Before Virginia farmer Charles Hood bought 30 acres of land close to where he grew peanuts, corn, cotton and soybeans, he brought a retired Natural Resources Conservation Service soil scientist out to walk the property. With a thumbs-up from the soil scientist, Hood bought the property and consulted with NRCS to make sure the changes he was planning to make to the land, which had previously been harvested for timber and had ditches on three sides, were okay.

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Essex County cattle and grain producer J. Barry Bates of Tappahannock was elected Dec. 4 to a three-year term on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.

Elections of officers and directors were held at the 2019 VFBF Annual Meeting in Norfolk.

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Cumberland County cattle, forage and forestry producer William F. “Bill” Osl Jr. of Columbia was elected Dec. 4 to a third three-year term on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.

Elections of officers and directors were held at the VFBF 2019 Annual Meeting in Norfolk.

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Shenandoah County cattle and grain and forage producer Peter A. Truban of Woodstock was elected Dec. 4 to a fourth three-year term on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.

Elections of officers and directors were held at the VFBF 2019 Annual Meeting in Norfolk.

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Montgomery County cattle and hay producer Bruce N. Stanger of Christiansburg was elected Dec. 4 to a second three-year term on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.

Elections of officers and directors were held at the VFBF 2019 Annual Meeting in Norfolk.

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J.M. “Jerry” Jenkins of Blackstone was honored Dec. 4 with Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s 2019 Distinguished Service to Farm Bureau Award during the VFBF Annual Meeting in Norfolk.

Jenkins, a grain producer and former tobacco grower, is serving his 16th term on the VFBF board of directors and was recognized for 45 years of service earlier this year. As a board member, he represents the interests of Farm Bureau producer members in Brunswick, Charlotte, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg counties.

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With Democrats in control of Virginia’s government for the first time in a quarter of a century, political analyst Dr. Robert Holsworth told farmers they need to educate legislators about the importance of agriculture.

“The education of legislators is going to a be a critical issue both during the General Assembly session and outside of it,” Holsworth said Dec. 4 at the 2019 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Annual Meeting in Norfolk. “You need to impress upon them the absolute economic contributions that agriculture makes to Virginia.”

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Glenn and Amanda Dye of Stafford County have been named the 2019 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Achievement Award winners.

The Dyes were recognized Dec. 4 at the 2019 VFBF Annual Meeting in Norfolk.

The Achievement Award honors young farmers who are successful in production agriculture and provide leadership on and off the farm. The Dyes raise corn and soybeans in Stafford and Appomattox counties and have served on the VFBF Young Farmers Committee. Additionally, Glenn Dye serves on the Stafford County Farm Bureau board of directors and has been active in leading efforts for farm equipment highway safety in Virginia.

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Bedford County Farm Bureau and King William County Farm Bureau were honored Dec. 3 by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation for projects conducted in their communities in 2019.

The two organizations were recognized at the 2019 VFBF Annual Meeting in Norfolk.

Bedford Farm Bureau, whose president is Dr. Amy Johnson, received a first-place VFBF County Award of Excellence.

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