Although these high-clay soils are not highly leachable, fractured limestone bedrock underlies most of this area, meaning dissolved nutrients can move rapidly to ground water. These factors, along with the sloping landscape, dictate intense nutrient management programs to include such practices as split application of nitrogen on crops and cereal grain winter cover crops to trap residual soil nitrogen and reduce nitrogen loss to groundwater. Agriculture systems in the ridge and valley region of Virginia are dominated by poultry, dairy and beef production which take advantage of the regions natural topography, economic infrastructure, and close proximity to large population areas. These factors have created profitable markets for these agricultural systems and there products. Poultry production is supported by the close proximity of processing facilities and contract growers in the Shenandoah valley.
Feed is shipped in by rail from the Midwest and by tractor trailer from eastern Virginia.
These operations take advantage of abundant forage production and are a logical use for shallow, sloping soils not suitable for row crop production. Dairy production is also a major agricultural system in the Shenandoah valley. A typical dairy operation utilizes a variety of conservation practices to improve profitability and maintain sustainability in the ridge and valley region of Virginia. In a year, one dairy cow can produce in excess of 20,000 pounds of milk, require up to 23,000 lbs. of forage and produce 10,000 gallons of manure. Maximizing profits requires intensive management of cropping systems, tillage practices, and utilizing on-farm nutrients.