Four exceptional Virginia young farmers will be traveling to Atlanta in January to take part in the national competitions for which they earned state-level honors in 2021.
On Dec. 1 at the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention, Roger and Amanda Scott of Madison County were named the VFBF Young Farmers Achievement Award winners, and Jonathan Grimes of Wythe County was named first runner-up in the VFBF Young Farmers Discussion Meet.
Earlier this year, Kyle Sturgis of Northampton County was named VFBF Young Farmers Excellence in Agriculture Award winner.
The American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers program helps young Farm Bureau members shape their future and American agriculture through leadership development and personal growth opportunities. The three competitions enable members to showcase their leadership experience, communication skills and successful business plans as they compete against the best of the best from each state Farm Bureau.
The Scotts operate two commercial turkey houses, a poultry litter hauling and spreading business, a cow-calf operation and a custom hay business. Amanda Scott also is a livestock veterinarian.
Grimes is an agricultural education teacher and FFA advisor at Fort Chiswell High School. He was raised on a fourth-generation beef farm, and he and his wife, Kelsey, established a hay operation in 2020. The Grimeses serve on the VFBF Young Farmers Committee, and Jonathan Grimes serves on the VFBF Safety Advisory Committee.
Sturgis is a fifth-generation farmer and manager of Shore Breeze Farms in Cape Charles, where he oversees the hydroponic greenhouse facility, field crop operations and the farm market. The family also farms soybeans, corn, sorghum, wheat and vegetables through Tri-S Farms Inc., and clams and oysters for C&S Seafood. Sturgis is past chair of the VFBF Young Farmers Committee and current chair of the VFBF Aquaculture Advisory Committee, and he serves on the organization’s legislative and national affairs committees.
The Virginia winners will compete for prizes at the national level. The top four competitors in the AFBF Achievement Award, Discussion Meet and Excellence in Ag competitions will receive:
- 1st Place: a new Ford vehicle (up to a value of $35,000) and paid registration to the Farm Bureau YF&R Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, courtesy of Ford.
- 2nd Place: Case IH Farmall 50A, courtesy of Case IH.
- 3rd Place: Case IH 40” Combination Roll Cabinet and Top Chest and $500 Case IH parts card courtesy of Case IH; a $2,500 Investing in Your Future cash prize courtesy of American Agricultural Insurance Company; plus $1,850 worth of Stanley Black & Decker merchandise (PROTO, DeWalt, Stanley, Lenox & Irwin) courtesy of Stanley Black & Decker.
- 4th Place: Case IH 40” Combination Roll Cabinet and Top Chest and a $500 Case IH parts card courtesy of Case IH.
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