Award Winner:

Southampton woman wins Farm Bureau Discussion Meet

Rose Bradshaw, a Virginia Tech student from Southampton County, took top honors Nov. 27 in Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s annual Young Farmer Discussion Meet. The competition was held at the 2007 VFBF Annual Convention in Chantilly.

Bradshaw is pursuing a graduate degree in agricultural and extension education, and her research focus is the leadership needs of Virginia’s young agriculturalists. Her family produces peanuts, wheat, soybeans and corn on their farm, and she served as the 2006 VFBF Farm Bureau Ambassador.

She will represent Virginia in national competition in January at the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmer & Rancher Discussion Meet in New Orleans.

First runner-up in the competition was Charles “Chip” Jones, a small grain and produce grower from Westmoreland County. Other finalists were Jason Pratt of Smyth County and Carl Tinder of Albemarle County.

The Discussion Meet is a committee-style discussion of a predetermined agricultural topic; participants are judged on their ability to build consensus and work toward solutions. This year’s final-round topic was “In today’s environment, with the increasing demand for water, how does rural America maintain a strong voice among competitors?”

Years ago, Bradshaw noted, “it was hard to imagine that we’d be paying over $1 for bottled water;” indeed even among farmers water seemed to be a resource that always would be readily available. “We’re finding that that’s not the case,” she said.

Falling into a “blame game” regarding water needs and usage will not be a productive solution for rural America, she said. Rather, rural and farm organizations will need to engage in research and public education initiatives related to water usage and water conservation.

“We need to ensure that water can be used for rural and urban purposes.”

Bradshaw was awarded a John Deere Gator utility vehicle from Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co., $500 from Dodge, and $300 and a commemorative plaque from the VFBF Young Farmer Committee. She also will receive travel packages to the 2008 AFBF Annual Convention and the 2008 AFBF Young Farmer & Rancher Leadership Conference in Baltimore.

With 148,000 members in 88 county Farm Bureaus, VFBF is Virginia’s largest farm organization.

Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, nonpartisan, voluntary organization that supports its members through legislative lobbying, leadership programs, commodity marketing and risk management services, insurance products and other benefits.