RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ Federal statistics show the number and size of Virginia farms declined in 2014. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Statistics Service estimates there were 45,900 farms in Virginia in 2014. That’s down 100 from 2013. The average farm size dropped by 1 acre to 179 acres. The total amount of land in farms fell by 100,000 acres to 8.2 million acres. The number of farms with less than $100,000 in agricultural sales dropped by 200. But the number of farms with more than $100,000 in agricultural sales increased by 100. Tony Banks with the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation says Virginia farms are trending similar to the national average regarding changes in size, number and economies.
