In this episode, I speak with Matt Lohr, Virginia's Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, who brings a wealth of knowledge and a deep passion for agriculture. Matt shares his journey as a fifth-generation farmer from the Shenandoah Valley and how his early experiences on the farm with his grandfather shaped his love for the land and conservation. We dive into his varied career, from local public service roles to leading the Natural Resources Conservation Service at the USDA, and how these experiences have fueled his commitment to supporting the agricultural industry. Matt's stories about preserving his family's farming legacy and the importance of connecting people to the source of their food are truly heartwarming.

We also explore Virginia's ambitious goals in the Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) space, driven by Governor Youngkin's vision to make the state a leader in indoor farming. Matt discusses the strategic advantages Virginia offers, from its geographical location to state investments and educational initiatives. He highlights the exciting developments in CEA, including innovative technologies and partnerships that are transforming the industry. Whether you're a seasoned farmer, an urban dweller curious about where your food comes from, or someone interested in the future of agriculture, this episode offers valuable insights and inspiration. Join us for a conversation that celebrates the past, present, and future of farming in Virginia.

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Key Takeaways

00:05:51: Importance of Local Food and Indoor Farming

00:09:39: Becoming Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry

00:13:35: Virginia's Commitment to Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA)

00:21:34: Diverse CEA Companies in Virginia

00:27:08: Tough Questions and Economic Challenges

00:29:37: Energy Demands in CEA

00:29:55: Message to CEA Leaders and Innovator

Tweetable Quotes

"I'm a fifth-generation farmer in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which is one of the breadbaskets of the country when it comes to ag production. Rockingham County is one of the top 30 or 40 counties in the country for ag production. Farming and agriculture have been my life. As a young child, I remember my earliest memories were walking alongside my grandfather on the farm and learning a love of the land and conservation. We have conservation easements on our farm to ensure my kids can be the sixth generation. Agriculture is in my life, and every part of my career over the last 30 years has been directly tied back to supporting the agricultural industry."

"I grew up in a family where public service was stressed from day one. My father was very active with church and the Ruittian club, a service club community. My parents were active in the volunteer rescue squad and fire department for their entire career. I grew up around people who served. My first chance to serve was as a state international officer for the FFA organization, Future Farmers of America. I took a year out of college for both the state and then another year out as a national officer, dedicating my time for two years serving the ag industry, speaking in schools and communities, and lobbying for agriculture. I learned pretty early on that I wanted to have a career in advocacy and public service."

"We have around 20 CEA companies in Virginia, and I've visited all of them. They all have their own secret sauce, whether it's a vertical farm or a greenhouse, the type of lighting or automation, or the types of products they're producing. The technology is incredible. I'm very excited to travel to Amsterdam for Greentech in June. The Dutch are the world leaders in greenhouse and food production, and they've got a great story to tell. The technology piece has been the most exciting. We have companies of all sizes, from the large ones like Plenty and AeroFarms to smaller ones like Beanstalk in Fairfax County. It's great to see how they are all different but serve a great purpose."

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Harry Duran [0:00 - 0:05]: So, Matt Lohr, Virginia secretary of agriculture and forestry, thank you so much for joining me on the vertical farming podcast.

Matt Lohr [0:05 - 0:08]: Thank you, Harry. Appreciate the chat and share with you today.

Harry Duran [0:08 - 0:35]: Yeah, it seems like there's been a lot of activity happening in Virginia specifically related to CEA. So I'm really excited to get your take on how that happened, why it's happening, and what it's like leading the charge in this. But I thought I'd rewind the clock back a little bit. You have a varied background in agriculture, it seems. Been in and out of agriculture for a while, in public service for a while. But as it regards agriculture, has Virginia always been your home, and has agriculture always been part of, like, your DNA?

Matt Lohr [0:35 - 1:31]: Yeah. Well, again, thanks for the chance to come and share with you today, and I am very blessed. I'm a fifth generation farmer in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, which is one of the breadbaskets of the country when it comes to ag production. Rockingham county literally is one of the top, I think, 30 or 40 counties in the country. And as far as ag production, so born and raised and really farming and agriculture have been my life. As a young child, I remember my earliest memories were walking alongside of my grandfather out on the farm and learning a love of the land, a love of conservation. And so I pride myself, and not just being a fifth generation farmer, but someone who appreciates the importance, the impact and how we need to preserve and save it. We have conservation easements on our farm to make sure that my kids can be the 6th generation. And so really, agriculture is in my life. And really, every part, part of my career over the last 30 years has been directly tied back to supporting the agricultural industry.

Harry Duran [1:31 - 1:53]: I must make for a lot of memories. And you talk about five generations. Do you worry? Sometimes? I know because of this meeting with podcasting, now we're hearing stories being recorded and being preserved of our parents or our grandparents. And obviously, a lot of that technology wasn't around back then. So how has your family found ways to preserve those stories and that lineage and that rich history?

Harry Duran [3:06 - 3:42]: I can start to relate to that. That's actually what you would consider a city guy. I grew up in New York and I lived in LA for a stretch, but now I'm in Minnesota, if the wood paneling doesn't give some of that away. But we just got our first five chicks, so. And we just finished building the coop over the weekend, so we dip our toes in the. It's about an acre of land here, and there's. We just fenced off some garden area as well, because we've got deer coming up. So there is something magical about this being so close to the source of your own food and eating food that you've raised and grown, or even animals and that you've grown as well. I can't imagine there's a better feeling than that. And it's nice to be able to experience that firsthand.

Matt Lohr [3:42 - 4:34]: Yeah. And, you know, really this, this kind of ties into the importance of indoor farming. I think one thing we learned during COVID is that people really where their food comes from, like who's raising it? They want to know the farmer in many cases. And out of all the labels that we see on our food and stores, holes and studies have shown that the one that generates the most attention is local. And so I think that really, for me, is one of the things that is so exciting about indoor farming is you can harvest lettuce and it can be in a store the next day versus growing it outdoors in California, and it's seven days later when it gets into the store. So that's a big part of it. And to your point about raising five chicks? I think more people are just very interested in connecting with the land, and their food is very important. And I fully support all things local and assisting our producers to be able to have that experience and to serve their local communities with people who want to buy local food.

Harry Duran [4:35 - 4:41]: Nice segue. As you mentioned, the word serving. I'm curious, when was your first inkling that you wanted to enter public service?

Matt Lohr [4:41 - 6:05]: Yeah, that's a great question. I tell people all the time. I grew up in a family where public service was stressed from day one. My father was very active with church, the Ruitton Club, a service club community. My parents were active in the volunteer rescue squad and fire department for their entire career. And so I grew up around people who served. And so for me, my first chance to serve was a state international officer for the FFA organization and future Farmers of America. And so I took a year out of college for both the state and then another year out as a national officer and really dedicated my time for two years serving the ag industry and speaking in schools and communities and lobbying for agriculture. And so I learned pretty early on that I really wanted to have a career in advocacy and public service. And I knew I'd always have a career in production agriculture. But I guess throughout my time in FFA, I learned that I wanted to combine that with a way to help lead the industry as well. When I was 26, 25, served in the local planning commission for my county, which helped on zoning and regulations issues. And then when I was 28 or 29, I was elected to the county school board. And then from there, I served in our state general assembly as a member of the house of Delegates and kind of went from there. But, yeah, I guess from an early age, I knew that I wanted to have a life of service, especially as it relates to agriculture.

Harry Duran [6:06 - 6:32]: Why do you think that that's an important thing for people to consider who have not thought about it before? Because, you know, you mentioned being on councils and even working with FFA. There's something about understanding, like the inner machinations of how government works sometimes. Now, I think a lot of times as citizens, we just see it from the outside and we get frustrated with things don't go as they should. And I think having the experience of being on the inside and seeing what happens is probably helpful.

Matt Lohr [6:32 - 8:09]: Absolutely. And I give speeches and talk about the importance of advocacy and especially with the ag community. Rural Virginia and rural communities across the country now are outnumbered by our urban populations. And I give an analogy in Virginia, for example, the last survey showed that if you start in Washington, DC, and you go south on interstate 95 to Richmond, and then you go east an hour and a half over to Virginia beach and the Hampton Roads area, that's a small sliver geographically of the state of Virginia. It takes a couple hours to drive that. But the last census showed that 77% of Virginia's population was right along that area. And it's very urban. There's not a ton of agriculture in that area anymore. So really, our urban legislators are making policy for the industry, and many of them don't understand. When I was in the member of the General Assembly 20 years ago, I was the only elected farmer in both the House and Senate. So for several years, I had a chance to be like the farmer voice. But I learned it's not necessarily that urban legislators are anti agriculture. They just don't know. They haven't been on farms or had connections. And so there was nothing more exciting for me than to have someone from Fairfax County, Virginia, say, I want to support agriculture, but I don't understand how this bill will do that and to be able to explain that and build those connections. And so, really, it all comes down to relationships. You've got to get to know your elected officials, because those are the folks that are making decisions for the industry, and many times, they don't understand what we do. So, very, very important. And I've tried to impart that wisdom wherever I can.

Harry Duran [8:09 - 8:19]: The groups or what's the story? I always like to tie everything back to an origin story of, like, did you always have eyes for secretary of agriculture and forestry? Or how did that come about?