Don’t think that farming isn’t a high-tech business. The Virginia Agriculture Expo in Hanover County yesterday had some of the latest trends and research on display, including a highly engineered wetlands-restoration project, new methods for reducing pollutant runoff, and equipment with GPS devices that help farmers squeeze ever more efficiency into their operations.

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.

The Hanover Master Gardeners and Virginia Cooperative Extension will hold a Master Gardener training class from Jan.14-March 30. Classes for the 60-hour training period will be held on Mondays and Wednesdays in the Department of Social Services meeting room at the Hanover Human Services Center, 12304 Washington Highway, just south of the intersection with Ashcake Road.