Young Farmers of Virginia Newsletter Fall 2015 www.vayoungfarmer.org Volume 16, Issue 6 State Officers: Past President: Shelia Lilly 5805 W. Donnagail Dr. Penn Liard, VA 22846 540-421-2571 shelialilly@comcast.net President: Jane McDonald 520 Walkers Creek Road Rockbridge Baths, VA 24473 jonjanemcd@aol.com Vice President: Ashley Craun 3463 Hill Gap Road 540-908-0815 ac2steers@yahoo.com 2015 Summer Tour JMU Wind Energy Tour Secretary: Jason Patterson 5175 Spring Creek Road 540-820-3334 JasonP92@vt.edu Treasurer: Amanda Davis 5175 Spring Creek Road 540-820-3334 Bluestone Vineyard Reporter: Stuart Melton, Jr. 11097 Rockville Rd. Rockville, VA 23146 804-749-3823 Directors: Geary Showman 1221 Saint Luke Road Woodstock, VA 22664 eshowman@shentel.net Lunch at North River Farms Ethel Showman 1221 Saint Luke Road Woodstock, VA 22664 eshowman@shentel.net Executive Treasurer: R.J. Nobblitt 18429 Monrovia Rd. Orange, VA 22960 540-727-4036 rnobblitt@hotmail.com Bridgewater Equestrian Center Executive Coordinator: Ron Byrd 309 Paradise Lane Independence, VA 24348 276-768-8590 bronald9@vt.edu
President Jane McDonald Presidents Message: Happy Fall Ya'll! I hope this message finds you having been blessed with an abundant harvest to help you prepare for the cold winter months ahead. Summer went by very quickly. I'd like to take a moment to thank Brian Crickenberger and Carrie Gray with the TA Association on their wonderful efforts and assistance with our Summer Tour this year. Brian and Carrie orchestrated a great day of tours at JMU's Wind Energy Facility, Bluestone Vineyard, lunch sponsored by Farm Credit, at North River Farms, and Bridgewater College Equestrian Facility. Those that attended the summer tour enjoyed the variety of information that each individual tour had to offer, and it was a nice change from the usual. As December approaches members of the Executive Committee are making plans to attend the 2015 NYFEA Institute in Charleston, SC. This year's NYFEA Institute is sure to be educational and fun! We hope you are making plans to join us for our 66th Annual Convention at the end of January. The Executive Committee continues to work on details for a great weekend of education and fellowship. We are securing locations for our Saturday tours that we hope will be interesting and engaging. At the moment we are making plans to visit C-Stock Angus farm in Scottsville and Albemarle Cider Works in North Garden. It is our hope to add an additional stop. If you use social media, please LIKE us on Facebook, it's the easiest and most direct way for us to disseminate information about upcoming events and news from our Ag community(facebook.com/ youngfarmersofvirginia). Please don't forget about the annual awards we offer; Outstanding Association, Outstanding Agribusiness Person, Diversification in Ag, Outstanding Young Farmer, Farm and Home Safety Award, Outstanding Advisor Award, and Membership Development. We continue to have very supportive sponsors for these awards, please encourage your association membership to apply! Until next time...have a blessed Thanksgiving and Christmas Season! Best, Jane McDonald YFV President *************************************************************************** Thank you to Farm Credit for sponsoring our lunch during the Summer Tours. The continued support of Farm Credit is much appreciated.
Young Farmers of Virginia Convention January 29-31, 2016 Holiday Inn University Area & Conference Center 1901 Emmet Street, Charlottesville, VA 22901 Contests and Awards List Corn Growing Award: Sponsored by Southern States Cooperative - $100.00 1 st Place, $50.00 2 nd Place Soybean Production Award: Sponsored by Syngenta - Winner Receives Prefix chemical Corn Silage Growing Award: Sponsored by Pioneer 1 st Place 2 Units of Seed Corn, 2 nd Place 1 Unit Virginia Outstanding Young Farmer Association: Sponsored by Virginia Farm Credit Assn. - 1 st $100.00, 2 nd $50.00 Outstanding Young Agribusiness Person: Sponsored by VA Council of Farmer Cooperatives - $200.00 Diversification in Agriculture Award: Sponsored by VDACS - $500.00 Outstanding Young Farmer Award: Sponsored by VA Farm Credit Association - $500.00 Agriculture Stewardship Award: Sponsored by VDACS - $500.00 Farm Business Management Contest:Sponsored by Nationwide Insurance 1 st $25, 2 nd $20, 3 rd $15, 4 th $10 and 5 th $5 Ag Stewardship Contest: Sponsored by VA Poultry Growers Cooperative - 1 st $25, 2 nd $20, 3 rd $15, 4 th $10 and 5 th $5 Farm and Home Safety Award: Sponsored by YFV 1 st $100.00 and 2 nd $50.00 Outstanding Advisor Award: Sponsored by Southern States Cooperative - $200.00 Membership Development: Sponsored by Rockingham Petroleum Coop. 1 st $100.00 and 2 nd $50.00 All Award Forms can be found on the vayoungfarmer.org website under contest forms. Newsletter printing provided by Old Dominion Realty. Offices in the City of Harrisonburg, and Rockingham and Augusta Counties. A big Thank You to Mrs. Elizabeth Lam and her Agribusiness Class at Spotswood HS for folding, sealing and stamping this newsletter.
We need help with the following items for YFV Convention: Door Prizes, Table Favors, Live and Silent Auction Items, Hospitality Room Refreshments Thanks in Advance for anything you can bring. Award Applications are due by December 31, 2015 and should be mailed to: Ron Byrd, 309 Paradise Lane, Independence, Va 24348 Judging will take place in early January. All award applications can be found on the Young Farmer website. Please consider running for a State Office. We need good people with great ideas! Applications are available on the YFV website. Be sure to check our website, vayoungfarmer.org, for the latest information. Find us on Facebook! Visit: facebook.com/youngfarmersofvirginia Ron Byrd 309 Paradise Lane Independence, VA 24348 Email: rpbyrd@vt.edu