2026 Excellence in Agriculture Award

The Excellence in Agriculture Award is an opportunity for Young Farmers to earn recognition while actively contributing to the progress and growth of agriculture through their involvement in Farm Bureau, the industry, and the local community.  Participants will be evaluated based on their proactive involvement in agriculture, leadership in the industry, and participation in Farm Bureau and other organizations (i.e., civic, agricultural services, and the community).

The ideal candidate(s) for the Excellence for Agriculture Award are not full-time farmers or production agriculturalists but promote the agricultural industry through their daily work routine.  Entries are evaluated based on applications received. Finalists are evaluated on their application and a PowerPoint presentation.    

Eligibility

• Finalists must be Farm Bureau members in good standing with their county Farm Bureau – if you are not a member, it is okay to join now to participate in the program.
• An applicant can be either an individual or a married couple.  If married, husband and wife may apply as individuals or as co-applicants.
• Competitors are to be between the ages of 18 and 35 years of age.  Participants shall not have reached their 36th birthday by Monday, January 11, 2027.
• Past state Excellence in Agriculture Award winners and/or previous American Farm Bureau Excellence in Agriculture Award competitors are not eligible to compete.
• Past state Achievement Award winners and/or previous AFBF Achievement Award competitors are not eligible to compete.
• County, State, and American Farm Bureau employees are not eligible. This also includes affiliated companies.
• Only one applicant per state will be eligible to compete in the AFBF Excellence in Agriculture Award Program – the state winner will represent Virginia at the AFBF Annual Convention.
• Competitors may compete in either the Achievement Award or Excellence in Agriculture Award Competitive Event, but not both in the same year. 
• Competitors may only compete in 1 national YF&R competitive event per year.
• Applicants must have derived a majority of their income from an enterprise other than production agriculture for the past three years.  For example, ag teacher, fertilizer salesperson, ag marketing, ag writer, farm employee (non-owner), extension agent.

Entry Form & Application Guidelines

• It is recommended that you write out your answers to the narrative questions in a Word doc and copy and paste them into this application. 
• You may also save your work and continue at a later time. Scroll to the bottom of the application and hit save. If you do not wish you create a Jotform account, you can hit "Skip Create an Account," and you will receive a link to finish your application at a later time. 
• Do not use your name, farm name, state, county, or any other names/locations that may bring about the recognition or identification of your person, county or state beyond the entry form on page 4.  Verbal and PowerPoint references to your name, state and county will be allowed during the finalists' PowerPoint presentations (see Presentation Format on page 3). 
• Please do not use abbreviations or acronyms – judges may not be familiar with these and grade down accordingly.
• If applying as an individual, include only information pertinent to the applicant.
• Application must be properly signed with no additional pages.
• Letters of recommendation, scrapbooks or other visual additions are not allowed.
• Deadline for mailing/emailing entry forms for the VFBF Competitive Event is April 30th. You may submit the document digitally with signed pages by e-mailing to kelly.roberts@vafb.com. 
• PowerPoint presentations are not needed at this time but must be turned in by finalists during contest registration at the competitive event. The PowerPoint presentation is only needed by the finalists who will compete in the state competition at Summer Expo in July. 

 Evaluation Criteria

One set of judges in the preliminary round will evaluate the applications to choose the finalists. Then applications and the presentations will each be reviewed by a separate set of judges to determine the state winner.                                 

 

Application	Points	Approx. %
Questions II-V	150	37.5%
Farm Bureau Experience	120	30%
Other Leadership Experience & Goals Additional Awards & Recognitions	100	25%
Application form	30	7.5%
MAXIMUM POINTS	400	100%

 

Presentation	Points	Approx. %
Delivery	40	40%
Content	30	30%
Responses to Questions	30	30%
MAXIMUM POINTS	100	100%

         

Total Score	Points	Approx. %
Application	400	80%
Presentation	100	20%
MAXIMUM POINTS	500	100%

Presentation Format (not needed for initial application --- presentations are for finalists only)

The presentation, given at the 2026 Young Farmers Summer Expo, will be an interactive 25-minute interview in which the competitor(s) has an opportunity to share the contents of their application in narrative form. The only visual means competitors can deliver the presentation is through a PowerPoint presentation. All the necessary presentation equipment will be provided for the contestant(s). The contestant(s) must bring their presentation on a USB thumb drive to be turned in at registration. The presentation will be given to a panel of three judges. The guidelines for the presentation are as follows:

• Introduction and presentation: 15-20 minutes on the issues addressed in the application as well as past and present accomplishments and future goals.  
• Question and answer session: 5-10 minutes (time card will be displayed at 20 minutes to help remind presenters to move into the Q&A portion)
• Verbal and PowerPoint references to your name, state, and county will be allowed during presentations.
• Recommended dress is business/professional attire
• No props allowed other than the PowerPoint, and no sound/video is allowed
• Finalists are not allowed to view other finalists’ presentations.

Awards

State Finalists: All finalists will receive $500 after competing in the state competition.  (Finalists must compete to receive the award.)

State Winner: (subject to change) A Kubota or similar utility vehicle courtesy of Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Services, a cash prize of $500 from Montgomery County Farm Bureau, and a trip to the AFBF convention and competition in January. The first runner-up also receives a trip to the AFBF convention. 

American Farm Bureau Winner: (subject to change) The Excellence in Ag winner receives $35,000 towards a new Ford truck, courtesy of Ford. The three runners-up received $20,000 towards a new piece of Case IH equipment, courtesy of Case IH. Third-place finalists received a Case IH safe courtesy of Case IH, a $2,500 cash prize courtesy of American Ag, and $1,665 of Stanley Black & Decker merchandise courtesy of Stanley Black & Decker. Fourth place finalists received a Case IH solo stove, courtesy of Case IH.

All contest prizes are subject to change depending on commitments from and the economic climate for sponsors. Every effort will be made to ensure equal prize replacements are available, but none are guaranteed until officially delivered.

 

If you are the state winner, please be prepared to provide one of the following for verification purposes: (not necessary to send in until after the winner is announced this summer) 

• copy of 1099 or W-2 form 
• A letter of recommendation from your employer or company on letterhead that includes the length of employment and a brief description of your job responsibilities.

I (we) hereby certify the information on this entry form and attached application to be accurate and true statements made to the best of our ability. VFBF DOES NOT ACCEPT LIABILITY FOR APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED INCORRECTLY BY A COUNTY FARM BUREAU OFFICE. VFBF reserves the right to use your photos and/or any video footage for use in promoting Farm Bureau. The photos and/or video footage of the undersigned contestant may also be available to sponsors of Farm Bureau events.  I have not derived a majority of my income from production agriculture in any of the past three years.

Signature- County Farm Bureau President/Secretary

I hereby certify that the above-named applicant(s) is a member in good standing in this County Farm Bureau and is eligible to be entered in the competition for the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers Excellence in Agriculture Award. (You may take a photo of this signature and upload it below).

 Note: Remember to write in first person narrative for questions I-V. Remember no state or county-specific identifiers.

 Note: This applies to both applicants if applying together. Please indicate A1 and A2 when applicable.

A. List Farm Bureau leadership roles, involvement opportunities, recognitions and/or awards you've received, indicating service on committees, boards or as officers. List each activity on a new line, followed by the applicable year(s) in your involvement. For example:

• A1- Elected president of the County Farm Bureau Board of Directors (2015-2016)
• A1 & A2- Serve as District 4 leaders on the state Young Farmers Committee (2020-present)

B. List other agricultural leadership roles, involvement opportunities, recognitions and/or awards you've received, indicating service on committees, boards or as officers. For example, Farm Credit, Soil & Water Conservation, Farm Service Agency, farm cooperatives, 4-H, etc. Please list each organization on a new line, followed by a short description of your involvement, followed by the year(s). 

• Example: A1 & A2 – 4-H, Serves as a 4-H Livestock Club Leader (2019 – present) )

C. List other community and non-agricultural leadership roles, involvement opportunities, recognitions, and/or awards received by the applicant(s), indicating service on committees, boards, or as officers. For example: civic/service clubs, church, school, volunteer leadership, etc. Please list each organization on a new line, followed by a short description of your involvement and the year(s).

For example:

• A1 & A2- Pleasant View Methodist Church: Church Deacons (2012-2016)