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A few facts from the Virginia Farm Bureau to get your mind going today:

* Between 1987 and 2007, Virginia lost 797, 906 acres of farmland. Here's the breakdown, which will show you a sharp increase in loss over the years:

• 79,325 acres between 1987 and 1992;
• 68,785 acres between 1992 and 1997;
• 128,796 acres between 1997 and 2002; and
• 521,000 acres between 2002 and 2007.

Where did it all go, you might be asking? Nationally, almost 9 million acres were developed between 1997 and 2001. That's 46 percent from forestland, 20 percent from cropland and 16 percent from pastureland.

* Net farm income is forecast to be $54 billion in 2009, down $33.2 billion or 38 percent from the preliminary estimate of $87.2 billion for 2008, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

Now, lots and lots of factors besides development play a role in these figures. The average farmer in Virginia is 55 to 60 years old, and local food proponents worry that young folks are not replacing the retired farmers at a fast enough rate. There is hope, though: the local food movement. I believe that over the next 5 years or so, we will begin to see an injection of young blood into this field.

Thoughts?

Jeanna Duerscherl/The Roanoke Times

Yesterday's newspaper included an article by yours truly about the status of the slow food movement in Southwest Virginia. Despite the down economy, the movement has continued to grow at a decent pace. If you missed it, click here.

We've also updated our local food directory, so if you are looking to buy local but need help making connections outside of the farmers market, check it out here.

Cedric and Sarah Shannon of Weathertop Farm / www.weathertopfarm.com

This is Cedric and Sarah Shannon, the owners of Weathertop Farm in Check, Va. They raise chickens, turkeys, pigs and rabbits on pasture for sale to customers, and they also sell several varieties of eggs.

In the next picture, you can see the top five reasons the Shannons work so hard at what they do: their kids. The kids have recently gotten involved in some of the work on the farm, namely the egg operation. Because the average age of a farmer in Virginia is 55 or 60 (Virginia Farm Bureau stat), lots of farmers want to see young'uns like the Shannon children getting excited about the business.

The Shannon kids / www.weathertopfarm.com

Fortunately for farmers, the local food movement seems to be mushrooming rapidly, increasing customers' interest in the kinds of farm fresh products produced at Weathertop Farm and the dozens of other farms in Southwest Virginia. Still, marketing remains a big challenge for these small-time producers, so last summer I put together a database of local farms for the newspaper Web site, Roanoke.com. It's a pretty neat tool because you can specify a county and a product, then click a button, and the program will tell you exactly where to go to find what you're looking for.

I'm working now to update that database. It has about 60 farms on it, but I've already identified some 19 farms that either popped up over the past year or finally had the time to get listed on a national database such as Local Harvest.

If you like to shop local, please do me a favor and click the link above to take a look at my list. If you don't see the name of a farm you buy from at the local farmers market or the co-op or elsewhere, leave a comment or shoot me a line at lindsey.nair@roanoke.com. I pick up farmers' business cards or jot down their information as often as I can, but I'm sure I don't have a complete list. The updated database will go up in a couple of weeks, so help me help the farmers!

We are just days away from what is probably the biggest and most involved local food event to ever take place in the Roanoke Valley -- the Local Food Expo at Greenfield Education & Training Center in Daleville.

The expo takes place from 2-8 p.m. this Friday. It's a huge, collaborative effort between the Virginia Cooperative Extension offices in Roanoke, Botetourt, Craig and Alleghany counties that seeks to bring together as many local food producers and educators as possible for an afternoon of good food and fun.

What can you expect at the expo? For starters, lots and lots of farmers will be there either selling or sampling their wares. This is different from the typical farmer's market because many vendors there do not offer samples. I think it has something to do with health department regulations. There will also be a Thai cooking demonstration, educational booths, gardening classes, live music and a chef's challenge. For the challenge, three local chefs will have to create a dish using "mystery boxes" filled with surprise ingredients.

It costs just $2 to get in; tickets are available at the door or at your local extension office. Look for more information about the expo in this Thursday's edition of Inside Out. I'll be there -- if you see me, please say hello!

This week is National Farmers Market week, and the American Farmland Trust is commemorating the occasion with a big online contest designed to recognize the best farmers markets in America. As it stands right now, the Roanoke Farmers Market is in the running for one of the top 20 best medium-sized markets in the country!

The results are broken down into best small, medium and large markets. While quite a few Virginia markets are in the running right now, only the Roanoke market is in our corner of the state.

The contest closes at midnight on Saturday, so you still have time to vote for your favorite market. To place your vote or to see who is in the running right now, click here.

Participant Media

FARM FAME: Q&A with Sustainable Farmer Joel Salatin

In 2006, journalist Michael Pollan published a book that challenged the way food is produced and consumed in America.

"The Omnivore's Dilemma" not only made Pollan a household name, it shined a light on a Shenandoah Valley farmer named Joel Salatin, who had been using and advocating sustainable agricultural techniques, such as rotational grazing of cattle, his entire career.

Now, Salatin's farm, Polyface Inc., near Staunton, has become a model farm for the local food movement. Salatin was featured heavily in "Food, Inc." and an independent documentary about the movement called "FRESH."

Both films aim to show that large scale, industrialized food production is harmful to consumers, the environment and the small-time farmer. They advocate a return to sustainable farming practices and support for local food producers.

I caught up with Salatin at a screening of "FRESH" at Rockbridge County High School in Lexington on July 28. We talked about how it feels to go from herding cattle to signing autographs, where Southwest Virginia fits into the local food scene and where he sees the future going.

To continue reading, click here.