Virginia’s poultry producers, the most valuable sector of Virginia’s agricultural industry, delivered a message and a meal to the General Assembly Tuesday. Governor Abigail Spanberger spent some time with members of the group.
Changes in Virginia’s billion-dollar poultry industry were on display at the General Assembly Tuesday, and Governor Abigail Spanberger paid them a visit.
“I have a total bias too; my youngest daughter, I think she gets all of her protein intake from hard boiled eggs," the governor said to a Virginia Poultry Federation who was passing out chicken with his wife and children.
"Good!" replied Kevin Dunn from Dunn Farm. "And we’re happy about that!”
It was the group’s third annual legislative lunch, dolling out barbecue chicken to elected officials and their staff, with the goal of raising awareness for what they consider vital work in the Commonwealth.
Hobey Bauhan is the group’s president. He said the chicken from Tuesday’s lunch came from Harrisonburg-based Farmer Focus. But among those passing it out were members of Central Virginia Poultry Cooperative, a Southside Virginia co-op that was created in the shadow of the closure of a Tyson-owned facility three years ago.
“And they’re converting those chicken houses to layer houses to raise chicken eggs," Bauhan said. "It’s a positive sign that we’ve got some investment and new enterprises coming along in Virginia.”
Despite the closure of the Glen Allen Tyson facility, Bauhan said the company was investing in a new location in Danville, so he's bullish about the poultry industry's future in Virginia.
That’s welcome news for Rockingham County Republican Senator Mark Obenshain who said chicken production was a big part of his Shenandoah Valley district. And while the poultry federation didn’t have a specific legislative ask on Tuesday, Senator Obenshain did:
“Don’t layer on new regulations that are going to make it impossible for them to continue to survive," Obenshain told Radio IQ. "Family farming is important and we need to make sure we keep it a vibrant industry.”
Whether or not that was a chicken laying pun, this intrepid reporter failed to ask, but sources tell me the chicken was quite tasty.
