The goal of establishing these institutions was to develop practical solutions to problems, as the approach to university level education in America continued to evolve from a narrow liberal arts education towards the diverse fields available today. At the time, these institutions were for white male students. It wasn’t until 1882 that the Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute, now called Virginia State University (VSU), was founded for the purpose of providing higher education opportunities for African Americans.

Urban agriculture is critical to supporting and strengthening local food systems, especially in areas where residents are historically underserved and have limited access to food. An urban farm provides the community with economic opportunities, green space, and nutritious fresh food. However, urban farmers may struggle to access the necessary resources to support or grow their operations. Virginia State University's (VSU) Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) is finding solutions to this through the new National Urban Ag Initiative.

Virginia State University (VSU) will conduct research investigating tomato growth and nutraceutical qualities within brackish water (5 ppt) aquaponic systems. Dr. Nicholas Romano, VSU’s Aquaculture Extension Specialist, along with Mr. Joshua Dusci, VSU’s Indoor Agriculture Extension Associate, received a grant for $38,000 from the Virginia Department of Consumer Services to develop the project in collaboration with VSU’s Virginia Cooperative Extension counterpart, Virginia Tech (VT).

First thing in the morning, you can find Rachel Lawmaster caring for rabbits and working with greenhouse plants. The rest of her day might include more farm work, office work, or hosting a weekly program at the Petersburg Boys and Girls Club to introduce students to agriculture (her favorite day of the week). Lawmaster is Virginia State University (VSU)'s Program Assistant for the Urban Agriculture program, and she combines passion, commitment and a broad array of outreach efforts to impact her community positively.

When Second Baptist Church (SBC) in Richmond, Virginia, grappled with the issue of stormwater runoff from its extensive roof, it collaborated with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation to develop an efficient solution. But with the challenge of managing the collected water emerging, specialists from Virginia State University's Cooperative Extension (VSU-VCE) and assistants from the Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP) saw an opportunity: start an urban garden.

Virginia Cooperative Extension's Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP), housed under Virginia State University College of Agriculture, secured close to $4 million in grants and sub-awards to tackle food insecurity. The initiative will connect urban farmers with U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) representatives and resources.

As the Commonwealth of Virginia welcomes increasing numbers of residents of diverse ethnicities, the Hispanic population in particular continues to soar—and so do their needs for Extension services.

This population now comprises nearly 11% of the state's total population, a significant increase from 8% a decade ago. Of this population, there are those who want to start their own farm enterprises. To assist them, the Small Farm Outreach Program (SFOP), part of the Virginia Cooperative Extension program at Virginia State University, relies heavily on Leonel Castillo, its Hispanic outreach coordinator.

After 30 successful years in aquaculture at VSU Randolph Farm, with its 57 research and instruction ponds, fish hatchery, greenhouse-based tanks and automated fish processing facility, Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia State University is reassessing how best to address the current needs of producers in the growing industry. As one of two land-grant universities in the commonwealth, VSU-VCE advises limited-resource producers about aquaculture opportunities and best practices.

Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia State University helps small-scale sheep farmers across Virginia reduce expenses, increase profits and provide exceptional products with innovative, evidence-based strategies. With demand for lamb outstripping domestic supply, local, small-scale farmers and consumers can benefit from systems developed by Extension and the Agricultural Research Station at VSU.  

“It’s one of my greatest highlights for all the years I’ve been in agriculture,” said Summers, who has been in agriculture her entire life.

Born and raised on her family’s farm in Guilford County, N.C., a recognized Century Farm that has been in her family since 1878, she learned the value of working the land at an early age—along with its challenges—from a long line of tobacco farmers.

Small Farm Outreach Program, part of Virginia State University College of Agriculture and Virginia Cooperative Extension empowers small-scale, limited-resource, socially disadvantaged, minority and veteran farmers and ranchers to own, operate and sustain their independent enterprises through education, information and assistance. SFOP serves Virginia and parts of Maryland and North Carolina. It is making a big impact, especially on small-scale black farmers.

Like a plant that puts out runners multiplies its fruitfulness, so one person with vision, passion and expertise, has the ability to reach out, develop supporters and make a huge difference in a community. Wanda Johnson is such an individual. 

The PROmoting School-Community-University Partnerships to Enhance Resilience (PROSPER) model is a program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Children, Youth, and Families at Risk Grant. PROSPER seeks to avoid opioid and other substance misuse through proactive prevention strategies.

The Harding St. Urban Ag Center in Petersburg, Virginia has one mission: to address existing food deserts in the City of Petersburg by building a sustainable food production system and distribution hub. This includes educating the community about indoor food production operations, marketing, and entrepreneurship. To help further this mission, Virginia State University’s (VSU) Extension Program is spearheading efforts to change the policies behind some of the local problems of quality food access.

To assist small-scale farmers, Cooperative Extension at Virginia State University (VCE-VSU) designed a mobile processing unit (MPU) and developed an MPU Certification Program, which is funded by NIFA at USDA. The certification program consists of four online modules and a hands-on module at VCE-VSU’s Randolph Farm.

The last thing Erica Shambley, the Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications for Virginia State University (VSU)’s College of Agriculture, wanted was a band-aid, check-the-box effort for diversity. An emerging partnership between VSU and Virginia Tech tapped Shambley, a self-identifying Black woman, to join at a time when people across the country protested George Floyd’s death and some residents of Richmond, Virginia, demanded the removal of local Confederate statues. Once she got involved, Shambley “found out not only was this extremely important and valuable, but I never thought we could have such open dialogue about diversity and coming together in the workplace the way that we do.”

The mission of the Urban Ag Center is to address existing food deserts in the City of Petersburg by building a sustainable food production system and distribution hub that includes educating the community about indoor food production operations, marketing, and entrepreneurship. Creating urban land-use policies would expand VSU’s Extension’s ability to impact the community in terms of providing greater access to food in Petersburg.

At Virginia Cooperative Extension, we take concrete actions that advance the wellbeing of Virginia’s families, youth, community, health, economy and food systems. Virginia State University’s Urban Forestry Extension Associate, Joel Koci, supports all of these areas to shape a brighter future for Virginia through his work to improve the health of our state’s urban and suburban trees.

In a May 2020 interview with Future Farmers of America, Bronaugh said, “Taking the position in 4-H and youth development in VSU’s College of Agriculture changed the trajectory of my career; I was planning on building a career as a college professor.” Some of her outreach work in the community included program to address bullying in youth.

Virginia State University College of Agriculture’s Director of Marketing & Communications, Michelle Olgers, was one of two 1890 land-grant university (LGU) agricultural communicator professionals selected to serve on the 14-person National Impact Database (NIDB) writing and editing team this year.

Today, Cooperative Extension resources are offered in every state in the United States to advance the wellbeing of everyone. Empowering its communities, stewarding its resources and shaping a healthy future is at the heart of the nation’s Cooperative Extension program, launched in 1914 by the United States Department of Agriculture in partnership with land-grant universities. However, in the program’s early days, many Cooperative Extension programs and opportunities were offered to whites only.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture have provided funding to the Cooperative Extension system to address health disparities in underserved communities. Called the Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching & Engagement (EXCITE), the initiative offers two options for land-grant universities.

President Joe Biden announced his intent on January 13, 2022, to appoint our own Dr. Ronald Howell, Jr. as the Executive Director of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Virginia. Dr. Howell was included in a shortlist of new USDA appointees about whom Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said, “As we work to build a better America, we need talented and experienced staff working in our state offices.” He added, “We are thrilled to welcome these dedicated individuals to USDA at such an important time in the Biden-Harris administration.”

Virginia State University’s Extension Program has numerous communal garden projects across the state. Dr. Leonard Githinji, who leads the Sustainable and Urban Agriculture program at VSU and was recently appointed as a state program leader for agriculture with Virginia Cooperative Extension, says the top goals of community agriculture are to “address food insecurity, encourage healthy eating, and provide exercise opportunities.”

Community and connection. These two elements, so essential to our well-being, were challenged in ways we’ve never seen during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Not to be deterred from their mission, Virginia Cooperative Extension’s 4H embraced a new national program called 4H Tech Changemakers that connects teenagers and adults within their communities.

The Virginia Cooperative Extension’s (VCE) emergency preparedness webpages are designed to help Virginia residents prepare for all types of disasters. The pages, part of the ext.vsu.edu website, were created in 2018, as hurricane Michael took aim at Virginia and was expected to make a direct hit.

At VSU, the Dietetic Internship Program integrates teaching, research and Cooperative Extension to give students a well-rounded understanding of the food production process, as well as nutrition education and how to address food insecurity in low-income communities.

Chris Mullins educates local farmers about hydroponics and aquaponics, and he’s fishing for new ways to help them decide what systems will be cost effective for their operations and what crop and fish combinations grow best together.