Friday morning, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass the 2018 Farm Bill. After a largely party line vote of 198 – 213 against the bill, the Speaker moved to postpone a vote to reconsider the bill.

“We are already starting to hear from farmers across the nation, many of whom are perplexed and outraged at this morning’s vote. They are facing very real financial challenges,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall in a statement. “We call on all members of Congress not to use farmers and ranchers as pawns in a political game. The risk management tools of the farm bill are too important, particularly at a time of depressed farm prices. We urge the House to pass H.R. 2 as soon as possible.”

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Kyle Shreve has been selected as the next Executive Director of the Virginia Agribusiness Council.

Kyle comes to the Council from the Virginia Association of Health Plans, where he has been the Director of Policy since December 2015.  Prior to that, he served as the Director of Government Affairs for the Virginia Retail Merchants Association.  For the first six years of his career, Kyle worked for the International Dairy Foods Association as their Manager of Legislative Affairs.  While there, he worked extensively on agriculture policy and gained considerable knowledge of the industry.

In addition to his strong policy background, Kyle brings association management, event planning and membership recruitment experience to the Council.

Kyle is a native of Pennsylvania and received his B.A. in Political Science and History from Pennsylvania State University.  He later received his M.A. in Professional Studies in Political Management from George Washington University.

The National FFA Organization and National FFA Foundation have awarded more than $2.5 million in scholarships to 1,842 recipients, thanks to the generosity of 114 sponsors.

More than 8,800 students applied online for the scholarships, with many of the applicants being considered for multiple awards. Approximately one in every five students who applied was awarded a scholarship. The scholarships were available to students pursuing two-year or four-year degrees or vocational programs. The average recipient had a GPA of 3.77 on a 4.0 scale, and the average class rank was 23 out of 261.
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On May 14, the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa confirmed the finding of the Haemaphysalis longicornis tick (otherwise known as the East Asian or Longhorned tick) in Virginia. The tick appeared on an orphaned calf on a beef farm in Albemarle County.

This is only the second state with this species of ticks in the United States. [MD(1] In late 2017 H. longicornis was initially found in New Jersey. No known direct link exists from the Virginia farm to the area in New Jersey where the first ticks appeared on a sheep farm.

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Brad Copenhaver, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry

Brad Copenhaver has been appointed Deputy Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. Brad grew up on his family’s beef cattle and burley tobacco farm in Washington County. After working on Capitol Hill as a legislative correspondent for Congressman H. Morgan Griffith (VA-9), he was the Director of Government Affairs at the Virginia Agribusiness Council, where he worked closely with the General Assembly and Virginia congressional delegation on a variety of issues including animal welfare, food safety and labeling, the environment and water quality, and international trade.

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Virginia farmers and food banks alike are reaping the benefits of the Food Crops Donation Tax Credit, which makes fresh, nutritious food available to residents served by seven regional food banks.

Approved growers are entitled to a state tax credit of up to 30 percent of the fair market value of a donation, not to exceed $5,000. The maximum amount the credit allows for all qualifying taxpayers is limited to $250,000 per fiscal year.

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The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) has announced the results of the Agricultural Yield Survey conducted at the beginning of the month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The report includes information on Virginia’s winter wheat forecast and on-farm hay stocks and is the first indication of crop acreages for the 2018 growing season.

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