Agriculture and Farming – The UncommonWealth

There’s Blood in the Salad Part II: The Clean Up

Editor's Note: This is part two of a two-part series. You can read the first part here. This case was grueling. What started as a…

Mary Ann Mason, They/ThemMarch 25, 2026

Archives Newspapers

There’s Blood in the Salad

I was sitting in my office indexing coroners’ inquisitions as I do most days. My badge hung heavily around my neck. I could feel the…

Mary Ann Mason, They/ThemJanuary 28, 2026

Newspapers

For Practical and Progressive Farming Advice, Look to the Southern Planter and Farmer

Wondering when to plant timothy grass? Want to learn more about Percherons? Need help with profitable wheat growing? Getting dairy cows ready to show? For…

Kelley EwingMay 11, 2022

Education & Programming Public Libraries

Growing As A Community: Virginia’s Seed Libraries

With the weather warming up, many Virginians start thinking about life outdoors again, and with that comes gardening. From largescale agricultural growing to elaborate landscape…

Annie HattonApril 4, 2022

Virginia Authors

“A Prosperous Season”: The 1920 W. Grossmann and Son’s Seed Catalog

If you have a home garden, you may have engaged in a time-honored annual ritual—flipping through the pages of a favorite seed catalog and selecting…

Rebecca SchneiderMay 6, 2020

Manuscripts & Special Collections

Tin Can Tell-All: Revealing Virginia’s Role in the Canning Trade

Canned foods have become an everyday part of our lives. Most people have at least a few cans in their kitchen pantry, but far fewer…

Guest ContributorJanuary 10, 2018

Newspapers

Soybeans and Beauty Queens: Newspaper Coverage of the Queens of the Crop

The Virginia Farm Bureau News has been the go-to publication for farming news since it first appeared in 1941. With articles like “Should Grades be ‘Beefed’…

Kelley EwingMarch 6, 2014

Tobacco Census: Fixing the "Frauds and Mischiefs" of the Tobacco Trade

Virginia’s agricultural production, as well as its economy, was dominated by tobacco for over three centuries, ever since John Rolfe sent his first shipment of…

Sarah NerneyMay 22, 2013

Digital Projects Newspapers

Virginia Farm Bureau News Goes Digital

The article below was published in the Fall 2012 issue of the Library of Virginia’s Broadside. Check out Broadside for all things LVA related. . . In a welcome…

Errol SomayDecember 4, 2012

Tractors on Rabbit Trails.

When I found a little booklet titled “Presented with the Compliments of B.F. Avery & Sons…” in a box of oversized Smyth County Chancery Court…

Dale DulaneyMay 4, 2011