Pulaski County Agricultural Education Survey
History:
Pulaski county was formed in 1839 from parts of Montgomery and Wythe Counties by an act of the Virginia Assembly. Pulaski was named for a Polish nobleman, Count Casimir Pulaski who fought in the Revolution under George Washington. The county is located 70 miles west-southwest of Roanoke, VA. The southern Appalachian Ridge and Valley major resource area makes up a large part of the county with a small portion in the southern part of the county on the Blue Ridge major land resource area. ( Arnold, Cauley, Conner, Cronce, Gall, Vick.Poulon, & Staples, 1979, p. 1-2 )
Production Agriculture:
The Agriculture Census for Pulaski County (Census, 1990, p. 2-4), list 148 people earning their principal income as farmers in 1992. This is a decrease of 16 from 1982. "Other than farming" occupations are listed as having increased by 12 in the same time period. There were 362 farms ( 71,803 acres ) in Pulaski in 1992 with 16,520 acres in harvested cropland. Corn for grain comprised 800 acres of production land as of 1996, producing 88,000 bushels. Corn for silage was produced on 2,000 acres of land to produce 34,000 tons of silage. The total hay (alfalfa and other hay) produced was 48,00 tons produced on 19,900 acres. (State Statistics 1 Report
Soil and Soil Types:
Pulaski County has a land area of 318.22 square miles of which 4,500 acres is water. The county has three major types of soils classified as: 1. Dominantly sloping to step soils that are deep to shallow, 2. dominantly undulating to steep soils that are deep or moderately deep, and 3. dominantly nearly level to hilly soils that are deep. (Arnold,et al. , 1979, p. 1-2 )
Climate:
Pulaski County is in Zone 6. The average winter temperature is 32 degrees with the average daily minimum 24 degrees. The average temperature in summer is 70 degrees with an average maximum daily temperature of 82. Total rainfall in Pulaski averages 37 inches. Fifty five percent (20 inches) of this usually falls in April through September, defining the growing season for the county. The sun shins about 60% of the time in the summer and 50% of the time in winter. There are about 40 thunderstorms a year with most occurring in the summer. An average of 8 inches of snow falls each year.(Arnold,et al. , 1979, p. 1-2 ) .)
Population:
The 1990 US Census records Pulaski County as having 32,353 people. However, the Virginia New River Valley Data Book, 1998, records the population as 34,496 in 1990, with 9,985 residing in the town of Pulaski and 2,012 in Dublin. Population by race shows 32,310 white (93.66% of the population), 2,007 black (5.82%), 71 American Indian, Eskimo or Aleut(.21%), and 108 Asian or Pacific Islander (.31%). Twenty three percent of the population is under 18, 61.1% of the people are 18 to 64 years of age and 15.2% are over 65 years old. The per capita income (total personal income divided by population) for Pulaski County was $11,074 in 1990 as compared to the over all Virginia per capita income in 1990 of $15,713. The median family income for the county in 1990 was $28,057, with a projected growth to $35,238 in 1996. The estimated work force in Pulaski was 17,017 in 1997 with approximately 16,128 of these people working. This rate gives the county an unemployment rate of 5.2%. (Virginia New River Valley Regional Data Book, 1998, pp.11-31)
Farm Characteristics:
Dairy and livestock farming are the main types of farms in Pulaski. Many of the farms are small and operated on a part-time basis. The rolling valley, central part of the county contains the major farming areas. Farms are categorized by number of acres for the Agriculture Census' purposes and figures are from 1982 to 1992. Small farms, from one to nine acres, have increased from 14 to 23 while larger farms, all categories from ten to 1000 acres, have decreased slightly. Irrigated farms have increased from one to five, but total croplands and harvested croplands have decreased.
There were 363 farms in Pulaski county as of 1992, down four farms since 1982. The amount of land in farm use in Pulaski was 71803 in 1992, a decrease of approximately six thousand acres. The average size of farms has decreased 13 acres over the 10 year period over, however the estimated market value of land and building at one average farm has increased $110724. The estimated market value of land and building of one average acre has increased $594 and machinery value at one average farm has increased about $1000. (Agriculture Census for Pulaski County, Virginia, 1992, p. 2-4)
Crops:
Pulaski's major crop could be considered 90% pasture with the majority of the hay and corn they grow used to feed beef cattle raised (M. Cox, Sept.,1998). Acreage of corn raised for grain or seed decreased from 1157 acres to 624 acres. Some wheat was raised for grain, but has decreased from 240 acres to 46 acres. The number of farms raising hay has decreased from 280 to 270, but the overall number of acres in hay production has slightly increased (from 14149 to 14449). Tons of dry hay produced have also increased by 6410 ( from 26479 to 32889). The over all market value of agriculture products sold (per $1000) has risen almost $4000. The greatest increase in market value for crops has occurred in the incorporated nursery and greenhouse businesses with an increase from 463 to 1059 per $1000. (Agriculture Census for Pulaski County, Virginia, 1992, p. 2-4)
Livestock:
There are about ten dairies in Pulaski county plus beef cattle farms that are mostly cow/calf with some stocker operations, according to Mike Cox, Ag Ed teacher at Pulaski County High School. Market value of livestock, poultry and produce per $1000 has increased 1212 (from 9378 to 10590) over a ten year period. Cattle and calves inventory by farms and by cattle numbers have decreased The number cattle and calves farms have decreased from 316 to 293. Beef cow farms have decreased from 238 to 235 with numbers of beef cows and milk cows decreasing too Hogs and pig farms have decreased from 39 to a mere 8. Sheep ,lambs and chickens raised made up a fairly small number of farms. The farms raising sheep had decreased to 19 (five less than in 1982) and chickens had decreased from 31 to 17 farms in the ten year period. (Agriculture Census for Pulaski County, Virginia, 1992, p. 2-4) (C. F. Clemmons, personal communication, September, 11, 1998)
Agribusiness
There were three farms listed in the yellow pages as farm businesses: Buena Vista Farms Inc., Rich Hill Farms, and Simmons Farm. The history of the county businesses indicates that even though there are many 'farmers' in the county the major sources of income today for most people are off farm jobs. The county's original zinc plant and pig iron furnace industry of early years were replaced by textile and fabric industries and several furniture factories in the 1940's. Pulaski county suffered serious economic set backs in recessions from the 70's to the 80's and is only now beginning to recover. Several clothing manufacturers were forced to close and Long Air Dock downsized. The two furniture manufactures were reduced to one when one company bought out the other. Numerous downtown businesses closed. New industry in the form of Volvo has done much to revive Pulaski. In previous years the furniture companies had a corner on the job market and blocked several new industries from coming to Pulaski. The furniture companies pay low wages and wanted to keep down wages by being "the only game in town". White Motors, of Volvo, is now the highest paying industry in the county and has created a number of spin off industries to supply their factory ( Beach Manufacturing, Fontaine, Trimline and BBA Friction).
Support production Agriculture:
Pulaski County has few support production businesses actually located in the county. Southern States is the only store listed in the yellow pages under 'Farm Supplies' that is in Pulaski. Country Homestead sells John Deere lawn mowers and dresses, but can hardly be considered a support production for agriculture. Four farm equipment suppliers ( D & W Marine & Auto Sales, Farmland Equipment Corp., Fowlkes Machine Co. Inc., and John Deere Tractors & Equipment) are in the Pulaski phone book, but located in other counties.
Off farm business:
There are two florist in Pulaski City and two in Dublin. There is also one nursery in Dublin. Doug Stiger, of The Flower Shoppe, inc., in Pulaski, feels there is a growing 'niche' market for unusual and speciality plants and has developed a widespread clientele that travels great distances to get the unique plants that he grows at his combination greenhouse florist shop. The greenhouse, landscaping, and nursery businesses seem to have the greatest potential for growth in Pulaski, due to the growth of individual homes , rather than farms. Gatewood Park and Reservoir provides some jobs in the natural resource area in the county. (C. F. Clemmons, personal communication, September, 11, 1998)
Conclusions:
The number of farms in Pulaski county has decreased in the past ten years, but production per farm seems to have risen slightly. The major number of farms in the county are not full time farming business. People farm part time and work off the farm to supplement farm income. Seventy five percent of the jobs in Pulaski require training for a technical position in a factory rather than higher education, like a BS degree. (C. F. Clemmons, personal communication, September, 11, 1998)
References:
Agriculture Census for Pulaski County. State statistics 1 report. 1990. <http://www.nass.usda.gov/va> (10 September 1998).
Agriculture Census for Pulaski County, Virginia. County summary highlights. 1992. <http://govinfo.library.orst.edu/cig-bin/ag-list?01-155.vac> (4 September 1998)
Arnold, T. L., Cauley, P. M., Conner, R. K., Cronce, R. C., Gall, D. A,.Vick, R. L., Poulon, B. A., & Staples, C. K., Soil survey of Pulaski County, Virginia., United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. (1979)
Bass, R. T., &Lawson, J.A., Virginia agricultural statistics bulletin 1996. Virginia Agricultural Statistics Service. (August 1997)
Virginia's New River Valley Regional Data Book. (1998). New River Valley Economics Development Alliance.
State Statistics Report R: publabul. Pulaski. (1992-1996).
<http://www.nass.usda.gov/va/pulasbul.htm> ( 9 September 1998).
1990 Census Lookup ( 1.4a ). 1990 US census data. 1990. <http://venus.census.gov/cdrom/lookup/905184991> (7 September 1998)