Dr. Amanda Weakley-Scott of Madison County took top honors Nov. 28 in Virginia Farm Bureau Federation’s Young Farmers Discussion Meet in Virginia Beach during the VFBF Annual Convention.

The Discussion Meet is designed to simulate a committee meeting in which discussion and active participation are expected from each contestant. Relevant topics are presented to competitors, who are judged on their discussion skills, understanding of important agricultural issues and the ability to build consensus.

The discussion this year centered on how Farm Bureau members can be more inclusive of all types of agriculture and work toward a more diverse membership within the organization. The participants covered a wide range of options to reach out to farmers of all commodities and demographics, especially young people just getting interested in an agriculture career.

Their suggestions encompassed the Virginia’s Young Farmers Podcast, participating in vocational agriculture competitions at the State Fair of Virginia and supporting local chapters of the Virginia FFA Association. They also discussed mentorships between experienced farmers and those just getting into the business, as well as deliberately inviting producers of less mainstream farm products to get involved at the county Farm Bureau level.

“I love that today we brought up how we can get the youth involved, showing them the broad array of careers that they can get involved with, whether that's through the STEM program or through FFA, and show them what agriculture has to offer here in Virginia,” Weakley-Scott said in her closing statement.

“I love that we talked about whether you're a hobby farmer or whether you're a large-scale dairy, you can have Farm Bureau backing you and going to bat for you.”

In addition to her veterinary practice serving farmers in Madison and surrounding counties, Weakley-Scott currently represents the counties of Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, King George, Madison, Orange, Prince William, Spotsylvania and Stafford on the VFBF Young Farmers Committee. She and her husband, Roger, have two daughters and operate two commercial turkey houses, a poultry litter hauling and spreading business, a cow-calf operation and a custom hay business.

First runner-up was Diaz Tompkins of Chesterfield County. Tompkins is a fourth-generation farmer and serves on the Chesterfield County Farm Bureau board of directors. Other finalists were Brittany Bowman and Thomas French, both of Shenandoah County.

Weakley-Scott and Tompkins will receive a travel package to the 2024 American Farm Bureau Federation Annual Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah, where Weakley-Scott will compete for national honors.



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.