Governor meets and prays with Virginia farmers

by Jeff Ishee

Harrisonburg, VA – Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin recently met and prayed with farmers in the Shenandoah Valley concerning distressing drought conditions that have occurred for two years in a row. He talked with farmers representing numerous sectors of agriculture in the region about the impact they are seeing.

The meeting took place at the FFA building during the Rockingham County Fair.

As of August 13, the U.S. Drought Monitor listed 12% of the state in “severe” drought, 24% in “moderate” drought, and 27% of Virginia as “abnormally dry.”

Rains from Tropical Storm Debby brought a modest amount of relief to some farms on August 8 and 9. Before that weather event, 12% of Virginia was listed in “extreme” drought.

Augusta County farmer Wes Marshall told the governor that farmers in his area are expecting a significant reduction in yields with both corn and soybeans. “Some farms have been able to use irrigation, which has helped a little,” remarked Marshall. He said soybean yields may be down between 30 and 50 percent this year due to the drought situation.

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (center) listens to comments from Virginia farmers

concerning the severe drought of 2024. He later lead the group in prayer. Photo credit: Jeff Ishee

Youngkin inquired of the farmers about the market impact due to drought. Most in attendance said there will be market ramifications – for example, apples are smaller than usual and may be difficult to sell in fresh markets. That’s according to Jaime Williams with Shenandoah Valley Orchards in Timberville who said “The back-to-back droughts have decreased the size in the apples, which increases the cost and makes it that much harder to market the smaller apples. We will not see as many market opportunities for those apples. The drought is also killing some of the trees and stunting growth in trees.” Williams told the Governor it would take several years to recover from the drought situation.

Representatives of the USDA and other state and local agencies were on hand to listen in to the discussion.

After scribbling notes in his personal notebook and hearing numerous accounts from beef cattle producers, dairy producers, poultry producers, and others, Governor Youngkin asked if he could lead the small group in prayer. Heads around the room nodded simultaneously.

“Today, we sit here in a moment where we are challenged,” prayed Youngkin. “Father, we ask you to send rain. We ask you to heal our farmland that has been subjected to extreme drought. Father, we ask this in a moment of humility, because we know you are in charge. We ask that you hear our prayer, which is very simple – Send rain. Send hope. And send encouragement.”