Pat Meade represented the Prince Edward County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee at the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Spring Conference, held March 17-19 in Williamsburg, according to a press release.

“They joined more than 250 other Farm Bureau members from across Virginia,” officials said in the news release. “The conference theme was ‘Sowing the Pieces of Agriculture.’ Participants attended educational workshops on using social media to communicate with the public; keeping farmers and their families healthy and engaging neighbors and protecting farms from animal rights and environmental extremists. An additional workshop focused on the grain marketing outlook for 2017.”

Several county Farm Bureau women’s committees also shared their award-winning outreach project ideas, according to the release.

“Keynote speaker Sandy Adams, Virginia commissioner of agriculture and consumer services, shared her insights on the agriculture industry. Del. Keith Hodges, R-Urbanna, spoke about the importance of generating conversations and establishing relationships with elected officials who may not be familiar with agriculture.”

“This conference helped me learn more about how we, as farmers, can advocate for our communities and our industry,” said Meade.

“Several county Farm Bureau women’s committees were recognized for outstanding work in 2016. The Mecklenburg County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee, chaired by Betty Upton, won the VFBF Women’s Program Best in State Award for its ‘Agriculture is Everywhere’ map project at the Virginia Welcome Center on Interstate 85 South at Bracey.”

According to the release, the Tazewell County Farm Bureau Women’s Committee, chaired by Mary Jane Jones, received the Chairman’s Award for their work to help disadvantaged women in Southwest Virginia and southern West Virginia live healthier, happier lives.

“Dr. Mary Tomlinson, a Grayson County dairy farmer and large animal veterinarian, was honored as VFBF 2017 Farm Woman of the Year. She and her husband operate her family’s dairy farm, where she is in charge of herd management and develops all herd health protocols. Teresa Lindberg, a Greensville County producer and agriculture education teacher, received the Lady Leader — Proudly Promoting Agriculture recognition.”

Chandler Vaughan, of Charlotte County, an agribusiness student at Virginia Tech, was named the 2017 Virginia Farm Bureau Ambassador.

Prince Edward County Farm Bureau is one of 88 county Farm Bureaus in the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.

“With 126,000 members, VFBF is Virginia’s largest farmers’ advocacy group. Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, nonpartisan, voluntary organization committed to supporting Virginia’s agriculture industry and preserving the Virginia way of life.”