Virginia produces a wide range of crops thanks to a geography that stretches from the Atlantic Coastal Plain through the rolling Piedmont to the Appalachian mountains, spanning several USDA hardiness zones in a relatively small area. The state’s leading row crops by acreage are soybeans, corn, and winter wheat, but Virginia also supports substantial production of peanuts, tobacco, cotton, hay, wine grapes, apples, and a growing list of specialty crops. What makes the state’s agricultural picture distinctive is how those crops shift dramatically depending on which part of Virginia you’re standing in.
Soybeans and Corn Lead the Way
Soybeans and corn for grain are Virginia’s top two row crops, together accounting for well over a million acres in a typical year. Corn is grown across most of the state, from the Shenandoah Valley to the Eastern Shore, serving both the grain market and as silage for Virginia’s large cattle and dairy operations. Soybeans dominate in the Coastal Plain and Piedmont, where they fit well into the region’s warm summers and sandy to loamy soils.
A defining feature of Virginia’s soybean production is the double-cropping system. Farmers plant soybeans after harvesting winter wheat on the same land in the same year, effectively getting two cash crops from one field. This practice is common across the mid-Atlantic and is especially well suited to the longer growing season in central and southeastern Virginia. Research conducted at Virginia’s Piedmont and Tidewater agricultural research centers has compared full-season and double-crop soybean systems, confirming that double-cropping remains a viable strategy in these regions even though the soybean crop gets a later start.1Agronomy Journal. Comparison of Full‐Season and Double‐Crop Soybean and Grain Sorghum Systems in Central and Southeastern Virginia
Double-crop soybeans do face challenges. Potassium management, for example, becomes more complicated when wheat straw is left on the field or removed before soybean planting. Field trials across more than 20 Coastal Plain and Piedmont sites in Virginia examined how potassium fertilization affects double-crop soybean yields, underscoring that nutrient management in these rotations requires careful attention to soil type and straw handling.2Agronomy Journal. Double‐Crop Soybean Response to Potassium on Mid‐Atlantic Coastal Plain and Piedmont Soils
Winter Wheat and the Double-Crop Rotation
Winter wheat is the third major grain crop in Virginia, and its role extends beyond its own harvest. Wheat is planted in the fall and harvested in late spring or early summer, which creates the window for double-crop soybeans to follow. This wheat-soybean rotation is a cornerstone of Virginia agriculture in the eastern half of the state, where the frost-free season is long enough to support both crops.
Beyond its place in the soybean rotation, wheat also provides ground cover during the winter months, reducing soil erosion on land that might otherwise sit bare. Some of the wheat grown in Virginia ends up in flour milling, while a significant portion is used as livestock feed. The crop is best adapted to the Piedmont and Coastal Plain but is also grown in parts of the Shenandoah Valley.
Peanuts in Southeastern Virginia
Virginia has a long and proud history with peanuts. The southeastern corner of the state, particularly the counties around Suffolk and Southampton, is one of the country’s traditional peanut-growing regions. Virginia-type peanuts are the largest-seeded commercial variety, prized for their size and flavor, and they command a premium in the snack and gourmet markets.
Growing virginia-type peanuts costs more than growing the smaller runner-type varieties common in Georgia and Alabama because the larger seeds are more expensive to plant at equivalent populations. Research conducted in Virginia and North Carolina tested how seeding density and harvest timing affect the performance of virginia-type cultivars like Bailey, Sullivan, and Wynne, finding that these management decisions meaningfully influence yield and grade.3Peanut Science. Peanut Response to Seeding Density and Digging Date in the Virginia-Carolina Region Farmers in the region have to balance the higher cost of seed against the premium prices virginia-type peanuts fetch at market, and getting the digging date right is critical because peanuts mature underground and there’s no easy visual cue for when they’re ready.
Peanut acreage in Virginia has fluctuated over the decades, partly in response to federal farm programs and partly due to competition from other crops. Still, the state remains one of the top peanut producers in the country and the dominant source of the large-kernel virginia type.
Tobacco, Cotton, and Other Row Crops
Tobacco was Virginia’s original cash crop, the product that made the colony economically viable in the 1600s. The state still grows tobacco today, primarily flue-cured and burley varieties, though acreage has declined sharply from its historical peak. Most of what remains is concentrated in the Southside region, roughly the band of counties along the North Carolina border. The end of the federal tobacco quota system in 2004 accelerated the shift away from tobacco on many farms, and some of that land has moved into soybeans, corn, or cotton.
Cotton is a relative newcomer to Virginia’s crop mix in its modern form, but acreage has expanded in the southeastern Coastal Plain over the past couple of decades as longer growing seasons and improved varieties have made the crop more feasible at this latitude. Virginia will never rival the Deep South in cotton production, but it’s a meaningful part of the rotation for some Coastal Plain farmers.
Hay and forage crops also deserve mention, even though they don’t get the attention that grain and oilseed crops do. Virginia has a large cattle herd, particularly in the western part of the state, and hay is one of the most widely grown crops by acreage. It’s just less visible in economic statistics because much of it stays on the farm that produced it rather than entering the commodity market.
Wine Grapes and Virginia’s Growing Wine Industry
Virginia is now one of the top wine-producing states on the East Coast, with over 300 wineries operating across the state. The industry has expanded dramatically since the 1970s, and wine grapes have become an economically important specialty crop, particularly in the Piedmont near Charlottesville, in Northern Virginia’s Loudoun County, and in parts of the Shenandoah Valley.
The geography of Virginia’s wineries is shaped by more than just climate and terrain. A study of winery locations between 1971 and 2015 found that economic factors like local knowledge, tourist visitation patterns, and community investment also strongly influence where wineries open.4Journal of Mason Graduate Research. Do Grape Growers Cluster? A Study of Virginia Winery Locations between 1971 and 2015 In practice, this means wineries tend to cluster near population centers and scenic routes, creating regional wine trails that have become significant tourism draws.
Virginia grows both European grape varieties like Viognier, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay, and hybrid varieties developed to handle the state’s humid summers and variable winters. Viognier has become something of a signature grape for Virginia, performing well in the Piedmont’s warm climate and producing wines with a distinctive character. The humidity and disease pressure of the mid-Atlantic make grape growing here more labor-intensive than in California or the Pacific Northwest, but growers have adapted their canopy management and spray programs to cope.
Apples and Tree Fruits
The Shenandoah Valley and the foothills of the Blue Ridge are apple country. Virginia consistently ranks among the top ten apple-producing states, and the Frederick and Clarke County area in the northern Shenandoah Valley has been a commercial apple center for over a century. The cooler temperatures and well-drained soils at elevation suit apple trees, and the area’s proximity to East Coast markets is a logistical advantage.
Beyond apples, Virginia grows peaches in some of the same foothill areas, though peach production is more vulnerable to late spring frosts that can wipe out a year’s crop in a single night. Other tree fruits like cherries and plums appear on a smaller scale. The state also has a modest but growing hard cider industry that overlaps with the apple and wine grape sectors.
Malting Barley and the Craft Brewing Connection
One of the more interesting recent developments in Virginia agriculture is the push to grow malting barley for the state’s booming craft beer industry. Virginia has over 400 craft breweries, and many of them want to source grain locally for both marketing and quality reasons. Barley has traditionally been a minor crop in the state, grown mostly as livestock feed or as a cover crop, but the craft brew demand has created a new niche.
Growing high-quality malting barley is trickier than growing feed barley. The grain needs to hit specific protein targets and germination rates to be useful for brewing, and research across the eastern United States shows that planting date and nitrogen management are the biggest levers growers have. Planting on time generally improves both yield and grain quality, while adding more nitrogen tends to push yields up but can raise protein levels beyond what maltsters want.5Agronomy Journal. Agronomic Management of Malting Barley and Research Needs to Meet Demand by the Craft Brew Industry For Virginia farmers, this means that barley for craft malt requires more precise management than a typical grain crop, but it can also command a significantly higher price per bushel.
How Virginia’s Geography Shapes What Grows Where
Virginia’s mountainous topography compresses a surprising range of growing conditions into a single state. The Coastal Plain in the east has a long, warm growing season with sandy soils. The Piedmont has heavier clay-loam soils and a slightly shorter season. The Blue Ridge and Appalachian regions are cooler, with shorter frost-free periods and rocky, often acidic soils. Virginia Cooperative Extension notes that this diversity of USDA hardiness zones across a small geographic area means that planting dates and crop choices can differ substantially even between neighboring counties.6Virginia Cooperative Extension. Virginia’s Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide: Recommended Planting Dates and Amounts to Plant
In practical terms, this means:
- Southeastern Coastal Plain: Peanuts, cotton, soybeans, corn, and the wheat-soybean double crop dominate. The long frost-free window and sandy soils favor warm-season crops.
- Central Piedmont: Soybeans, corn, wheat, wine grapes, and some tobacco. The region straddles the line between the warmer Coastal Plain and the cooler mountains.
- Shenandoah Valley and Blue Ridge foothills: Corn, hay, apples, and cattle-oriented forage. Cooler nights and higher elevations shift the crop mix toward temperate fruits and livestock feed.
- Northern Virginia: Less row crop acreage due to suburban sprawl, but significant wine grape production, market gardens, and specialty crops aimed at the Washington, D.C., metro market.
- Eastern Shore: Vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, and sweet corn for fresh market, along with grain corn and soybeans. The moderate maritime climate and flat topography support truck farming.
Cover Crops and Soil Health
Virginia farmers increasingly use cover crops as part of their rotations, planting species like crimson clover, hairy vetch, cereal rye, and radishes to protect soil between cash crops. This is partly about erosion control, partly about building organic matter, and partly about managing nutrients. Research at Virginia Tech has focused on when and how to plant cover crops for maximum benefit. In trials following corn, cover crops seeded at harvest produced dramatically more biomass than those planted four weeks later, and certain combinations that included hairy vetch substantially increased the nitrogen available to the following year’s corn crop.7Virginia Tech Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Optimizing Cover Crop Integration: Early Establishment Methods and Technological Approaches for Enhanced Biomass and Nitrogen Management in the Mid-Atlantic
The timing piece is worth highlighting because it’s a real constraint for Virginia farmers. Getting cover crops into the ground promptly after a grain harvest is logistically difficult, especially if fall weather turns wet and equipment can’t get into the field. The Virginia Tech research explored methods like seeding directly from the combine during harvest, which produced roughly ten times more fall biomass than waiting to plant after harvest. For a farmer trying to reduce fertilizer costs and improve soil health, that kind of difference is enormous.
Pest Pressures That Threaten Virginia Crops
Virginia’s warm, humid climate makes it a battleground for crop pests and diseases, and one of the most significant recent arrivals is the spotted lanternfly. This invasive planthopper, native to Asia, was first detected in Pennsylvania in 2014 and has since spread into Virginia, where it feeds on a wide range of plants including grapevines, fruit trees, hardwood timber, and ornamentals. For Virginia’s wine grape and apple growers, the spotted lanternfly poses a serious economic threat because it weakens plants by draining sap and excreting a sticky residue called honeydew that promotes sooty mold growth.
Managing the spotted lanternfly remains a work in progress. A review of the pest’s biology and management in the United States concluded that control currently depends heavily on chemical treatments, and no single available measure is sufficient on its own.8PubMed. Biology and Management of the Spotted Lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae), in the United States That’s a frustrating reality for growers, especially organic producers who have fewer chemical options. The pest’s preferred host is tree of heaven, another invasive species that is widespread in Virginia, which means eradication of the lanternfly is unlikely as long as its primary host tree is everywhere. Researchers are investigating biological controls and integrated strategies, but for now, Virginia fruit and grape growers are dealing with the lanternfly as a fact of life that adds cost and complexity to their operations.
Vegetables and the Fresh Market
Virginia’s vegetable production is smaller than its row crop sector by acreage, but it punches above its weight economically. The Eastern Shore has long been a truck-farming region, shipping potatoes, tomatoes, green beans, and other fresh produce to mid-Atlantic cities. The proximity to major population centers along the I-95 corridor also supports a thriving network of farmers’ markets and community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, especially in Northern Virginia and the Richmond metro area.
Tomatoes are one of the most important vegetable crops in the state, grown both for fresh market and, on a smaller scale, for processing. Sweet corn, snap beans, cucumbers, and squash are also significant. In the mountainous western part of the state, the cooler climate supports crops like cabbage and potatoes that can struggle in the lowland heat. The diversity of hardiness zones means that Virginia’s vegetable growers essentially have two distinct planting seasons: a spring-to-summer window and a separate fall crop window that takes advantage of cooling temperatures to grow cool-season crops like lettuce, broccoli, and root vegetables.
For home gardeners, this same diversity creates both opportunities and confusion. A gardener in Virginia Beach lives in a fundamentally different climate from one in Blacksburg, and planting dates for the same crop can differ by a month or more. Virginia Cooperative Extension publishes planting guides pegged to hardiness zones to help navigate this.6Virginia Cooperative Extension. Virginia’s Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide: Recommended Planting Dates and Amounts to Plant