We have two new additions to the Governmental Relations team after departures from Jessica Walton in April and Arielle Brown in May. Jessica pursued an opportunity at William & Mary in Williamsburg to shorten her long commute. Arielle decided to pursue an opportunity with a law firm back in Washington D.C. We wish them well in their new jobs.
I am pleased to announce that Emily Dunne joined our department on June 4th. Emily is a recent graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in political science. During her academic career, she gained some valuable experience through internships with a non-profit group lobbying on behalf of college students as well as the Richmond office of Senator Mark Warner. In addition, she provided administrative support at the Federal Aviation Administration during some of her breaks. She will be serving as the Administrative Assistant supporting the Governmental Relations team and taking on numerous projects such as providing support for the Resolutions process.

On July 9th, Ben Rowe will be joining our department as National Affairs Coordinator/Legislative Specialist. He will be coordinating our efforts at the national level with Virginia’s congressional offices. In fact, his first day he will be heading to the AFBF Public Policy Conference in Washington D.C. and provide support to other Farm Bureau staff bringing a group of young farmers visiting D.C. that week. In addition, he will handle issues surrounding labor, energy, plant-based commodities and providing back-up to me on environmental issues. Ben has a degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from Randolph Macon College. Ben is currently finishing up his duties as Vice President of Association Management with the Alliance Group. In this role, he served several agricultural and forestry clients including Executive Director for the Virginia Grain Producers Association, President of Virginia Forest Products Association and previously as Assistant Director to the Virginia Wine Council.

The following statement regarding Senate passage of the 2018 Farm Bill may be attributed to American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.

“The Senate pushed the farm bill one big step closer to the finish line today and it could not have come at a better time. America’s farmers and ranchers continue to face a challenging agricultural economy, a shaky outlook for our export markets and a dire ag labor shortage. It was time for some good news and the Senate delivered it in bipartisan fashion.

“Chairman Roberts and Ranking Member Stabenow worked with other members of the Senate Agriculture Committee to deliver a bill that will continue to provide the risk management tools that America’s farmers need more than ever before. And the fact that Leader McConnell agreed this should be a legislative priority helped move this very important bill forward in the Senate.

“Of course, no bill is ever perfect, but this bipartisan effort gives us a solid framework for progress. We do have concerns about some of the provisions that were added to the bill that make it harder for farmers to manage risk, but we are confident that those issues can be satisfactorily addressed by the House/Senate conference committee. We look forward to working with conferees from both houses to get the best possible farm bill done for rural America.”

The House passed its version of the farm bill today by a vote of 213-211.  American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall released the following statement regarding its passage:

“Passage of the House farm bill today is a big win for America’s farmers and ranchers. Our grassroots Farm Bureau members clearly made their voices heard. By approving the 2018 Farm Bill today, members of the House recognized the serious economic challenges facing farmers and ranchers across the country.

“As crafted by Chairman Conaway, this bill recognizes what is working well, but it also makes much-needed improvements in risk management and crop insurance programs at a time when farm-income levels have slumped to decade lows. This would not have been possible had it not been for Speaker Ryan making the farm bill a congressional priority, and for all the hard work invested in the process by Chairman Conaway and other members of the House Agriculture Committee.

“We look forward to continuing our work with Senate Agriculture Committee leaders Roberts and Stabenow as they move forward. The Senate bill also addresses the challenges our farmers and ranchers are facing today. We will also continue to focus our attention on other areas important to farmers, such as finding a solution for the very serious ag labor shortage, increasing market opportunities through trade and cutting the burdens of regulations that have piled up during previous administrations.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released its June Crop Production report today based on the Agricultural Yield survey conducted at the beginning of the month. The report includes information on Virginia’s winter wheat forecast.

Virginia farmers expect to harvest 11 million bushels of winter wheat during 2018. The expected crop for 2018 would be up 15 percent from the previous year. The forecast was based on crop conditions as of June 1 and decreased six percent from the May forecast. Growers expect a yield of 63 bushels per acre, down three bushels from 2017 and down four bushels from May. Farmers seeded 230,000 acres last fall with 175,000 acres to be harvested for grain. Acres for other uses totaled 55,000 acres and will be used as cover crop or cut as silage or hay.

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Editor’s note: Chandler Vaughan is a former Virginia Farm Bureau Ambassador from Charlotte County. This story was written by Jillian Broadwell and appeared as a news story here: https://vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2018/06/cals-governors-fellow.html#.Wx6a7jkhqSA.facebook

Chandler Vaughan grew up in Keysville, Virginia, where the cows outnumber the local human population. He remembers feeding the family cows on cold winter days and bonding with his dad as they planted pumpkin patches on their third-generation farm.

But this summer, Vaughan will spend his days away from the cattle and the produce he knows so well to pursue a new experience – one that involves a city and high-ranking state officials.

Vaughan, a rising senior majoring in agribusiness in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will work under the Virginia secretary of agriculture and forestry through the Governor’s Fellows Program – a program established in 1982 to offer Virginia state college students a chance to learn about and serve in state government. Vaughan was the only Virginia Tech student to receive this honor from the Northam administration this year and is one of 23 students from around the state to be selected into the program.

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