We are pleased to announce that Stefanie Kitchen has joined the Governmental Relations Team.  Stefanie’s family has a farming operation and have been very involved in Southampton County Farm Bureau.  She interned with two Farm Bureau departments,  was a program coordinator with the VFBF Young Farmers Certified Farm Seekers program, worked as a legislative aide at the Virginia General Assembly and most recently served as the South Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture’s Office Director.

Welcome, Stefanie!

Texas Farm Bureau has established a relief fund to address the agricultural losses inflicted by Hurricane Harvey. The category four storm struck Texas with a vengeance, flooding Texas farm communities, small towns and major cities.

Those farm and ranch families are now left facing overwhelming odds following high winds and unprecedented rainfall.

“It’s an historic storm and a disaster for many farmers and ranchers. The torrential rainfall wreaked havoc on Texas agriculture at the worst possible time—harvest season,” Texas Farm Bureau President Russell Boening said. “Hurricane Harvey struck an area of the state known for cattle, cotton, rice and other row crops.”

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Rep. Dave Brat, R-7^th, told Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board members he would welcome their input on the debate over the 2018 Farm Bill, the nation’s most comprehensive farm legislation.

Brat spoke to representatives of the state’s largest farm group Aug. 24 in a wide-ranging discussion of federal issues facing farmers. He noted Congress will tackle tax reform this fall, which should help all small businesses.

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Iconic entertainer Reba McEntire will join AFBF President Zippy Duvall during the Closing General Session of the 2018 AFBF Annual Convention and IDEAg Trade Show on Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, for a Q&A keynote touching on her rural roots, family, career and, of course, country music.

Reba is no stranger to agriculture—she grew up in rural Oklahoma on her family’s 8,000-acre ranch. Now, this multimedia mogul and mom is a household name with a successful career that spans across music, television, film, theater and retail.

Registration opens Oct. 2, 2017, so mark your calendars for Music City!

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Virginia Farm Bureau Federation AgPAC, Farm Bureau’s political action committee, has announced its endorsement of 94 candidates for seats in the Virginia House of Delegates. The endorsements are based on recommendations of local committees of farmers.

“The mission of Virginia Farm Bureau Federation AgPAC is to support candidates who understand the value the agriculture industry brings to the commonwealth and the issues that surround it, whether through their platforms or their voting records in the General Assembly,” said Wayne F. Pryor, VFBF president and chairman of the VFBF AgPAC board of trustees. “We look forward to working with them to help support Virginia’s No. 1 industry.”

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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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