Press Releases

Summer Tour 2014

Our Summer Tour is less than two weeks away.  The date is Thursday, July 24 and we will meet at Spotswood High School in Penn Laird as a group and depart from there.  Registration will begin at 8:30, we will be leaving the school at 9:15 for our first tour stop.  Lunch will be at Grand Caverns park and will be catered by John Long/The Catering Company.  Lunch is being sponsored by Farm Credit of the Virginias.  A head count for lunch is needed by this Friday, July 18th.  Get with your advisor or you can email me at shelialilly@comcast.net to sign up.

 

Tour stops are below.  Note a change (from what is in the newsletter) to the afternoon tour.  The owner of Black Bear Composting had a conflict arise so we had to find a second location.

River Hill Farms

River Hill Farms, owned by the Rodes family, is a combination dairy, poultry, beef cattle, and custom harvesting operation, farming 600 acres.  They have approximately 150 dairy cows, raise 270,000 turkeys yearly for Cargil, and grow their own canola, oilseed, and soybeans to use for biodiesel as an alternative fuel source.  The biodiesel produced on the farm is used in the majority of the farm equipment.  The poultry operation is video monitored by using a computer or smart phone.  They have implemented burning wood chips and poultry litter for an alternative heat source for the poultry units.  GPS is utilized for precision farming, auto steer, and field mapping.  River Hill Farms is the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Chamber of Commerce 2013 Farm Family Stewardship Award winner.

 

Shreckhise Nurseries

The Shreckhise family’s roots in the nursery industry date back to the late 1800’s, when Noah Shreckhise (pictured below) founded Augusta Nurseries.  The nursery was located on the family farm in Augusta County, Virginia near the community of Mt. Sidney.  In 1935, three of his nephews, George, Charles and John Shreckhise, formed a partnership called Shreckhise Brothers.  They undertook numerous business ventures including nursery and landscaping.  Plants were grown on the same farm as Uncle Noah had used.  Landscaping was done in Augusta and Rockingham counties with an occasional job as far away as Washington, DC.  
In 1961, the nursery was moved to its current location in Rockingham County.  As production increased, the nursery began to wholesale material to local garden centers and landscape contractors, and wholesaling became a major part of the business by the early 1970’s.
In 1977, the next generation, including Danny and Jerry Shreckhise, bought the business.  Shortly thereafter, landscaping was dropped and nursery production became the primary focus.  The first basket grown trees were started in 1980.  At present, 90% of our total production is in containers. We are now entering a fourth generation in the industry.

 

 

Tractor's Seat

June 2014 Presidents Message

Greetings everyone! I hope this newsletter finds you happy, healthy, and your spring farm work done. After what seemed to be a long, long winter with more snow and colder temperatures than normal I sure have welcomed the warmer weather. Seeing all of the farmers on their tractors was a sure sign for me that warmer days were soon to follow. Thanks to Kevin and Amanda Driver and the rest of the Executive Committee on a great convention in Staunton this past January. Congratulations to all of the contest and award winners and thanks to all who attended the convention.
I am honored and excited to be your President this year. We held our first Executive Committee meeting in March to start planning the year’s activities. Please mark your calendars for the following dates:
July 24, 2016 – Summer Tour in Rockingham and Augusta Counties. Tour stops for the day will be River Hill Farms and Black Bear Composting.
December 10-313, 2014 – National Young Farmer Institute in Louisville, KY. There are two full days of tours and Ashley Craun, your 2014 Secretary will be representing Virginia in the Ag Communication Contest.
January 30-31, 2015 – State Young Farmer Convention in Roanoke. We are still in the process of ironing out the details of a hotel and tour stops. More info to come and soon as all of the details fall into place.
I will be attending the Institute in December as one of the delegates. Please let me know if there is anything you’d like to have addressed at the national level. The Executive Committee wants to visit your Association. Contact one of us if you would like to have a state officer attend one of your local meetings. I encourage everyone to get involved in our activities for the year. Be thinking about entering the contests that are available. All applications are available through your advisor or on our website. If you haven’t already done so check out and like our Facebook page. We have linked it to many other pages which we feel are of interest to the organization. Please feel free to post anything you think would be of interest. Our website is up and running but I’m still in somewhat of a learning process and trying to iron out some details. All of the information is the same just rearranged a little differently.
Have a safe and happy summer. I’ll see everyone at our summer tour in July.
Shelia Lilly

Press Releases

2014 State Officers

State Officers:

                           

Past President:                                                            

Kevin Driver

2252 Kerns Road

Dayton, VA 22821

540-810-3422

Kevin.amanda914@hotmail.com

President:

Shelia Lilly

5805 W. Donnagail Dr.

Penn Liard, VA22846

540-421-2571

shelialilly@comcast.net

 

Vice President:

Jane McDonald

520 Walkers Creek RoadRockbridge Baths, VA  24473540-348-5485

mcjanemarie@hotmail.com

 

Secretary:

Ashley Craun

3463 Hill Gap RoadBridgewater, VA  22812

540-908-0815

ac2steers@yahoo.com

 

Treasurer:

Clay Jackson

P.O. Box 711Madison, VA  22727703-772-5132

Senterfitt4x4@aol.com

 

Reporter:

Jason Patterson

5175 SpringCreek RoadBridgewater, VA  22812

540-820-3334

JasonP92@vt.edu

 

Directors:

Stuart Melton, Jr.11097 Rockville Rd.

Rockville, VA23146

804-749-3823

 

Ethel Showman

1221 SaintLuke RoadWoodstock, VA22664

540-348-5485

eshowman@shentel.net

 

Executive Treasurer:

R.J. Nobblitt

18429 Monrovia Rd.

Orange, VA 22960

540-727-4036

rjnobblitt@madisonschools.k1 2.va.us

 

Executive Coordinator:

Ron Byrd

309 ParadiseLane

Independence, VA24348

276-768-8590  rpbyrd@vt.edu

 

State Advisor:

Brad Bryant

P.O. Box 2120Richmond, VA 23218804-225-2840

Brad.Bryant@doe.virginia.gov

Press Releases

2014 Contest winners

2014 Young Farmers of Virginia Awards

The following awards were presented at the 2014 convention:

Corn Growing Award: Sponsored by Southern States Cooperative
RECEIVED GIFT CERTIFICATES TO SOUTHERN STATES ($100 1st and $50 2nd )

1.    Greg Buchanan, Riverheads
2.    Tim Clemmer, Riverheads

Soybean Production Award:  Sponsored by Syngenta
Winner RECEIVED Prefix chemical and plaque

1.    Mark Deavers, Broadway-Timberville
2.    Kevin Driver, Turner Ashby

Corn Silage Growing Award: Sponsored by Pioneer-John See
Winner received plaque and 2 units of seed corn, runner up received 1 unit of seed

1.    Greg Buchanan, Riverheads
2.    John Kelly Kiser, Riverheads

Virginia Outstanding Young Farmer Association: Sponsored by Virginia Farm Credit Assn
Winner RECEIVED $ 100 CHECK and runner up received $50

1.    Spotswood
2.    Turner Ashby

Outstanding Young Agribusiness Person: Sponsored by VA Council of Farmer Cooperatives
RECEIVED $ 200 and plaque

1.    Jeremy Will, Turner Ashby

Diversification in Agriculture Award: Sponsored by VDACS
RECEIVED $ 500 CASH AWARD and plaque

1.    J. Richard Clemmer, Riverheads

Outstanding Young Farmer Award: Sponsored by VA Farm Credit Association
RECEIVED $500 CASH AWARD and plaque

1.    James C. (Lucky) Graves, Madison

Agriculture Stewardship Award: Sponsored by VDACS
RECEIVED $500 CASH AWARD and plaque, farm sign

  1.  Kevin Driver, Turner Ashby

Farm Business Management Contest: (Test prepared by David Walker)
RECEIVED CASH PRIZES FROM Nationwide Insurance

  1. Jon McDonald, Rockbridge $25.00 and Plaque
  2. Madison Slaven, VA FFA  $20.00
  3. Brett Speakman, VA FFA $15.00
  4. Whitney Bowman, VA FFA  $10.00
  5. Lexi Holloway, VA FFA  $5.00

Ag Stewardship Contest: (Test prepared by Carrie Gray)
RECEIVED CASH PRIZES courtesy of VA Poultry Growers Cooperative

1.    Whitney Bowman, VA FFA  $25 and plaque
2.    Mitch Wallace, VA FFA $20
3.   Jon McDonald, Rockbridge  $15
4.    Madison Slaven, VA FFA $10
5.    Caitlin Atkins, VA FFA $5

Honorary Membership:RECEIVED PLAQUE FROM YFV

Eugene McLlwee, Retired Ag Teacher and Advisor for the Riverheads Association.

Attendance Award:
RECEIVED PLAQUES from YFV

Percentage of Members Attending:  Patrick Henry Association – Central
Most Members in Attendance: Spotswood Association

Farm and Home Safety Award:  Sponsored by YFV (1st $100.00 and 2nd $50.00)

1. Spotswood Association

2. Turner Ashby

Outstanding Advisor Award:    Sponsored by Southern States Cooperative
Received plaque and $200

1.   Carrie Gray, Turner Ashby

 

Membership Development: Sponsored by Rockingham Petroleum Coop.
RECEIVED $100 CASH AWARD, runner up $50

1. Riverheads

 

Elected: 2014 Virginia Young Farmer State Officers
President: Shelia Lilly, Penn Laird
Vice President: Jane McDonald, Rockbridge Baths
Secretary: Ashley Craun, Bridgewater

Treasurer: Clay Jackson, Madison
Reporter: Jason Peterson, Bridgewater
Director: Ethel Showman, Woodstock
Director: Stuart Melton, Jr., Rockville
Past President: Kevin Driver, Harrisonburg

Press Releases

2014 Virginia Young Farmer Convention

Convention Tours 2014

DOWNLOAD THE REGISTRATION FORM

NOTICE: Due to anticipated cold weather, all tours will be indoors and lunch will be Hank’s Barbeque.

Mt. Crawford Creamery – Mount Crawford Creamery in Rockingham County is a one of a kind operation. It is the only farm in Virginia that completes every step of milk production on the farm. The owners, brothers Frank and Kenny Will, decided to improve their business model by processing and selling their milk. The milk is sent straight to the pasteurization room and then to be bottled, right from the milking parlor. It is all done in one place. It’s hard to get much more local than that! Mt. Crawford Creamery processes the milk from their 80 cow herd. They bottle about 1,000 gallons of milk in a week. Products at Mt. Crawford Creamery include skim, 2%, whole, and chocolate milk. They are also selling salted and unsalted butter by the pound. In the future, the creamery hopes to expand their product line. The Wills brothers are committed to making quality products.

Eastern BioPlastics - We are the leading manufacturer and distributor of feather fiber reinforced bioplastic resin composites in the world. We partner with companies to formulate bioplastic composite resins suitable for the desired application. We believe the future of sustainable plastics is now! Conservation and sustainability does not need to compromise functionality or affordability. Our feather fiber reinforced bioplastic resins: 1. Create an affordable, functional, and more sustainable bioplastic alternative . 2. Avoid disrupting global population food demands. 3. Reduce landfill waste by eliminating poultry feathers from the waste stream. 4. Reduce the carbon footprint of downstream processors. 5. Reduce the plastic industry’s reliance on crude oil and natural gas.

Houff’s Feed & Fertilizer - A family and employee-owned company serving the agriculture industry in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. From its early days as a small custom fertilizer outfit, Houff’s has grown to become a dynamic business engaged in a variety of operations. Our core operations are geared toward the efficient and environmentally-conscious production of agronomic crops, serving the entire process from pre-plant to post-harvest. Our equipment and experience has also allowed us to provide satellite services as well including precision mapping, nutrient management and biosolids application. Other operations that have risen from our well-sited facility include rail transloading and regional sales and delivery of road salt and related products. Feel free to explore our site and give us a call to find out how we can bring solutions to your enterprise in an ever-changing environment!

DOWNLOAD THE REGISTRATION FORM

2014 Convention Schedule

FRIDAY,  JANUARY 31, 2014

2:00 p.m.    YFV Executive Committee Meeting    Skyline Room
4:00 p.m.    Registration    Lobby
4:00 p.m.    Ag Communication Contest    Skyline Room
7:00 p.m.    Opening banquet-Program by FFA officers    Salon A & B
8:30 p.m.    Nominating Committee-Pam Lowe    Skyline Room
9:00 p.m.    President’s Reception    Augusta Hospitality Room

SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY 1, 2014

7:00 a.m.    Hospitality Room Opens    Augusta Hospitality Room
8:00 a.m.    Registration     Lobby
8:05 a.m.    Assemble for Tour    Lobby
8:15 a.m.    Tour Bus Leaves
2:30 p.m.    Return to Hotel
3:00 p.m.    Business Session    Salon A & B
Presiding    Kevin Driver
Invocation    Stuart Melton, Jr.
Welcome/Introductions    Kevin Driver
Treasurer’s Report    Shelia Lilly, R.J. Nobblitt
Roll Call    Clay Jackson
Corn Growing Award    Jane McDonald
Silage Growing Award    Jeremy Will
Soybean Growing Award    Shelia Lilly
Membership Development Award    Ethel Showman
Door Prizes
4:00 p.m.    Farm Business Management Contest    Blue Ridge Room
4:00 p.m.    Agriculture Stewardship Contest    Blue Ridge Room
5:30 p.m.    Review Contests
6:30 p.m.    Awards Banquet    Salon A & B
9:00 p.m.    Live and Silent Auctions, Entertainment    DJ Earl Brown
Dinner Music    Sara Jane McDonald
and Brian Buchanan
10:00 p.m.    Silent Auction closes

SUNDAY,  FEBRUARY 2, 2014

8:00 a.m.    Breakfast Buffet    Shenandoah Ballroom
Presiding    Jeremy Will
Invocation    Stuart Melton, Jr.
NYFEA Presentation    2014 Louisville, KY
Farm and Home Safety Award    Kevin Driver
Agriculture Stewardship Contest Results    Adam Wampler
Farm Business Management Contest Results    Jeremy Will
Auction Results    R.J. Nobblitt
President’s Gavel & Bowl Presentation

9:00 a.m.       Inspirational Message     Ron Byrd

9:30 a.m.    2nd Business Session
Presiding    Kevin Driver
Attendance Award    Jeremy Will
Report of Nominating Committee    Pam Lowe
Election of Officers    Kevin Driver
Presentation of Newly Elected Officers
President’s Outgoing Remarks    Kevin Driver
Year in Review    Ron Byrd
Remarks    New President
Announcements
Door Prizes    Officers
Adjournment

Press Releases

2013 State Officers

Past President:
Adam Wampler
14049 Kay Drive
Timberville, VA 22853
540-896-3252
awampler@vt.edu

President:
Kevin Driver
5183 Rawley Pike
Harrisonburg, VA 22801
540-810-3422
kevin.amanda914@hotmail.com

Vice President:
Jeremy Will
9127 Kiser Road
Mt. Crawford, VA 22841
540-828-0999
oakwoodcgrits@yahoo.com

Secretary:
Clay Jackson
P.O. Box 711
Madison, VA  22727
703-772-5132
Senterfitt4x4@aol.com

Treasurer:
Shelia Lilly
5805 W. Donnagail Dr.
Penn Laird, VA  22846
540-421-2571
shelialilly@comcast.net

Reporter:
Jane McDonald
520 Walkers Creek Road
Rockbridge Baths, VA 24473
540-348-5485
mcjanemarie@hotmail.com

Directors:
Stuart Melton, Jr.
11097 Rockville Rd.
Rockville, VA 23146
804-749-3823

Ethel Showman
1221 Saint Luke Road
Woodstock, VA  22664
540-348-5485
eshowman@shentel.net

Executive Treasurer:
R.J. Nobblitt
18429 Monrovia Rd.
Orange, VA 22960
540-727-4036
rjnobblitt@madisonschools.k12.va.us


Executive Coordinator:
Ron Byrd
309 Paradise Lane
Independence, VA 24348
276-768-8590
rpbyrd@vt.edu

State Advisor:
To Be determined

Press Releases

Message from Your Executive Committee Team

Greetings fellow Young Farmers. We trust that each one of you had a great Thanksgiving!
This year’s National Institute was held in Memphis TN. Our Vice- President Kevin Driver attended as our State delegate; we look forward to his update at state convention. The National Institute for 2013 will be held in San Antonio TX, what a great opportunity to for you to enjoy summer weather in December as well as meet some outstanding farmers from across the United State and see the beauty of agriculture. Details will be posted on the NYFEA website when they become available.

Sixty-third Annual Convention
The Executive Committee is making the final preparations for the Sixty-third annual convention to be held January 25-27, 2013 in Williamsburg, VA at the Crown Plaza Hotel. Tours are still being finalized; keep checking the website for updates. They will be posted as soon as they are finalized.

(Click Here to Download the Convention Registration Form)

Don’t forget about the Award applications, the deadline to have them in is January 10th. The executive committee will be meeting on January 15th to judge the applications. (Link to Contest Forms)

We thank you for the great opportunity to serve you and this fine organization as an Executive Committee Team. We hope each of you have a Merry Christmas and that we will see you at the State Convention!

Thank you and God Bless!
2013 Executive Committee Team

Interested in Virginia agriculture?