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Peanut and Soybean Crops Up in Virginia

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RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia peanut and soybean growers have planted more acres this year than they did in 2014.

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says soybean growers planted an estimated 670,000 acres, an increase of 10,000 acres from 2014.

Peanut growers planted 23,000 acres, an increase of 4,000 acres.

Corn acreage was unchanged at an estimated 500,000 acres.

Upland cotton acreage declined by 2,000 acres to an estimated 85,000 acres.

The department says an estimated 19,500 acres of flue-cured tobacco are expected to be set for harvest, down 3,000 acres from 2014. Burley tobacco acreage is expected to drop by 200 acres to 1,300 acres. Dark fire-cured tobacco acreage is expected to increase by 20 acres to an estimated 350 acres.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.