Mindy McCroskey of Washington County recently was named runner-up for the American Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers & Ranchers Excellence in Agriculture Award. The competition took place at the 2016 Annual AFBF Convention, held Jan. 10-13 in Orlando, Fla.

The Excellence in Agriculture Award recognizes young adults who do not derive the majority of their income from farming but actively contribute and grow through their involvement in agriculture, their leadership ability and participation in Farm Bureau and other organizations.

McCroskey, who was among three runners-up for the award, will receive a Case IH Farmall 50A tractor courtesy of Case IH, along with $3,000 in cash and merchandise from Stihl Inc.

“We are incredibly proud of Mindy,” said Grant Coffee, Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Committee chairman. “She’s worked hard for this—not just her presentation for the competition, but also the years of work she’s invested in her family’s farm operation, and her work as a teacher and leader in her community.”

McCroskey, an agricultural educator and FFA advisor at Abingdon High School, grew up on her family’s beef cattle farm and began showing cattle at age 9. She owns a herd of registered Simmental cattle and remains involved in her family’s farm.

She chairs the Washington County Farm Bureau Young Farmers Committee and also serves on the county Farm Bureau’s budget, scholarship and membership promotions committees. Additionally, she is a member of the VFBF Young Farmers Committee.

McCroskey was named winner of the 2015 VFBF Young Farmers Excellence in Agriculture Award at the 2015 VFBF Annual Convention in December in Norfolk.

As the state-level winner, she received a Kubota RTV utility vehicle courtesy of Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Services and Experient Health, and a Stihl chain saw from Mid-Atlantic Stihl. She also received a travel package to the 2016 AFBF convention.

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 supporting Virginia’s agriculture industry and preserving the Virginia way of life. 

Contact Greg Hicks, VFBF vice president of communications, at 804-290-1139, or Ron Saacke, VFBF vice president of young farmer and women’s programs, at 804-290-1032.