Study to determine agriculture's economic impact

October 23, 2012•

By John R. Crane
Work It, SoVa

The University of Virginia’s Weldon-Cooper Center for Public Service is conducting a study of the economic impact of agriculture in the Dan River Region.

The Danville Regional Foundation has provided a $25,000 grant for the Olde Dominion Agricultural Foundation to pay for the study, said Karl Stauber, president and CEO of the Danville Regional Foundation.

“It’s to try to help people in the region better understand what is the economic impact of agriculture,” Stauber said Tuesday.

The ag foundation applied for the grant and the regional foundation approved the application within the past month, Stauber said.

The center began the study last week and its deadline for completion is Feb. 5, 2013, said Terry Rephann, regional economist for UVa’s Weldon-Cooper Center for Public Service. Two units within the center — the Center for Economic Policy Studies and the Center for Survey Research — will also participate in the study, Rephann said
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The center is a research and training organization that provides information, technical assistance and practical training to state and local officials, community leaders and the public, according to the center’s website. Its staff includes experts in public management, economics, public finance, survey research, demography and other topics.

A draft of the study will be circulated among agricultural development board members in January, Rephann said.

Freddie Wydner, Pittsylvania County’s agricultural development director, said everyone knows agriculture is the region’s No. 1 industry, but it needs to be quantified.

“It’s something I’ve been wanting to do since I’ve been here,” Wydner said. “Agriculture is the greatest employer and economic generator in the county.”

“Everyone understands that, but no one knows to what extent,” Wydner added.

The study’s purpose is to provide information on the status and importance of agriculture in Pittsylvania County — which has 1,350 farms, Rephann said, citing 2007 U.S. Census figures – and Danville.

Wydner said the study will not only provide a status report on the region’s agriculture, it will supply economic information that the county can use when applying for agriculture-related grants.
The study will also identify how the region’s agriculture industry can be sustained and improved, including identifying industries for recruitment in the region’s agribusiness sector, Rephann said.

Rephann said there will be three or four focus-group meetings in the region where industry and community leaders, agriculture development officials and residents will provide input for the study. Obstacles faced by those in the agriculture industry and ways to enhance its viability will be discussed at the meetings, Rephann said.

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