Program Information

Fiber is the word for agricultural products that are used to produce clothing and paper products. Virginia grows both cotton and wool, as well as the trees that are used to produce paper, cardboard, and other fiber-based products.

ABCs of Agriculture informs about Virginia's farming community and how it affects you. ABCs of Agriculture are produced by the Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) - an educational program which encourages and enhances agricultural literacy in Grades K-5 and 6-8.

Transcript

Hello, and welcome to the ABC’s of Agriculture! We’re here today to talk about the letter “F” for fiber…

Fiber is the term for agricultural products used to make clothing and paper products. Cotton and Wool are both produced in Virginia, as are the trees that are used to make paper and other fiber-based products.

In 2000, Cotton was produced on 107,000 acres in 20 counties of Eastern and Southside Virginia. The top apparel market for cotton is men’s and boy’s trousers, including jeans and shorts.

Wool is also produced in the Commonwealth. Virginia ranks 22nd for wool producing states in the nation, and wool produced 65 thousand dollars in cash receipts in 2000. People have raised sheep for food and fiber for 10,000 years. Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson raised sheep on their farms and both wore woolen suits for their inaugurations.

There is a long paper trail with American history. The first American paper merchant was Benjamin Franklin who helped start 18 paper mills in Virginia and surrounding areas. The process by which wood fiber is made into paper was developed in the U.S. in the early 1900’s.

And, did you know that 40 percent of paper used in this country is recovered through recycling programs and re-used. Now that’s worth reading more about….

For the ABC’s of Agriculture, I’m Professor Brad! See you next time!

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