Virginia
Virginia farms feel extra financial pressure as USDA cuts grant program
GREENE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) – The elimination of a USDA grant program is putting financial pressure on some farmers and producers here in central Virginia and beyond.
Sarah Morton, Operations Manager at Cattle Run Farm in Greene County, says the end of this funding marks a significant interruption of the state’s food networks.
“We’re in a really turbulent time right now,” Morton said. “But as Americans, we’re very resilient.
Morton helps lead the Local Food Resiliency Program, a partnership with 27 producers across Virginia, from Fredericksburg to Lynchburg.
With federal grant money from the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Program, or LFPA, producers within this program were able to supply food banks and pantries with fresh, nutritious produce. Last year, Cattle Run Farm supplied Loaves & Fishes in Albemarle County with a significant amount of beef.
“It’s really critical to make sure that our food closets and food pantries have healthy proteins,” Morton said. “We have to make sure that communities are eating healthy.”
But now, those LFPA grants are gone. Pantries are no longer getting this fresh food, and Morton and other producers are not getting paid for it.
“It’s really going to impact the agrarian industry immensely,” Morton said. “Now, I think farmers are really going to have to look at, how do we pivot to sustain, and some of them will have to lean into their reserves, if there is some.”
The Mid-Atlantic Food Resilience and Access Coalition, better known as MAFRAC, helps bring together farmers, food relief organizations, businesses, and others across the region to try to strengthen these connections.
Executive Director Carla Cash says the slashing of these funds simply means less food will go to those who need it.
“It’s going to be very devastating to the people that are in hard-to-reach areas and areas where there are food deserts,” Cash said.
In addition, producers who had already grown crops in anticipation of these grants are now without a market to sell them to.
“It’s definitely a big threat to our continuing to be able to farm and to provide that level and that quality of access to our communities,” said Stephanie Miller, Owner of MysticPine Farm in Campbell County. “I mean, I don’t even know if most of us are going to be able to recover.”
Now, Morton is asking the community to build relationships with local producers and invest in small farms, including shopping at farmers markets and calling on local governments to make food resiliency a priority.
“Here at Cattle Run Farm…we will never be without opportunities to pivot and be successful,” Morton said.
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RICHMOND, Va. — Friday will be sunny and seasonably warm, with highs in the upper 70s and low 80s.
The pattern of cool nights and mild afternoons will continue through the weekend and through much of next week as upper-level flow continues to bring reinforcing mild and dry air out of eastern Canada.
Rain chances will be very limited over the next week, with only a slim chance with a frontal passage on Monday.
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PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, Va. (WSET) — Ressie Keen, a 107-year-old Pittsylvania County woman, is safe after escaping a house fire that destroyed her more than 100-year-old home, leaving behind a yard filled with charred debris and scattered belongings.
Keen said she has no special secret to her longevity.
“I ain’t got no secret, just thanking the Lord to let me stay here to see 107,” she said.
Keen said she moved to the home decades ago and built a life there.
“I’ve moved there in 1969, our first crop was made in 1970, and I been living there ever since,” she said.
The fire broke out in Keen’s bedroom on Thursday afternoon. Keen said she and her sitter got out as the fire grew.
“I don’t know what happened, only thing I knew to do was to get out of there. So me and my sitter we got out. She tried to put it out but she couldn’t,” Keen said.
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Pittsylvania County Fire Marshal Scott Hutcherson said investigators believe the fire started with an electrical issue.
“We think we had an electric outlet failure, more or less; an adaptor on the outlet probably failed,” Hutcherson said. He said the fire spread quickly once it ignited nearby items. “It set the bed on fire and the clothes that was on top of it, the material on top of it, what’s pretty much what got the fire going. And then it easily spread to the second story.”
Keen’s son, Ronnie Keen, said the loss has been painful for the family.
“It was devastating real devastating, lot of memories lost. But I know those memories and emotions the things that were sentimental were still right here,” he said.
A family photo album was among the few items recovered. Pointing to one image, Ronnie Keen said, “That’s a picture of the house.”
He added that the album was badly damaged. “It’s so charred it’s kinda hard to open,” he said.
Keen also held onto her favorite cast-iron pan.
“I knew this wasn’t going to get burnt up,” she said.
The home was considered a total loss, but the family said the most important thing is that Ressie Keen survived. She is now living with her son.
“I’m overjoyed that she’s here with us and she’s safe,” Ronnie Keen said.
Hutcherson said to prevent this, make sure that there is a smoke alarm in your home. He says you can reach out to the Pittsylvania County Public Safety office for a free installation of a smoke alarm.
WISE COUNTY, VA (WCYB) — Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger has requested the Virginia Attorney General’s Office investigate the 2025 homicide of a Wallens Ridge State Prison inmate.
The Attorney General’s Office confirmed the development to News 5 on Tuesday, May 27.
“The circumstances around the death of Aubrey McKay are of a very serious and troubling nature. Governor Spanberger has requested that the Office of the Attorney General conduct an investigation and initiate any criminal prosecutions that arise. This office will continue its thorough, complete, and timely investigation into these consequential matters,” Attorney General Jay Jones said in an emailed statement.
McKay died on June 4, 2025, while inside the Wise County correctional facility.
The Virginia Department of Corrections confirmed his death is being investigated as a homicide and said at least one officer was either reprimanded or placed on leave.
The Virginia medical examiner’s office listed McKay’s cause of death as multifactorial asphyxia. Virginia State Police also confirmed it is investigating the case.
The Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office also confirmed it will no longer be involved in the case.
A spokesperson for the Wise County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office told News 5 on May 25 that Smyth County would oversee the prosecution because of the nature of the investigation.
Smyth County Commonwealth’s Attorney Phillip Blevins later confirmed he has recused himself from the case.
In a court order provided to News 5 dated May 22, Blevins wrote that he has an association with at least one potential witness involved in the investigation. He was excused from the case.
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