Dinwiddie resident named 2009 Virginia Farmer of the Year

The Virginia Cooperative Extension has selected William "Billy" Bain of Dinwiddie County as the Virginia Farmer of the Year, an award that applauds individual contributions to the commonwealth's agricultural industry.

Bain, who operates a 3,200-acre corn, soybean, wheat, peanut and Angus cattle farm in southeast Virginia, was recognized at a meeting of the Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services on May 21 in Richmond.

Bain, a third-generation farmer, began operating his family's farm when he was only 17 years old after his father's death. He has incorporated strip-till, no-till and minimum tillage practices throughout his farm operation. In 1996, he was the first Virginia grower to strip-till peanuts, which helps to prevent disease, maintain yields and reduce costs.

As Virginia Farmer of the Year, Bain will receive a $2,500 cash award; a free trip to the Oct. 20-22 Sunbelt Expo in Moultrie, Ga.; a Dickies custom-designed jacket; and $700 in gift certificates from Southern States and Williamson-Dickie companies.

The award puts Bain on the short list of farmers in the running for Southeastern Farmer of the Year.

Extension has nominated people for the Swisher Sweets/Sunbelt Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year since the award's inception in 1990. The overall winner will be announced at the Sunbelt Ag Expo farm show in Moultrie, Ga., on Oct. 20.

Virginia Cooperative Extension, using the resources of land-grant universities Virginia Tech and Virginia State University, educates state residents in the areas of agriculture and natural resources, family and consumer sciences, community viability and 4-H youth development through on-campus specialists and locally based agents.