Virginia Farm Bureau Federation AgPAC has announced its endorsement of Ed Gillespie, the Republican candidate for governor; Jill Vogel, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor; and John Adams, the Republican candidate for attorney general.

“The individuals we endorsed have demonstrated their support for farmers through their commitments in their platforms on specific issues, or their experience while holding positions in the General Assembly,” said Wayne F. Pryor, VFBF president and chairman of the VFBF AgPAC board of trustees. “We believe we have endorsed three candidates who involved farmers in determining their policy platforms and have stronger commitments on how they will continue to help agriculture and forestry remain viable and Virginia’s largest industry.”

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Farmers taking a break from the heat can maximize their downtime with a visit to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s online questionnaire demonstration site for the 2017 Census of Agriculture.

The site and other census-related resources are available at agcensus.usda.gov. The updated census questionnaire will go live in late fall and will be accessible on desktop computers and mobile devices. New features can help save time by calculating totals automatically and skipping questions that do not pertain to a respondent’s farm.

Printed surveys for the 2017 Census of Agriculture will be mailed to farmers at the end of this year. The census is conducted every five years and is a complete count of all U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. It highlights land use and ownership, operator characteristics, production practices, income and expenditures and other topics.

The Democratic and Republican candidates for governor both vowed to support the state’s largest industries during the 2017 Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Gubernatorial Candidates’ Forum July 28 at Virginia Western Community College.

This is the fifth gubernatorial forum hosted by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Committee and sponsored by Farm Bureau, the Virginia Agribusiness Council, the Virginia Forestry Association and the Virginia Forest Products Association.

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USDA touches nearly every aspect of a farmer’s business.  From national programs and regulations to local FSA offices and rural development initiatives, USDA wants to know how to better serve you!

President Trump signed Executive Order 13777 to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens. It instructs the USDA Secretary to evaluate existing regulations and make recommendations.

USDA is requesting ideas from you to help identify regulations that:

1. Inhibit job creation;
2. Are outdated or unnecessary;
3. Impose cost that exceed benefit; or
4. Are inconsistent with other rules and regulations.

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Congratulations to VFBF Board Member and Pittsylvania County Farm Bureau‘s Robert Mills, who is a Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year Award finalist! The winner will be announced in October at the Sunbelt Ag Expo in Moultrie, GA!

As Farmer of the Year, that fortunate farmer will not only be $15,000 richer, he will be handed the keys to a shiny new red Massey Ferguson tractor to drive for the next year.

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On June 27, 2017, EPA proposed to do what we’ve wanted for years—DITCH the RULE!

Farmers  support clean water and work hard to protect our natural resources. But the WOTUS rule had more to do with land than water. It was a land grab, pure and simple, that:

• Created a huge regulatory burden for farmers, ranchers, and others who depend on their ability to work the land;
• Increased costs for farmers, ranchers and others; and 
• Produced confusion and uncertainty.

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The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers will host the 2017 Virginia Agriculture & Forestry Gubernatorial Forum on Friday, July 28 in Roanoke as part of their Summer Expo.

The forum is sponsored by Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, Virginia Agribusiness Council, Virginia Forestry Association and Virginia Forest Products Association.  This will be our 5th Gubernatorial Candidate Forum as a united agriculture and forestry industry.  Under the umbrella of the four organizations, other commodity groups, corporations and agribusinesses will be invited to attend. Continue reading →

As part of the Agriculture Energy Efficiency Initiative, Virginia Cooperative Extension is conducting four educational workshops on solar energy later this month to educate anyone interested in learning more about solar hot water and solar photovoltaics.

The background information on these workshops are available at the following hyperlinks:

Introductory Educational Workshops on Solar Energy located in North Dinwiddie, VA

Introductory Educational Workshops on Solar Energy located in Rocky Mount, VA

This workshop seeks to clarify the following:

• What is Solar Hot Water?
• What is Solar Photovoltaics?

Farm Bureau policy supports using a renewable source of electricity such as solar for farm use. Anyone interested in gathering more information on solar energy is encouraged to attend.

Contact: Arielle Brown, 804-347-5747, arielle.brown@vafb.com

Governor Terry McAuliffe today announced that a new comprehensive study shows Virginia’s agriculture and forestry industries contribute $91 billion annually to the Commonwealth’s economy. This represents a 30 percent increase from the most recent study, released in 2013, which showed an annual economic impact of $70 billion.

“I am excited to see the agriculture and forestry industries have significantly increased their economic impact in just four years,” Governor McAuliffe said. “As the Commonwealth’s first- and third-largest private industries, agriculture and forestry play a vital role in the new Virginia economy. This is the kind of growth we are looking for in Virginia to keep us as the top state to do business in, a leader in export and trade, and a top destination for visitors who seeking out our agritourism venues and our state’s natural beauty.”

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The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Strengthening Career and Technical Education Act for the 21st Century. The measure reauthorizes the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Director of Congressional Relations RJ Karney says this is vital legislation for the future of agricultural businesses.

“High school career and technical education programs are vital for developing talent and leadership, especially needed in farming and agricultural services, and also with regard to building economic futures in rural communities,” Karney said.

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