highlight next generation of farmers, on

Real Virginia

Featured this month on Real Virginia, Virginia Farm Bureau’s weekly television program:

• The next generation of farmers connect with consumers and peers via listen-anywhere podcasts.

• Students get hands-on agricultural experience at land labs across the state.

• Discover what farmers in Prince Edward County are raising, on this month’s County Agricultural Close-up.

Real Virginia airs nationwide at 3:30 p.m. on the first Saturday of each month on RFD-TV on Dish Network and DirecTV, and on selected cable outlets around the state. It airs weekly on WBRA digital channel 15.2, WHRO Norfolk, WVVA Bluefield and WTKR Norfolk, and on the first and third weekends of each month on WVIR Charlottesville, WSVF Harrisonburg, WRLH Richmond and WSLS Roanoke.

Top membership counties for 2023

38,000

That’s how many messages were sent to lawmakers and regulatory agencies on behalf of Farm Bureau members across the nation. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said those messages are a direct result of members’ grassroots involvement. See related article on page 5.

Golf tournament will benefit AITC

The annual Virginia Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom Charity Golf Tournament will be held May 8 at The Dominion Club in Glen Allen.

The event benefits AITC, and there are sponsorship opportunities still available. The tournament will offer two shotgun starts for teams of four. Awards will follow each round of play. Participants may register at virginia.agclassroom/org/donors/ events_golf.

For more information, contact Angela Buchanan at angela. buchanan@vafb.com or 804-6874463, or visit virginia.agclassroom.org.

Virginia Farm Festival returns this spring

The Virginia Farm Festival returns for a third year at The Meadow Event Park in Caroline County. The fun, family-friendly event will be held May 5 and 6

The festival will feature several of the State Fair of Virginia’s most popular family attractions, including Young MacDonald’s Farm with animals like alpacas, goats, chicks and pigs. It also will include cow milking demonstrations by SouthLand Dairy.

This year the event will be held in and around the 63,000-square-foot Farm Bureau Center to protect guests from inclement weather.

Both days feature a mix of food, beverages, retail vendors, agriculturefocused activities and musical entertainment. The festival aims to highlight planting season in Virginia in advance of celebrating the harvest season during the State Fair, which will be held Sept. 22 through Oct. 1.

School field trips will be offered on Friday, and a classic demolition derby and antique farm and garden tractor parade will be held on Saturday.

Details are available at VirginiaFarmFestival.org.

State Fair countdown

As of April 1, there are exactly 174 days until the 2023 State Fair of Virginia opens on Sept. 22. Fair fact:

The 2022 State Fair hosted more than 4,000 exhibitors and drew over 7,000 entries in competitions for livestock, vocational and technical education, visual and culinary arts, horticulture and more.

If you’d like to participate in any of the fair competitions this fall, now is the perfect time to start planning what you’d like to bake, cook, craft, grow or raise! You’ll find the fair’s 2023 competition guidelines available this summer at StateFairVa.org.

Governor’s Conference on Agricultural Trade scheduled for Nov. 1

The annual Governor’s Conference on Agricultural Trade, which in recent years was held in the spring, will be held Nov. 1 this year. Details are being finalized.

Annual convention to be held in Virginia Beach

The 2023 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention will be held Nov. 28 through Nov. 30 at the Marriott Virginia Beach Oceanfront and the Embassy Suites Virginia Beach Oceanfront Resort in Virginia Beach. Most events will take place at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, and the convention will include speakers, policy discussion, award presentations and informative workshops. Registration is expected to open in late summer or early fall. The convention is open to county Farm Bureau members, staff and any member of the public interested in learning more about Virginia agriculture. The Annual Meeting of Voting Delegates is open to producer members and will take place on Nov. 29.

Gator raffle raised over $60,000 for agricultural education

Raising money for a good cause is always a worthwhile endeavor. That was certainly the case for Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Women’s Leadership Committee’s John Deere Gator Raffle in 2022. The raffle was a resounding success, with 3,200 tickets sold and more than $60,000 raised. All of the proceeds were donated to Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom and its programs, which help connect thousands of students and youth with agricultural learning and hands-on experiences.

“I was overwhelmed by the response and number of tickets sold,” said Faye Hundley, chair of the VFBF Women’s Leadership Committee. “It exceeded all my expectations, and we could not have done it without the support of our Farm Bureau members and our sponsors.”

Mandy Toth of Blackstone was the winner of the John Deere Gator 590M, valued at over $13,000. The raffle was sponsored by James River Equipment and Virginia Tractor, and the winning ticket was announced during the 2022 VFBF Annual Convention in November 2022.