Northampton County row crop, vegetable and aquaculture producer S. Kyle Sturgis of Cape Charles was elected Nov. 29 to a two-year term as chairman of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Committee.

Elections of officers and directors were held at the VFBF 2018 Annual Convention in Hot Springs. The VFBF Young Farmers Committee chairman also serves on the organization’s board of directors.

Sturgis has worked as a precision agriculture specialist with Helena Agri-Enterprises LLC since 2011. He also works on his family’s farm with his brother and father. The family farm consists of 1,000 acres of row crops and vegetables, and his family is a partner in an aquaculture operation that raises clams and oysters.

He is a graduate of Ferrum College, where he majored in horticulture with a minor in environmental science. He also is a proud Eagle Scout.

Sturgis and his wife, Emily, live on Virginia’s Eastern Shore and enjoy hunting and fishing alongside their two Labs, Gus and Belle.

The VFBF Young Farmers Program offers opportunities to support agriculture while building leadership and public speaking skills and becoming involved in the legislative process.

Rockbridge County beef cattle and small grain producer Russell L. Williams II of Buena Vista was elected Nov. 29 to a second three-year term on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.

Elections of officers and directors were held at the VFBF 2018 Annual Convention in Hot Springs.

As a board member, Williams will represent Farm Bureau producer members in Amherst, Augusta, Bath, Highland, Nelson, Rockbridge and Rockingham counties.

He chairs the VFBF Membership Services Advisory Committee.

Williams is a member of the Rockbridge County Farm Bureau and previously has served on that organization’s board and as its president, vice president and secretary/treasurer. He has farmed since 1996 and shares responsibilities on RLW Hay & Grain LLC with his son, Russell L. Williams III.

Williams holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Virginia Tech. He serves on the Rockbridge County Building Code Review Board and belongs to the Gideons International. He is a member of Grace Presbyterian Church in Lexington.

He and his wife, Joyce, have four children, six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Accomack County vegetable and grain producer David L. Hickman of Horntown was elected Nov. 29 to an eighth three-year term on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.

Elections of officers and directors were held at the VFBF 2018 Annual Convention in Hot Springs.

As a board member, Hickman will represent Farm Bureau producer members in Accomack, Isle of Wight and Northampton counties and the cities of Chesapeake, Suffolk and Virginia Beach.

He chairs the VFBF Specialty Crops Advisory Committee and is a member of the organization’s Compensation Committee. He is a past president of the Accomack County Farm Bureau and former chairman of that organization’s Young Farmers Committee.

In addition to his Farm Bureau involvement, Hickman is a board member and past chairman of the Virginia Irish Potato Board, a member of the Accomack County Board of Equalization and a member and past director of the Virginia Potato and Vegetable Growers Association.

He is a co-owner and operator of Dublin Farms Inc., which produces corn, potatoes, snap beans, soybeans and wheat. He and his wife, Chessie, have three sons, two of whom are involved with the farm operation.

Grayson County beef cattle and tobacco farmer Richard L. Sutherland of Elk Creek was elected Nov. 29 to a third three-year term on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.

Elections of officers and directors were held at the VFBF 2018 Annual Convention in Hot Springs.

As a board member, Sutherland will represent Farm Bureau producer members in Grayson, Smyth and Washington counties.

He chairs the VFBF Burley Tobacco Advisory Committee and is a member of the Livestock Advisory Committee. He is a past president of the Grayson County Farm Bureau and current treasurer of the Carroll/Grayson Cattle Producers Association.

Sutherland attended Wytheville Community College and Virginia Tech. He and his wife, Brenda, attend Lebanon Methodist Church, where he serves on the church’s finance committee. They have one son, Matthew, who helps farm part time.

Hanover County cattle, grain and hay producer Leigh H. Pemberton of Doswell was elected Nov. 29 to a second three-year term on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.

Elections of officers and directors were held at the VFBF 2018 Annual Convention in Hot Springs.

As a board member, Pemberton will represent Farm Bureau producer members in Albemarle, Fluvanna, Goochland, Greene, Hanover, Henrico and Louisa counties.

He chairs the VFBF Dairy Advisory Committee and is vice chairman of the organization’s Legislative Advisory Committee.

A third-generation farmer, Pemberton is president of Hanover County Farm Bureau and a member of the Virginia Agribusiness Council and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. He also is chairman of the Hanover-Caroline Soil and Water Conservation District board.

Lunenburg County grain producer and former tobacco grower J.M. Jenkins of Blackstone was elected Nov. 29 to a 16^th three-year term on the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation board of directors.

Elections of officers and directors were held at the VFBF 2018 Annual Convention in Hot Springs.

As a board member, Jenkins will represent Farm Bureau producer members in Brunswick, Charlotte, Lunenburg and Mecklenburg counties.

He chairs the VFBF Flue-Cured Tobacco Advisory Committee and is a member of the Soybean & Feed Grain & Grain Marketing Advisory Committee. He also is a past president of Lunenburg County Farm Bureau.

In addition to his Farm Bureau involvement, Jenkins is a former member of Virginia’s Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.

Before he began farming in 1963, Jenkins worked as a Virginia Cooperative Extension agent in Gloucester County and as a teacher in Brunswick and Nottoway counties. He also served as a supervisor of tobacco production in Venezuela for British American Tobacco Co.

Autry O.V. “Pete” DeBusk of Lee County was honored Nov. 28 with Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s 2018 Distinguished Service to Agriculture Award during the VFBF 2018 Annual Convention in Hot Springs.

DeBusk is chairman of DeRoyal Industries of Powell, Tenn. A gifted salesman and business leader, he started his medical products company in 1973 and built it into an industry powerhouse. Along the way he continued to give back to the Appalachian communities where his businesses thrived.

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American Farm Bureau Federation Vice President Scott VanderWal said “unprecedented access” to the Trump administration has led to some successes for U.S. farmers this year.

“It’s been an exciting year for Farm Bureau and agriculture on the policy front, and I have a lot of good news to share,” VanderWal told farm leaders Nov. 28 at the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation 2018 Annual Convention in Hot Springs.

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Jesse Martin of Rockingham 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 2018 Annual Convention in Hot Springs.

First runner-up was Sarah Rudolph of Wythe County. Other finalists were Jonathan Grimes of Wythe County and Rebekah Slabach of Halifax County.

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The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation had a successful year in 2018, achieving membership growth and financial gains, said Wayne F. Pryor, VFBF president. But there are plenty of political challenges ahead, and it’s time for Farm Bureau members to step up their contacts with legislators, Pryor added.

“For the first time in many years it appears that folks in Washington are actually listening to the needs of farmers,” he told delegates to the 2018 VFBF Annual Convention. “Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duval have the president’s ear, and we’re seeing real policy changes. We’re making progress on amending the EPA’s over-reaching Waters of the U.S. regulation. We now have a proposal for year-round E15 ethanol blends in gasoline. And there’s a new dairy revenue protection program.”

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