Which products did Virginia farmers sell the most of in 2024?

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- As it has in previous years, Virginia's agricultural industry generated billions of dollars in sales across 2024. Here are the top-20 best-selling products.

The agricultural industry is Virginia's largest private industry, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS). It provides more than 381,100 jobs and creates an economic impact of more than $82 billion annually.

Not only that, but VDACS describes Virginia's agricultural production as one of the most diverse in America, as many of its products rank in the top-10 nationwide.

Cash receipt data for Virginia agricultural products sold in 2024 -- which was recently released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Economic Research Service -- paints a clearer picture of exactly which products are driving both economic trends and production value in Virginia, per VDACS.

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The year's cash receipts total over $4.55 billion. Animals and animal products account for just under $3 billion of those dollars, while about $1.56 billion was generated from crop sales.

For several products, Virginia ranked nationally in cash receipt totals. The Commonwealth ranked third in tobacco, fifth in turkeys, eighth in peanuts, ninth in trout, 10th in pumpkins and 10th in other animal products, according to VDACS.

"Agriculture continues to be a strong economic driver for the Commonwealth, thanks to the hard work and dedication of Virginia farmers," said Joseph Guthrie, VDACS' commissioner, in a Dec. 29 press release. "The variety of commodities in which the Commonwealth ranks nationally demonstrates the breadth of Virginia’s agricultural diversity."

Here's the top 20 agricultural products sold out of Virginia in 2024 and their total cash receipt value:

1. Broilers (chicken for meat) -- about $1.25 billion
2. Cattle and calves -- about $713 million
3. Miscellaneous crops -- about $483 million
4. Dairy products, milk -- about $363 million
5. Soybeans -- about $260 million
6. Turkeys -- about $241 million
7. Corn -- about $227 million
8. All other animals and products -- about $223 million
9. Hay -- about $161.6 million
10. Chicken eggs -- about $146 million
11. Floriculture (flowers and foliage) -- about $133 million
12. Cotton lint, Upland -- about $67.7 million
13. Apples -- about $64 million
14. Tobacco -- about $63 million
15. Wheat -- about $42 million
16. Hogs -- about $39.7 million
17. Peanuts -- about $37.4 million
18. Pumpkins -- about $14.7 million
19. Cottonseed -- about $12.4 million
20. Trout -- about $2.6 million

To learn more about Virginia's agricultural industry, visit VDACS' website. To view the USDA's full report on cash receipt totals for agricultural products sold across the United States in 2024, click here.