Women are helping shape the future of agriculture across Virginia as farmers, entrepreneurs, advocates, and industry leaders. For 100 years, Virginia Farm Bureau has worked to strengthen Virginia’s agricultural community, providing its members with advocacy, education, leadership development, and opportunities to connect.
As part of Root to Table’s celebration of the women making an impact across our regional food and farming communities, we spoke with Virginia Farm Bureau about the programs helping women grow as agricultural leaders, the importance of advocacy and mentorship, and the opportunities available to the next generation of women in agriculture.
1. For readers who may not be familiar with Virginia Farm Bureau, can you tell us a little about the organization’s mission and how it serves Virginia’s agricultural community?
Virginia Farm Bureau is the state’s largest advocacy group, and this year marks our 100th year of supporting Virginia families. We offer our almost 137,000 members savings, support and agricultural advocacy for rural families at every level of local, state and national government.
Through our 104 Farm Bureau offices, we provide community support throughout the state. We support local and national community organizations through charitable giving, volunteering and donating more than $100,000 in youth scholarships each year.
For our farmer members, we offer a variety of leadership opportunities, including personal and professional development opportunities for young farmers ages 18-35; women’s leadership development through an annual conference, leadership academy and local training; and the chance for our members to serve on their local Farm Bureau boards as well as boards of other community organizations.
2. Women are leading farms, ranches, agribusinesses, and agricultural organizations across Virginia. How is Virginia Farm Bureau supporting and empowering women?
We have a statewide Women’s Leadership Committee that organizes an annual conference during which our farm women can participate in educational workshops and networking. In tandem with this, we provide the Women’s Leadership Academy that offers smaller groups of women the opportunity to learn about sharing their stories, practice their speaking skills and get information about becoming better agricultural advocates. As part of this year’s conference, the group visited the General Assembly and talked to legislators about issues of concern.
And 21 Virginia Farm Bureau ladies (the largest group from any state) participated in the American Farm Bureau Federation ACE Summit in Washington, D.C. While there, they joined 450 attendees from across the U.S. and the world in examining the challenges and opportunities women in agriculture face across the globe.
The biennial ACE (Advocate, Cultivate, Empower) Summit equips and connects women farmers, ranchers and agribusiness professionals through leadership development, advocacy training, networking opportunities and professional growth.
On the final day of the summit, participants put their advocacy into action and met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill. During meetings with Reps. John McGuire, Eugene Vindman, Jen Kiggans and Ben Cline, they shared insights and discussed challenges facing Virginia agriculture, including the impacts of this year’s severe weather on the commonwealth’s crops.
3. Can you share a success story that demonstrates Virginia Farm Bureau’s impact on women in agriculture?
Candace Monaghan is a Botetourt County Farm Bureau member who has benefitted from both Farm Bureau’s women’s leadership program as well as its business development arm, Virginia Foundation for Agriculture, Development & Innovation. She is a fourth-generation farmer who helped grow her family’s farm through agritourism.
She used Farm Bureau’s business resources to help her start the Beaver Dam Sunflower Festival in 2016 as a way to diversify the farm. Today, over 21,000 festivalgoers from all over the U.S. visit.
She said that the VFB Women’s Leadership Program helped her through leadership training, community outreach and learning to advocate for policies that help farmers and rural communities.
She has also been the face of an advertisement in Cooperative Living magazine, as well as our own Virginia Farm Bureau News.
4. What advice would you give to a woman considering a future in agriculture?
If that’s your passion, then you should pursue it. Women in agriculture are a vital part of the industry. Take every opportunity that you can to learn about agriculture, get involved with Farm Bureau to utilize their leadership training opportunities, and network!
Also, advocate for yourself and don’t be afraid to get innovative.
Supporting Women Who Are Growing Virginia’s Future
From developing stronger agricultural advocates to helping women turn innovative ideas into successful businesses, Virginia Farm Bureau’s programs demonstrate the impact that education, connection, and leadership opportunities can have throughout Virginia’s agricultural community.
As Root to Table continues to celebrate the women growing, producing, creating, and leading across our region, stories like these remind us that supporting the future of local food also means supporting the people behind it.
