Public Comments for: HB1169 - Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Office of Small Farms and Virginia Small Farms Fund established; report.
Please vote no on bill 1169. We small farmers need no regulations or "help" from the government. Much of what is proposed is redundant anyway. We need the government to get out of our way so that we may flourish. Thank you for voting no.
I OPPOSE this bill. We do not need more regulation and bureaucracy/red tape for small farmers who are after all small business owners. Keep Virginians free to access fresh food!
On behalf of a small farm that I operate it is hard to stay afloat with the rising costs of fertilizer and seed. On behalf of the Deere eating the crops year round and no being able to do anything bout it except 3 months out of the year I feel as if we should be able to kill them but limit the killing on the Deere so we do not over kill there needs to be a set number allowed per farmer. As a hound owner myself it is a life style that has been around for ages and we do not feel as it should fall out of per portion.
1396 Keep dog hunting No solar panels 1091 129 let owners kill deer 1169 leave small farms alone 1072 do not regulate sludge applications
Please vote YES on this.
Please vote no on HB1169 Leave the small farmers alone. I am against the new tax funded governing Office of small farms, within VDACS. The intent of the bill is to govern and capture small farms by interning them into “leg up” programs that come with monitoring and red tape. I should have the right, to buy my food from a local farmer and they should have the right to sell me produce, without government interference.
There are already sufficient regulations affecting small farms. What this bill purports to do is not what it will do. It will create more oversight, regulations and red tape. The Commissioner already has the jurisdiction to go after any food operation in the regulatory body large or small. It is not necessary to create a new bureaucratic entity to data capture entrepreneurs and to police small farms. Small farms need less oversight and controls to let them thrive and flourish and have a fair shot alongside Big Ag. I realise Big Ag lobbies and donates to politicians and small farmers cannot afford this. Farming does not make a lot of money but it does allow people to buy good food and avoid processed and ultra processed food.
Please support HB402. It will allow small cottage foods producers to grow reach a larger consumer base, without the need to upgrade to a commercial kitchen, which is exceedingly expensive and lots of red tape for permitting. This is also a way to make it less restrictive for anyone wanting to get started with home produced uninspected foods which will support independence and community food resilience and keep revenue cycling within the local economy.