Poultry farmer named to Virginia Farm Bureau board

The board of the Virginia Farm Bureau voted to tap the owner and operator of a poultry farm as a member, according to a published report.

Robert Mills Jr. of Briar View Farms Poultry was elected to a three-year term on Thursday, during the bureau's 2011 annual convention in Norfolk, GoDanRiver.com reports. The co-owner of M.C. Cattle replaces a board member who opted against re-election and he said he very much looks forward to facilitating the entry of young people into the industry.

The 38-year-old Mills, who was once the president of the Pittsylvania County Farm Bureau, said that he was excited for the opportunity that this position will present.

His poultry farm raised roughly 34,000 birds for Perdue Farms and he has two sons who help him cultivate burley and dark-fired tobacco.

The Virginia Farm Bureau works with farmers and policymakers to encourage the prosperity of agriculture and the industry in Virginia.

Virginia targets eminent domain rollback

The Virginia Farm Bureau is hard at work these days devising the best way of keeping the state of Virginia from seizing land from private owners, The Associated Press reports.

While convening in Norfolk for its annual convention from Tuesday through Thursday of this week, the largest farm lobby in the state is planning its approach to requesting a constitutional amendment that will minimize Virginia's capacity to pursue eminent domain. The effort, which will come to a head when the 2012 General Assembly convenes next year, includes the creation of a video produced by the Virginia Farm Bureau.

"For them, it's their land, they bought it, they paid for it, they pay taxes on it and they just don't feel it's right to take it from them and give it to another private entity," Farm Bureau president Wayne F. Pryor said in the video.

Resistance is likely to manifest from the Virginia Municipal League and Northern Virginia cities and towns as well.

The Virginia Farm Bureau supports the state's farmers by promoting their industry so that agriculture may prosper.

Virginia Farm Bureau's young award recipient looks ahead

The past couple weeks have seen life simplified for Virginia farmer John Henry Anderson Smith IV, the Bristol Herald Courier reports.

The gentleman, who runs a 1,000-acre farm in Southwest Virginia and goes by Andy, was honored by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation who bestowed him with the Young Farmer Achievement Award. This past summer saw him tapped for the award while toiling through the busy season, which ended in mid-November when the year's calves were auctioned.

"I was very shocked," Smith told the publication about when he emerged as the winner amongst five finalists in late July. "All of the other applicants were just excellent. I was surprised, because I don't have the biggest farm, or the most animals."

The land he works has been in his family since the late 18th century. One of his strongest passions is a devotion to assist farm families cast plans for the benefit of future generations.

The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation has at least 150,000 members dispersed among 88 county farm bureaus and is the state's largest advocate group for farmers.