The president of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation said he’s proud of the accomplishments of farmers and his organization during the COVID-19 pandemic, but much more needs to be done to give farmers and rural Virginians access to high-speed internet service.
“Just like farms needed electricity and phone service a century ago, rural Virginia will not fully thrive without broadband internet,” Wayne F. Pryor told farmers from across the state in a recent annual meeting of the Virginia Farm Bureau’s voting delegates. “The nation’s modern economy is totally dependent on this essential service, and anyone offline is missing connections to buyers, suppliers, news, educational resources and vital medical services.”
Millions of dollars in federal grants boosted efforts to expand broadband Internet into rural Virginia in 2020, and farmers are grateful for that, Pryor said.
Despite about 85% of Farm Bureau employees being forced to work from home during the pandemic, Pryor reported that quick and efficient service to members has continued. One mark of confidence was reached late in the year, when the organization reached 129,985 members, several hundred above this 2020’s goal.
One way Farm Bureau works to support all Virginians surfaced this past spring when the Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom program moved quickly to enhance its video resources. “When local school systems began sending students home last spring, Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom stepped up and did a tremendous job of offering online resources for educators as well as parents thrust into the role of teaching at home,” Pryor said. “AITC’s efforts quickly became a social media success story, and they continued to share resources this fall for home and classroom use.”
Pryor also noted that while the 2020 State Fair of Virginia was canceled, the Farm Bureau, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia 4-H and the Virginia FFA Association all pitched in to hold youth livestock competitions this past fall.
“Sadly, we were unable to hold the fair this year. That was one of the hardest decisions our state board had to make during the pandemic,” Pryor said. “But we were able to host about 300 4-H and FFA members over two weekends for a modified youth livestock show. We’re very grateful to all our sponsors of the State Fair Sale of Champions who made it possible for this year’s sale to raise a record $90,000 for the fair’s scholarship program.”
With members in 88 county Farm Bureaus, VFBF is Virginia’s largest farmers’ advocacy group. Farm Bureau is a non-governmental, nonpartisan, voluntary organization committed to supporting Virginia’s agriculture industry.
