Rockingham County farmers honored for achievements

Brent and Margaret Arbogast of Rockingham County have been named winners of the 2014 Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Achievement Award.

The Arbogasts live and work on a small, diversified farm. They raise beef cattle, broiler chickens and sheep and grow hay and corn. They were recognized Dec. 3 at the VFBF Annual Convention in Hot Springs.

The Achievement Award recognizes young farmers who are successful in production agriculture and provide leadership on and off the farm. Brent Arbogast is a farmer and a farrier and serves on the Rockingham County Farm Bureau board of directors. Margaret Arbogast works part time as a pharmacist.

The Arbogasts will receive up to 200 hours’ use of a Kubota M-series tractor from Kubota Tractor Corp.; a new Stihl chain saw from Mid-Atlantic Stihl; $500 from Virginia’s Farm Credit associations; $500 from Chesterfield County Farm Bureau; and a John Deere Gator utility vehicle, courtesy of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co. They also will receive a travel package to the 2015 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in San Diego, where they will compete for the Young Farmers & Ranchers Achievement Award.

Sam and Ashley Gardner of Bedford County were this year’s runners-up. Sam Gardner raises replacement heifers and is a past VFBF Young Farmers Committee member and recipient of the VFBF Young Farmers Environmental Stewardship Award. Ashley Gardner is a quality engineer for a local manufacturing company.

The couple will receive $500 from Farm Bureau and a travel package to the 2015 AFBF Annual Convention.

With 128,000 members in 88 county Farm Bureaus, VFBF is Virginia’s largest farmers’ advocacy group. Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, nonpartisan, voluntary organization committed to protecting Virginia’s farms and ensuring a safe, fresh and locally grown food supply. View more convention news as it becomes available atVaFarmBureau.org/NewsVideo/ConventionNewsroom.aspx.