News Release:

Immigration debate will include Virginia farmers, governor says

Immigration reform, finding more funds to protect Virginia’s environment, and the promise of alternative fuels are among the top agricultural issues Gov. Timothy Kaine is pursuing for 2008.

He relayed those goals Nov. 27 to about 500 farm leaders attending the 2007 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in Chantilly.

When the Virginia General Assembly tackles one of the biggest hot-button political issues of 2008, Virginia farmers will have a seat at the policy table, Kaine promised.

“As we begin to talk about immigration questions, we have to realize that a lot of farmers rely very heavily on immigrant and migrant labor,” he said.

“We can’t do things that take labor sources away from farms that need those labor sources to produce. I’m real happy that the Farm Bureau and others in agribusiness” have agreed to participate in the debate over immigration legislation.

Kaine spoke of opportunities many Virginia farmers already have taken advantage of in selling their products to foreign markets. More than one-fifth of all Virginia products are now sold overseas, and Virginia farm exports support about 7,000 jobs.

“When you’ve got an international airport and a great port that can ship agricultural products around the world, hey, take advantage of that. Not every state has that,” Kaine said.

Another legislative priority for the governor next year is finding new state funding to reduce non-point source pollution from farms. The Farm Bureau, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and other agriculture and environmental groups have requested $100 million in cost-share funds in the next state budget to further limit runoff from homeowners and farms. The money would help farmers pay to install livestock fencing near streams, plant buffer strips in crop fields and implement other preventive measures.

While state revenues and Virginia’s economy have slowed, Kaine said he wants to include something in his budget plan for 2009-2010 to reward the cooperation between farm and environmental activists.

“We can get things started, we can go the right path, we can set a course and a direction so that, as revenues begin to improve, we will continue to do better,” to increase state funding for preventing non-point source pollution, he said.

Kaine also talked about his success in increasing the rate of preservation of working farmland in Virginia, in part due to a new state conservation tax credit. And he said he believes research on alternative fuels holds real promise for the future of many Virginia farmers, particularly smaller operators.

“The energy plan we came out with this year says that there are four areas of production of our own energy sources where Virginia is strategically located, and one of them is the use of agricultural products for energy. Switchgrass, other forms of cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel … we’ve got some wonderful opportunities in Virginia for that. And that should create some great opportunities for farmers not just to feed the world, but to power the world,” Kaine said.

With 148,000 members in 88 county Farm Bureaus, VFBF is Virginia’s largest farm organization.

Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, nonpartisan, voluntary organization that supports its members through legislative lobbying, leadership programs, commodity marketing and risk management services, insurance products and other benefits.