Matthew Lohr serves as the 5th Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was raised on a Century family farm in the Shenandoah Valley and has spent his entire life working for the betterment of agriculture.

Matthew developed his passion for public service while serving as both a state and national FFA officer before graduating from Virginia Tech with a B.S. degree in Agricultural Education. He has more than 30 years of experience as a professional leader and communicator.

Matthew served as Chief of the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, an agency with more than 10,000 employees across 3,000 offices. He also previously served in the Virginia House of Delegates, as Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, as Director of the Farm Credit Knowledge Center and as a middle school agriscience teacher.

In addition to serving as Secretary, Matthew along with his two children own and operate Valley Pike Farm, Inc., his family’s farming operation.