Former Virginia Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Delano, who went on to become president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, passed away on December 5, 2017 at the age of 93.

Born and educated in Richmond County, Mr. Delano was active in both sports and FFA at Warsaw High School. He graduated from Virginia Tech in 1944 with a BS in Animal Husbandry.

After service in the India-Burma Theater in WWII, Mr. Delano served as assistant county agent for Prince George, Dinwiddie and Nottoway counties. In 1947, he returned to Warsaw and assumed the management of the family dairy farm which later was phased into a 500-acre grain operation.

In 1955, he helped organize the Richmond County Farm Bureau and served as its first president. From 1959 to 1980 he served on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Farm Bureau.

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­­ The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) began mailing the 2017 Census of Agriculture to the nation’s producers this week, including the nearly 45,000 farmers in Virginia.

Conducted once every five years, the Census aims to get a complete and accurate picture of American agriculture. The resulting data are used by farmers, trade associations, researchers, policymakers and many others to help make decisions in community planning, farm assistance programs, technology development, farm advocacy, agribusiness setup, rural development and more.

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Congratulations to the five leaders who were elected to serve three-year terms on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors: Emily Edmondson of Tazewell County, M.L. Everett of Southampton County, Thomas Graves of Orange County, Gordon Metz of Henry County and Robert Mills of Pittsylvania County.

Farm Bureaus in the counties of Bedford, Craig, King William and Patrick were recognized Nov. 29 by Virginia Farm Bureau Federation for their work in educating the public and promoting agriculture and Farm Bureau.

As a result of their cultivation and retention of members and their promotional and community activities, the five organizations received Best in State and New Horizon awards at the 2017 VFBF Annual Convention in Williamsburg.

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Three leading members of Virginia’s agriculture community were honored Nov. 29 with Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s 2017 Distinguished Service Awards during the VFBF Annual Convention in Williamsburg.

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American farmers and ranchers remain united and persistent, there’s a good chance to make real progress on several national issues, said Vincent “Zippy” Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Duvall spoke to several hundred farmers and guests Nov. 29 at the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s 2017 Annual Convention in Williamsburg. Elected in 2016, Duvall is the AFBF’s 12th president. He told convention participants that reforming the nation’s immigration laws and providing a steady supply of legal foreign farm workers tops the list of challenging national issues Farm Bureau members face.

“As I travel the country, the No. 1 issue in agriculture across the country today is farm labor. No doubt about it,” Duvall said. “(Farmers have) got the land, most of them have the water, they have the ability … they just don’t have the labor to continue to expand and grow.”

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The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Committee recognized Martha Moore with their 2017 Warren Beach Award for her outstanding contributions to the VFBF Young Farmers Program.

Moore is the organization’s vice president of governmental relations. She was honored by the committee for her tireless efforts to support the Young Farmers Program and future agricultural leaders.

“She has worked days and nights and even weekends helping the farmers of Virginia reach their goals,” said committee chairman Mindy McCroskey. “She has been available to help our young farmers day and night. She has taken countless nighttime conference calls, helped to arrange a state candidate forum and fought to ensure farmers’ voices are heard in the General Assembly as a lobbyist.”

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Justin and Lori McClellan of Smyth County have been named winners of the 2017 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Achievement Award.

The McClellans were recognized Nov. 29 at the VFBF Annual Convention in Williamsburg.

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Amy Fannon, a Virginia Cooperative Extension agriculture and natural resources agent and unit coordinator in Lee County, took top honors Nov. 28 in the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s annual Young Farmers Discussion Meet.

The competition was held at the organization’s 2017 Annual Convention in Williamsburg.

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The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation finished 2017 in good shape, said Wayne F. Pryor, VFBF president. But even as the organization celebrated reaching a membership milestone and holding a successful state fair, Pryor warned that dark clouds are on the horizon for rural Virginians.

“At the end of September our state was facing a huge hole in the health insurance market. At one point 65 Virginia counties were looking at the strong possibility that no health insurance company would participate in the Affordable Care Act exchange,” he told voting delegates attending the 2017 VFBF Annual Convention in Williamsburg.

“That could have meant thousands of Farm Bureau members would have lost individual health insurance options next year. Whether you personally agree with the Affordable Care Act or not, many of your family members and neighbors have been using it for years. And it was about to be shut down for lack of subsidies for low-income participants.

“This is unacceptable,” Pryor said. “This will be the biggest pocketbook issue for famers across the state this fall and winter. Rural Virginia is being left out. And we in Farm Bureau need to press all our elected leaders for a solution.”

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