Agriculture in Our City

Located near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, the city of Chesapeake combines rich history with rich, sandy soils.

Farmers in this southeastern Virginia city generated $35.9 million in cash receipts in 2002, according to the latest statistics available.

Chesapeake was formed in 1963 from a merger of the city of South Norfolk and the rural region of Norfolk County.

Today, more than 61,000 acres of the city are devoted to farmland. And the temperate winds off the Atlantic Ocean have helped Chesapeake farmers successfully grow a variety of crops.

In 2002, it ranked second in Virginia in production of soybeans, with 28,000 acres.

Chesapeake farmers have also kept up with the fast-growing urban part of their city by delving into the nursery business, producing bedding and garden plants, potted flowering plants, foliage and cut flowers.