State legislators will be able to learn more about agriculture in their districts, as well as issues important to the commonwealth’s farmers, during Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s annual Legislative Day on Jan. 25.
Farm Bureau’s member-identified critical issues for the 2017 session of the Virginia General Assembly are:
- maintaining the state agricultural best management practices cost-share program;
- restoring and opposing further cuts to the wildlife damage cooperative program;
- maintaining funding provided for equipment replacement and upgrades and personnel for emergency firefighting preparedness by the Department of Forestry;
- funding for equipment and facilities replacement and upgrades for 12 regional Virginia Tech Agricultural Research and Extension Centers;
- supporting the sale of meat from state-inspected facilities and maintaining state inspectors to get new and emerging state facilities online to meet growing demand;
- supporting the sale of pasteurized milk from inspected sources to ensure the safety of the product for consumers;
- supporting a quality weights and measures inspection program to ensure consumer confidence, fair competition between businesses and fulfillment of farm marketing agreements; and
- supporting studies to continue to investigate the immediate and long-term impacts of programs that may alter the ownership of water.
The VFBF Women’s Committee will partner with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services on a display inside the General Assembly Building on Jan. 25.
“The theme of the event is ‘Meet Virginia Agriculture,’ because we really want legislators to get to know agriculture and the farmers they serve in their districts,” said Kelly Pruitt, VFBF governmental relations grassroots coordinator. “Farmers are also going to give them a taste of agriculture by serving BLTs with ingredients sourced from Virginia farms.”
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