2026 Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers Achievement Application

2026 Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers Achievement Award Application

Deadline: April 30, 2026

Purpose:

Recognize Young Farmers for their achievements in production agriculture and leadership

Eligibility:

The ideal candidate(s) for the Achievement Award is an individual or couple involved in production agriculture with a majority of his/her gross income subject to farm and/or ranch risks.

You can be either an individual or a couple that is married or has similar legal rights under the law applicable to the state Farm Bureau organization. You may choose to apply individually rather than as a couple.

Applicant(s) shall be a Farm Bureau member(s) between the ages of 18 and 35 in good standing with his/her county Farm Bureau. The individual or spouse/spouse/spousal-equivalent shall have reached his/her 18th birthday when he/she qualifies for the national competition and shall not have reached his/her 36th birthday by the completion of the competition. Competitors qualify when the national application is submitted, and the completion of the competition is the day awards are given out (Monday, January 11, 2027).

You must be in attendance on-site at the AFBF Annual Convention to compete nationally.

You must be actively engaged in farming and/or ranching, with the majority of your gross income coming from production agriculture. You must have at least three years of financial records showing that the majority of income came from production agriculture.

You may only compete in one Young Farmer competition per year. Past and present members of the AFBF Young Farmers & Ranchers Committee and/or their spouses are not eligible to compete.

Current employees or agents of county, state and/or the Virginia Farm Bureau organizations and their affiliates are not eligible to compete. An affiliate is defined as an entity owned or controlled in whole or in part by another entity through, for example, ownership (including partial ownership) or positions on the board of directors. Past employees and interns who were responsible for implementing any of the YF&R Competitive Events since January 1, 2018, at the state or national level are ineligible.

Entry Form & Application Guidelines:

Writing out your answers to the narrative questions in a Word doc and then copying and pasting them into this application is recommended.
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 to 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, your state or county name, or any names that may bring about recognition or identification beyond the entry form.
The entry form and application must be completed in first person narrative (i.e. I, me, we, etc.) for sections 1-9 and 13. “A1”/“A2” may not be used for sections 1-8. Applicants must use “A1”/“A2” to denote each applicant for all of sections 9-11.
Do not use abbreviations or acronyms unless they have been spelled out once with the abbreviation in parentheses behind them. For example, United States Department of Education (USDE). AFBF, FB, and YF&R are acceptable to use throughout the application.
It will be up to the judges’ discretion to deduct points if you include activities before you were 18.
Please note that if you are the state winner, you will be asked to provide more in-depth information about your financials per the AFBF application, which will require a signature from your bank/loan officer and will need to be notarized.

Note: Disregard of the guidelines will result in disqualification of the application.

Judging:

The entry form and application of each entry will be coded upon receipt by VFBF. Your name and state will not be revealed to the judges until judging is completed.

An interview with the top finalists during the 2026 Young Farmers Summer Expo determines final scores and rank.

A panel of qualified judges will select the state winner. The competitors will be interviewed by the same judges who reviewed the written applications.

Interviews will be up to 20 minutes in length and are intended to evaluate your command of the farm business and financials, familiarity with the contents of the application, and appreciation for the value of Farm Bureau (see rubric). In addition to the 5 points allocated for the interview, judges may alter scores from other sections based on what they learn during the interview.

During the interview process, only the named applicant(s) on the entry form is permitted into the interview and should refrain from using the name of their county or any names that may bring about the recognition or identification of his/her county. Applicants can refer to each other by their first name throughout the interview.

Scoring:

The chart below is not the rubric. Please refer to the separate rubric document for all scoring criteria.

Category	Points
1. Personal Background	10
2. Scope of Farm	15
3. Growth & Achievements	25
4. Management Decisions	15
5. Goals & Planning	15
6. Resiliency	10
7. Financial Success Part 1	25
8. Financial Success Part 2	25
9. Leadership Experience: Farm Bureau	30
10. Leadership Experience Other Ag Organizations	15
11. Leadership Experience: Other	10
Total Application Points	195
Interview	5
TOTAL POINTS	200

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 250-hour lease on a piece of Kubota equipment courtesy of Kubota Tractor Corporation, a Kubota or similar utility vehicle courtesy of Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Co., $2000 in cash prizes from Farm Credit, VAFB Young Farmers and Chesterfield County Farm Bureau, and a trip to the AFBF convention and competition in January. The first runner-up receives $750 from VAFB Young Farmers and a trip to the AFBF convention.

American Farm Bureau Winner: (subject to change) The Achievement Award 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.

Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers Achievement Entry Form

The data below and throughout the application applies to you and your spouse/spousal-equivalent, if married. Please indicate “Applicant 1” (A1) and “Applicant 2” (A2) on questions 10-12.
Name: A1

First NameLast Name
Name: A2

First NameLast Name
Address

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip Code
Phone Number: A1
Please enter a valid phone number.Format: (000) 000-0000.
Phone Number: A2
Please enter a valid phone number.Format: (000) 000-0000.
Email: A1
example@example.com
Email: A2
example@example.com
Date of Birth: A1

MonthDayYear
Date
Date of Birth: A2

MonthDayYear
Date
Age: A1
Age: A2
I (we) hereby certify the information on this entry form and attached application to be accurate and true statements. VFBF DOES NOT ACCEPT LIABILITY FOR APPLICATIONS SUBMITTED INCORRECTLY BY A COUNTY FARM BUREAU OFFICE. VFBF reserves the right to use my (our) photos and/or any video footage for use in promoting Farm Bureau. The photos and/or video footage of the undersigned contestant(s) may also be available to Farm Bureau sponsors. By participating in the Event, I (we) warrant that I (we) fully and unconditionally agree to and accept the VFBF YF official contest rules and the decisions of the VFBF State YF Committee, which are final and binding.
Signature: A1
Signature: A2
I hereby certify that the above-named applicant 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 Achievement Award. (The applicant may upload a photo of this signature below)
Signature of County Farm Bureau President/Secretary

Cancelof

Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers Achievement Award Application

Note: Remember to write in first personnarrative for questions 1-8. Remember no state or county specific identifiers.
I. Personal Background
A. Briefly tell us about yourself, your family, education, and personal interests- Approx. 2,000 characters
B. Please describe your farm including how you acquired it, acres owned and rented, years in operation, crops and livestock- Approx. 2,500 characters
C. List any other related business enterprises and their relationship/importance to the overall operation- Approx. 1,500 characters
D. Tell us how you advocate for agriculture- Approx. 1,500 characters
2. Scope of your Farm
A. Explain the ownership structure of your farm and your vested interest, including role, duties and responsibilities. Please include all enterprises in your explanation, if applicable- Approx. 4,000 characters
B. What percentage of the farm management decisions are you responsible for? Please break down each enterprise, if applicable. For example, Poultry operation- 50%; Timber operation- 80%, Sweet corn operation- 100%- Approx. 1,250 characters
C. Please add any additional information that helps explain the previous two responses, if needed- Approx. 1,000 characters
3. Growth & Achievements
A. Please tell the story of your farm growth since your first year of owning/managing your farm. Where were then and where are you now? Use specific examples to show how your operation has grown and highlight your contributions to the success of the operation over time- Approx. 3,000 characters
B. List and describe any production efficiency growth you have achieved since your first year of owning/managing your operation- Approx. 2,500 characters
4. Management Decisions
Please explain how your understanding of the market has led you to create strategies that make your operation thrive and ensure its success now and into the future. Discuss up to two impactful strategic or management decisions you have on your operation, why you made them, and the changes that resulted from implementing those decisions- Approx. 3,500 characters
5. Goals & Planning
Moving forward, what short-term and long-term goals do you have for your farm? Explain how you plan to achieve these goals- Approx. 2,500 characters
6. Resiliency
A. Describe any major business challenges your operation has encountered and what you did to overcome them (ie., policy, financial, family, managementment, etc.)- Approx. 2,000 characters
B. Describe the transition or succession plan(s) you have for your operation. If you do not have either, please explain- Approx. 1,500 characters
7. Financial Success: Part 1

NOTE: In considering the financial situation, judges will consider the whole application and how the financials are connected to the history, goals, and strategies of the operation. Financials are not to be evaluated independently of the other sections. *All figures must appear as whole numbers.

A. Net Profit

Rows	Year	Total Income	-Total expenses	=Net Profit
First Year
3 years ago
2 years ago
1 year ago
2023 year-end projections

Please indicate whether the above reflects:
B. Describe the practices you use to evaluate the financial success of your farm, including ratios or analysis, record keeping systems and/or advisors used to support successful financial management- Approx. 2,000 characters
C. Describe where you see your greatest financial strengths and weaknesses in your farm/ranch business- Approx. 2,000 characters
8. Financial Success: Part 2
A. Do you have any other farm business income not otherwise shown in the financials section (such as supporting agri-businesses)? If so, how is that income used? Is any off-farm income earned by you or your spouse and how is that income used? Approx. 2,000 characters
B. What additional income, if any, from inheritances, winnings, etc. did you accept and how is/was it used? Approx. 1,000 characters
9. Leadership Experience: Farm Bureau (from age 18 to current)
Note: This applies to both applicants, if applying together. Please indicate A1 and A2 when applicable.

List Farm Bureau leadership roles, recognitions and/or awards received by the applicant, including service on committees, boards or as officers. Please include years and level of involvement (county, state, national). Example: A1 – Elected President of the County Farm Bureau Board of Directors (2018-2019)- Approx. 2,500 characters
County Farm Bureau
State/American Farm Bureau
10. Leadership Experience: Other Agricultural Organizations (from age 18 to current)
List other community and non-agricultural leadership roles, recognitions and/or awards received by the applicant, including service on committees, boards or asofficers (i.e. Chamber of Commerce, civic/service clubs, church, school,scouts, coaching, etc.) Example: A1 –Local Elementary School, Served as Parent Teacher Association (PTA) President (2018-2020-) Approx. 2,500 characters
11. Leadership Experience: Other (from age 18 to current)
List other agricultural leadership roles, recognitions and/or awards receivedby the applicant, including service on committees, boards or as officers (i.e. Farm Credit, Soil Conservation, Farm Service Agency, farm cooperatives, adultroles in 4-H or FFA) Example: A1 and A2 – 4-H, Serves as a 4-H Livestock Club Leader (2017 – present)- Approx. 2,500 characters
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2026 Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers Achievement Award Application

Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers Achievement Entry Form

Virginia Farm Bureau Young Farmers Achievement Award Application