01/21/2026
You may have seen some activity on local social media lately regarding the county's Western Loudoun zoning review and how it relates to breweries and wineries. This process is not new and has been in the local media since the process began early last year. Loudoun Farm Bureau producer board members, including those actively involved in the craft beverage sector have been actively involved in this process and have been steadfast in our support of Loudoun agriculture.
We also want county zoning to be crystal clear that if an operation is claiming to be agricultural, it should first and foremost be producing agricultural products...in other words, it should be a farm! If someone is claiming to be a farm for purposes of building event venues, doing large scale clearing and grading in sensitive environmental areas for a better view, or to get around building commercial building codes, they should not be considered a farm. Agritourism is just that, Agri-tourism...without the agri, it could still be great tourism, but should go through a zoning process for what it is, not pretend to be a farm. The danger is that folks will assume all exemptions for agriculture for things like tilling our fields, building a structure to store hay or house livestock...are a scam, and we will lose those allowances.
So in short, our Farm Bureau policy voted on by our members is to be tireless advocates for our grape growers and wineries, our grain growers, livestock producers, vegetable producers, cut flower operations, and all those engaged in agriculture here in Loudoun! But just as important is we don't want folks tarring the reputation of folks doing the hard work of agriculture here in the county by violating county laws to do activities that have nothing to do with farming.
County leaders are continuing their review of zoning regulations for rural Loudoun. Their most recent work session focused on farm wineries, breweries and distilleries, which garnered some heated debate among
