Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers in Montgomery and Pulaski counties recently raised $4,500 to purchase milk for a local outreach center.

The group raised enough to provide the All About Jesus Outreach and Help Center with 30 gallons of milk per week for an entire year.

“Milk is healthy and full of protein, calcium and essential nutrients, and we decided as an agriculture group to raise money to donate milk so families can have fresh milk in their refrigerators,” explained Casey Phillips, a Montgomery dairy farmer. He and his wife, Stacey Phillips, are VFBF Young Farmers Committee district co-chairmen.

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Scott Pruitt

On Wednesday, President-Elect Donald Trump announced Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma as head to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Below is a statement from American Farm Bureau Federation Zippy Duvall about this announcement:

“President-elect Trump’s selection of Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency is welcome news to America’s farmers and ranchers—in fact, to all who are threatened by EPA’s regulatory overreach—and should help provide a new degree of fairness for U.S. agriculture. We know that in his position as attorney general in Oklahoma, Pruitt has stood up for common-sense, effective regulation that protects the environment and the rights of the regulated community. We have been grateful for his effective legal work in response to EPA’s overreaching Waters of the U.S. Rule.”

“We anticipate that as EPA administrator, Pruitt will listen to our concerns and those of others who work with the nation’s natural resources on a daily basis. Agriculture is a profession based on a solid ethic of conservation. It helps guide everything we do, and we expect that Pruitt will understand that in regulatory matters dealing with agriculture and the environment.”

If you missed the Ears Wide Open Consumer Panel this week at the Virginia Farm Bureau Annual Convention, you can view it in its entirety below. Big thanks to Jesse Martin and Lauren Arbogast from Rockingham County Farm Bureau for moderating, our panelists, and the Farm Bureau Growing Leaders Committee for sponsoring!

Over the past two years hundreds of Virginia farmers have taken proactive steps to protect water quality on their land. Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Basil Gooden applauded their efforts Nov. 29 at the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s 2016 Annual Convention in Hot Springs.

Gooden specifically lauded participants in Virginia’s Resource Management Plan program.

“Resource Management Plans are designed to advance water quality improvement and offer regulatory assurance to farmers,” Gooden said. “The RMP program was backed by both conservation and farm groups. And as you know, the Farm Bureau was one of its strongest advocates. I’m pleased that, in two years, we have over 320 plans in place.”

The original goal for 2015 was 40 plans. Two hundred seventy-eight plans covering 48,500 acres of farmland were registered in the first year, according to a report by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.

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America’s farmers, like the nation itself, face a time of impending changes. The president of the American Farm Bureau Federation told Virginia farmers the best way to approach those changes is as a unified front.

Vincent “Zippy” Duvall spoke to several hundred farmers and other agriculture and forestry professionals Nov. 29 at the opening lunch of Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s 2016 Annual Convention. Duvall was elected in January and is the AFBF’s 12th president. The poultry, cattle and hay producer and former dairyman from Greene County, Ga., served as president of the Georgia Farm Bureau for nine years.

“It’s a changing time for us and a changing time for our national government,” Duvall said. After the Nov. 8 election he noted that the important issues American farmers face “are not red or blue, but they are critical to the prosperity of rural America and our ability to protect our nation’s food supply. … Now it’s time for our newly elected leaders to turn up for rural America and keep their campaign promises by addressing the issues that matter to the people who sent them to Washington.”

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Singapore

Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today the opening of the Southeast Asia representative office of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS), expanding the agency’s global network of international trade representatives stationed around the world. The new office will be led by Sarath Menon, managing director of the business-consulting firm Orissa International. Headquartered in , the VDACS representative employs staff from countries across Southeast Asia, consolidating important markets including Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Governor McAuliffe made the announcement during a 10-day trade and marketing mission to Japan, Korea, Singapore and Australia.

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Martha Moore

The House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance Committees held their retreats to look at the fiscal issues that they will be facing the 2017 General Assembly.  The information presented shows a shortfall of approximately $800 million to $850 million for fiscal year 2018.  Each committee heard about the strategies that they could consider for making up this gap or strategies that the Governor may utilize when he presents his budget on December 16, 2016.

The Virginia Constitution and underlying laws allow Commonwealth to take a $225 million withdrawal from the its Rainy Day Fund.  The pay raises for state employees will be eliminated which will address $221 million of the shortfall.  This accounts for addressing just slightly over ½ of the shortfall.

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Piedmont Virginia Community College is now offering a drone certification class for farmers who want to use that technology.

PVCC became the first college in the nation to receive approval from the Federal Aviation Authority to conduct research and development of aircraft and sensors, including small unmanned aircraft systems, or drones, used for public safety. The college held a course for emergency services personnel and first responders in May.

Now it’s extending that training to farmers who want to obtain FAA certification to operate drones, and to learn about technology for extracting data from the drones.

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From the cotton fields in the South Plains of West Texas and broilers and cattle of Shenandoah Valley in Virginia to America’s Dairyland in Wisconsin and the broad diversity of pigs, sheep, corn and soybeans in Ohio, the U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance’s (USFRA) next class of Faces of Farming & Ranching capture the passion behind agriculture and drive for sustainability and technology on today’s SMART Farm.

Unveiled at the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Convention in Kansas City, the winners include Lauren Arbogast of Virginia, Jeremy Brown of Texas, Emily Buck of Ohio, Katie Roth of Wisconsin and Lauren Schwab of Ohio. These incredible farmers will share their personal stories through influential conversations on a national stage with consumers, influencers and end users to help earn consumer trust and confidence in U.S. food and agriculture.

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AFBF President Zippy Duvall

“The American Farm Bureau Federation congratulates President-elect Trump on his election, as well as those candidates elected to serve during the 115th Congress. The important issues facing American agriculture are not red or blue, but they are critical to the prosperity of rural America and our ability to protect our nation’s food supply. We urge our elected representatives to reach across the aisle and come together to resolve the challenges we face.

“Farmers  understand that their businesses and their families have too much at stake to take a back seat on Election Day, and rural America clearly made a difference in this election. Now it’s time for our newly elected leaders to turn up for rural America and keep their campaign promises by addressing the issues that matter to the people who sent them to Washington. Farm Bureau looks forward to working with the new administration and Congress on issues such as the farm bill, tax reform and a trade agenda focused on reducing barriers and expanding exports.

“America’s farmers are working overtime to ensure our food supply is safe and sustainable. It’s time our elected leaders put that same diligence to work protecting U.S. agriculture by promoting innovation and ensuring we have an adequate workforce. We need regulatory reform that boosts farm businesses rather than shutting them down. Farmers are concerned for the environment and are hopeful that the new administration will recognize agriculture’s strides in sustainability and protect our ability to produce.

“Elected officials come to Washington with different perspectives and ideas, but they share a common goal of wanting to make our nation better for all Americans. At Farm Bureau, we will continue to do our part to help identify opportunities for cooperation to improve the lives of rural communities, and all American farmers.”