Agriculture in West Virginia
        The Department of                  The COVID-19                       Agriculture is key to 
        Agriculture (WVDA)                 pandemic                           the State's economy, 
        continues its mission              emphasized the                     with an annual 
        to foster economic                 importance of access               contribution of $800 
        development, ensure                to safe, locally-                  million, but WVDA has 
        an adequate, safe, and                                                identified solutions to 
                                           sourced food                       expand agricultural 
        wholesome food                     products, which                    industries to further 
        supply, and protect the            made the facets of                 benefit EVERY WEST 
        health of the public,              WVDA’s mission                     VIRGINIAN EVERY 
        livestock, and                     even more critical.                DAY.
        agricultural products. 
                                WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
                           Facilitating Growth In 
                                                 Agriculture
                        Regulations must be modernized so 
                        producers are supported and encouraged, 
                        rather than hindered, to take advantage                        Consumers must have a healthy and secure 
                        of new opportunities.                                          food supply at the local level to address food 
                                                                                       insecurity and minimize the impact of 
                       Additionally, valuable partnerships with                        national supply chain interruptions.
                       external entities must exist to allow for a 
                       collaborative approach to creating, 
                       attracting, or expanding agribusinesses and 
                       job creation.
                                                                                       Proper, modern infrastructure for agricultural 
                                                                                       product monitoring and testing must be 
                       Producers must be provided with tools and                       maintained to ensure public safety.
                       support for branding and marketing activities 
                       to be competitive in local, national, or even 
                       global markets.
                                          WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
                    Agency Fiscal Position
        WVDA’s FY 2023                    Factoring out the                 Improvement Requests 
        Appropriation                     effects of recent                 have been submitted to 
        Request has been filed            across-the-board                  support the agency’s 
        at a level equal to               increases and new                 mission by addressing 
        current year;                     programs, WVDA's                  critical agency 
        reductions to General                                               infrastructure needs, 
                                          core General                      investing in staff, and 
        Revenue or additional             Revenue operating                 continuing to develop 
        unfunded or partially-            funds are roughly                 opportunities for 
        funded mandates                   equal to that of FYs              positive economic 
        would strain limited              2007-2008.                        impact to the State and 
        agency resources.                                                   its citizens.  
                               WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
                    Agency Pandemic Impact
                        The economic impact of the COVID-19 
                        pandemic to WVDA was in excess of $3.6 
                        million at the end of FY 2021.                                Many pre-pandemic efficiencies, such as use 
                                                                                      of virtual training for staff, e-signatures, and 
                                                                                      use of Teams for remote meetings and 
                       WVDA’s Cedar Lakes Conference Center                           collaboration, allowed operations to continue 
                       and Food Distribution Program both                             with minimal impact and cost. 
                       incurred significant operating losses 
                       (included in the total above) due to the 
                       pandemic’s effect on public gatherings and 
                       school operations.                                             As shown on the following tables, WVDA 
                                                                                      received federal funding for pandemic relief, 
                       Throughout the pandemic, WVDA                                  with the vast majority being passed through 
                       maintained operations to assure all its                        to external entities. 
                       mandates were being met for uninterrupted 
                       service to the public and agricultural 
                       industries.
                                         WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
                         COVID-19 Pandemic 
                   Federal Funding (USDA)
                     Funding Source                       Award        Original     Expended Remaining
                                                         Date(s)        Award
      Emergency Food Assistance Program* –              Mar. 2020,     $ 464,122     $ 460,817       $ 3,305
      Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA)    Oct. 2020
      Emergency Food Assistance Program* –              Mar. 2020,
      Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security     Oct. 2020,     1,500,982       853,325       647,657
      Act (CARES)                                       Nov. 2021
      Emergency Food Assistance Program* – 
      CARES Act 3rd Supplemental Appropriation           Oct. 2020       501,931       501,931              0
      (COSUP)
      Commodity Supplemental Food Program* – 
      CARES Act 3rd Supplemental Appropriation           Oct. 2020        33,821              0       33,821
      (COSUP)
      Commodity Supplemental Food Program* –             Oct. 2020       249,393         8,943       240.450
      American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA)
      Farmer/Rancher Stress Assistance Network – 
      Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental      Sep. 2021        500,000         1,210       498,790
      Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA)
      Specialty Crop Block Grant Program – COVID –
      Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental      Sep. 2021        411,639              0      411,639
      Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSAA)
      National Animal Health Lab Network 
      Infrastructure II - Coronavirus Response and      Sep. 2021        187,200              0      187,200
      Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 
      (CRRSAA)
     *Denotes funding intended to be fully obligated and passed through to subrecipient organization(s)
                                   WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE