission was founded in the 1960s as a federal-state partnership to help promote economic growth among the 423 counties in the region.

DeBerry noted the benefit of the commission's funding model is projects originate from within the communities themselves.

"The good thing about ARC is the requests come from the people who know what is needed in their specific community," DeBerry pointed out. "It's not the federal government coming in and saying, 'Thou shalt build a road here.' It's the people who are here saying, 'We need a road here. Let's find the funding to do that.' "

The commission reported more than 19% of households in Appalachia lack broadband internet access.

Gayle Manchin, co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, said expanding broadband access is a top priority.

"Part of the mission of the ARC is to create equity, and to help eliminate the disparity," Manchin emphasized. "So certainly broadband is at the top of our list in terms of what we consider the new highway construction that needs to be completed throughout the Appalachian region."