Jeannie Dudding of New Castle was named Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s 2015 Farm Woman of the Year March 21 during the VFBF Women’s Conference in Roanoke.

Judging for the designation is based on participants’ contributions to family, home, farm business, community and Farm Bureau.

Dudding and her husband, Jason, have a cow-calf operation and grow hay. She is a Virginia Cooperative Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Bland and Giles counties and previously taught agriculture and was an FFA advisor at Giles High School. She holds undergraduate degrees in animal science and education from the University of Connecticut and a master’s in agricultural education from Virginia Tech.

On her farm she is responsible for herd health and record- and bookkeeping, as well as other tasks.

Dudding has served on the Craig County Farm Bureau board since 2006, and she also is a member of that organization’s Women’s Committee and Young Farmers Committee. In 2013 she took top honors in the VFBF Young Farmers Discussion Meet competition.

She said involvement in Farm Bureau “has opened my eyes to how the grassroots effort works and how we as farmers can influence the agricultural policies that affect our operations.” She said the organization also has afforded “numerous opportunities to network and learn from both young and seasoned producers from my own county, Virginia and nationally.”

In addition to her Farm Bureau involvement, Dudding also serves on the board of the Big Walker Soil & Water Conservation District and is a member of Giles Farm Bureau Cooperative and the Blue Ridge Eventing Association.

She received $500 from the Virginia Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Co.

With 128,000 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 protecting Virginia’s farms and ensuring a safe, fresh and locally grown food supply.