Craig County and Patrick County Farm Bureaus were honored Nov. 29 by the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation for projects conducted in their communities in 2023. The two organizations were recognized during the 2023 VFBF Annual Convention in Virginia Beach.

Craig County Farm Bureau, led by president Jeannie Dudding, received a first-place VFBF County Award of Excellence for its second annual Land Lab Ag Fair at Craig County High School. The program was designed to introduce county residents to the Craig County Land Lab, a program for students to get hands-on experience in the agriculture field. It was also a fundraiser for the land lab and Craig County High School FFA chapter. More than 1,000 visitors toured the school facilities on May 6, and close to $6,000 was raised for these programs.

The event was coordinated by the Craig County Farm Bureau along with its county Farm Bureau Women and Young Farmers committees. Virginia Cooperative Extension and the Craig County High School FFA also contributed. The Craig County Land Lab provides students experience with handling cattle and other farm chores. It will be adding a poultry program soon.

The VFBF County Award of Excellence second-place winner was Patrick County Farm Bureau for its Ag Demo Day last spring. County Farm Bureau President Jonathan Wood led a team of sponsors who highlighted farm and highway safety related to farm equipment.

Demonstrations of safe practices relating to power take-off units, roll-over protection and securing loads were part of the program. Safe practices around slow-moving vehicles on the highway also were explained, and guests could compete in a tractor skills competition and win prizes, including a wood stove, a farm gate and ratchet straps.


With almost 135,000 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. View more convention news as it is shared at vafb.com/convention, and follow us on social media via #VFBFannualmtg23.

Contact Pam Wiley, vice president of communications, at 804-291-6315.