Jonathan and Kelsey Grimes of Wythe County have been named this year’s Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Excellence in Agriculture Award winners. The Grimeses were recognized Oct. 14 in a live announcement on the VFBF Young Farmers Facebook page.

The Excellence in Agriculture Award recognizes individuals and couples for involvement in agriculture, leadership ability and involvement and participation in Farm Bureau and other organizations. The Grimeses were runners-up for the 2019 award.

Jonathan Grimes is an agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor at Fort Chiswell High School in Wythe County. He has taught agricultural concepts and mechanics, and horticulture to 2,600 middle and high school youth in his career. Kelsey Grimes is a Virginia Cooperative Extension 4-H agent in Wythe County and has served 9,600 youth through 4-H since 2012—creating, implementing and evaluating all county 4-H programming. The couple has raised a cumulative $339,000 through grants and fundraising to promote agriculture and education.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for the Dairy Margin Coverage for 2021 enrollment, and farmers can apply through Dec. 11.

The DMC is a voluntary risk management program that offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. More than 23,000 dairy farming operations enrolled in DMC in 2019, and more than 13,000 enrolled in 2020.

To determine the appropriate level of coverage for a specific dairy operation, producers can use the recently updated online decision tool, which helps farmers calculate premium costs and administrative fees.

In addition to DMC, USDA has provided $1.75 billion in direct relief to dairy farmers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 1. Signup is underway for the CFAP 2, which provides another round of assistance for dairy farmers.  For more information, visit farmers.gov DMC webpage, or contact a local USDA Service Center.

Having evolved from a hard-to-place rescue to an agility champion and working farm dog, Dasher is one of 10 dogs across the U.S. competing in the 2021 Farm Bureau Farm Dog of the Year Contest sponsored by the American Farm Bureau Federation.

The public is encouraged to vote for their favorite farm dog on social media by Dec. 18 to select the People’s Choice Pup. Likes on dogs’ photos will be counted as votes. The winner will be announced during the AFBF virtual convention in January.

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Check out this week’s Merchandiser Minute!

The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) Office of Pesticide Services is collaborating with the Virginia Pest Management Association (VPMA) to offer pesticide applicators additional opportunities to take Commercial Applicator and Registered Technician tests. VPMA has made the following dates and locations for in-person testing available:

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The American Farm Bureau Federation announced today that its 102^nd Annual Convention will be held online following the cancelation of all events through Jan. 31, 2021, at the San Diego Convention Center where the convention was scheduled to take place.

“Our top priority at every Farm Bureau gathering is the safety of our attendees and staff,” AFBF President Zippy Duvall said. “While we are saddened to not meet in person for this convention, we are eager to bring this event safely to farm and ranch homes across the country and excited to offer the same top-level content our members have come to expect from our in-person events.”

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Farmers suffering losses due to hurricanes or wildfires have until Oct. 30 to apply for assistance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus.

WHIP+ compensates producers for losses due to hurricanes, floods, snowstorms, tornadoes, typhoons, volcanic activity, drought, excessive moisture and wildfires that occurred in calendar years 2018 and 2019. Drought and excessive moisture were added as eligible losses for the program in March 2020. To date, FSA has received more than 133,000 applications for WHIP+ disaster assistance and paid out nearly $1.4 billion in WHIP+ benefits. For more information or application assistance, visit farmers.gov WHIP+ webpage, or contact your local USDA Service Center.

The State Fair of Virginia has begun a commemorative ornament series for fair fans to create their own blue-ribbon Christmas trees.

The first ornaments are available for pre-order until Oct. 20. The etched glass ornament features the new State Fair logo and is dated 2020. A portion of the net proceeds will support the fair’s scholarship program. Ornaments will be shipped in November. To order, visit StateFairVa.org

Riding all-terrain vehicles is a fun outdoor activity for many children—but as accidents increase, parents are urged to use caution if buying ATVs for the holidays.

A recent report from Marshfield Clinic Research Institute revealed ATV injuries among children are on the rise, and are likely linked to the pandemic, as children got a head start on summertime activities when schools closed early.

“Children are home more than they were in previous years,” said Dana Fisher, chairman of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Farm Safety Advisory Committee. “More home time means more opportunities to use ATVs, and unfortunately that means more opportunities for accidents.”

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Despite a positive report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Virginia winter wheat farmers have been perplexed by an erratic growing season and less-than-anticipated yields.

The Sept. 30 NASS report estimated Virginia farmers harvested 7.8 million bushels of winter wheat in 2020, a 20% increase from 6.51 million in 2019. Wheat harvested for grain totaled 130,000 acres, up from last year’s record low of 105,000.

Despite those numbers, the output is significantly less than what was forecast in June, when NASS reported Virginia farmers were expected to harvest 11 million bushels this year. Additionally, the average yield per acre dropped to 60 bushels in 2020, down from last year’s average 62 bushels.

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