The new Performance Livestock and Feed Co. production facility in Henry County will create jobs and help area grain producers as well.

“We’re hoping to open a retail station there by October of this year and have storage and the rail line by January,” said Jason Pendleton, president and owner of  the company, which is based in Lawsonville, N.C. “Hopefully, [we will be] manufacturing feed there by June 2017.”

Henry County was chosen as the feed company’s newest location due to its proximity to a rail line and easy access to public utilities. The site was originally a furniture plant that shut down in early 2000. Once repurposed, the facility will be able to store, mix and pelletize feed along with mixing custom feeds and pellets. It also will include a retail store. Continue reading →

Biosecurity measures on Virginia poultry farms have been important over the past year due to an avian influenza outbreak that started in 2014 in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest and California.

Virginia’s largest agricultural organization, the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation, recently lifted heightened biosecurity measures that had been in place for 15 months for staff visiting poultry farms.

“Our employees were asked to not visit any poultry farms out of an abundance of precaution unless there was an urgent or emergency situation that required staff to be on the farm,” said Tony Banks, a VFBF commodity marketing specialist. “Our employees are not only conscious of farmers’ needs, but they also understand the serious threat that animal diseases like AI pose to our members’ livestock and poultry.
Continue reading →

Click here for this week’s Commodity Comments, a weekly newsletter designed to provide agricultural producers with an analysis of current market trends by Farm Bureau Market Analyst Jonah Bowles.

“You ask, ‘What keeps you going during the tough times?’ I reckon what keeps me going is working towards something that the next generation will hopefully have in order to be able to provide for their families. Because it’s a great life. It’s like any other business that has its struggles, its ups and downs. You just keep on and look for better days ahead.”

Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Board Member M.L. Everett of Southampton County was also featured earlier this week in Beck’s Why I Farm campaign. Click here to read his story: bit.ly/29P9hGo

On Thursday, the House of Representatives approved bipartisan national legislation on the disclosure of genetically engineered (GE) ingredients in food. The bill, which the House approved on a 306-117 vote, now goes to President Barack Obama for signing. It was approved 63-30 by the Senate the prior week.

“Today’s House passage of GMO disclosure legislation means we now begin the work of putting in place a uniform, national labeling system that will provide balanced, accurate information to consumers. Genetically engineered crops have a decades-long track record of safety and benefits for agricultural productivity and our environment,” said American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall. “This legislation helps to continue those benefits by avoiding the confusion of differing and potentially misleading labeling standards from state to state. The next stop is the president’s desk. We are pleased that Congress has moved quickly to finish the job.”

Thank you to everyone for the great team effort. The vote breakdown can be found here. The legislation now heads to the president where we expect him to sign it into law.

The Southern Piedmont AREC 2016 Annual Forage Field Day is scheduled for Thursday, July 28, 2016.  The topics for field day are listed below.

Registration for Pre-Dinner Tour will begin at 2:00 PM.  Pre-Dinner Summer Annual and Forage Sorghum Variety Tour begins at 2:30 PM with the topics below and will finish with dinner and guest speaker at 5:00PM.

• Update on hay export project, Kyle Quick
• Impact of shade on cool-season forage mixtures, Kelly Mercier
• Selecting summer annual varieties, Deidre Harmon
• Forage sorghums for silage systems, Chris Teutsch

Registration for Post-Dinner Tour will begin at 5:00 PM and the Silvopasture Tour will begin at 6:00 PM.  The topics for the post-dinner tour are listed below.

• NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant overview, Blaine Delaney
• Silvopasture project overview, Chris Teutsch
• Opportunities and challenges with silvopasture, J.B. Daniel
• Considerations for silvopasture establishment, John Fike
• Forage species for silvopastures, Barenbrug USA
• Forage establishment: seedbed preparation, seeding, and post seeding management, Chris Teutsch

Please RSVP by emailing Margaret Kenny at makenny@vt.edu or call 434-292-5331.