Farm Credit Goes to Washington to Advocate for a Strong Farm Bill

Farm Credit of the Virginias (FCV) is known for building strong relationships with our customer-owners; however, our customer-owners are not the only stakeholders whose relationships we work hard to maintain and strengthen. The Farm Credit System was established by Congress 109 years ago. As such, our directors and employees understand the importance of sharing the Farm Credit story with our members of Congress. 

FCV lives and breathes our support for agriculture and our rural communities, including through our legislative advocacy at the state and federal level. This November, our directors, customers and team members joined more than 800 Farm Credit representatives and customer-owners from across the country in Washington, D.C. for the 2025 Farm Credit Fly-in. Despite a government shutdown, the need to advocate for farm programs and a bipartisan Farm Bill 2.0 led us to visit Capitol Hill to bring the Farm Credit mission to life and garner continued support of our legislative priorities.

The Farm Credit Fly-in kicked off with an opening session with key members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and policy updates from the staff of the Farm Credit Council. As congressional staff came into offices during the fly-in, FCV was front and center by the House & Senate office buildings, providing coffee from customer-owner Moo Thru and Cool Lawn Farms of Remington, Va.

On Capitol Hill, team members and directors conducted visits with our Congressional delegation and their staff, including the offices of Senator Capito (W. Va.), Senator Justice (W. Va.), Senator Warner (Va.), Senator Kaine (Va.), Rep. Beyer (Va.), Rep. Cline (Va.), Rep. Griffith (Va.), Rep. McGuire (Va.), Rep. Miller (W. Va.), Rep. Moore (W. Va.), Rep. Subramanyam (Va.), Rep. Vindman (Va.), and Rep. Walkinshaw (Va.). In each meeting, we discussed the importance of key priorities for Farm Credit included in the Farm Bill 2.0, as well as the impact of the ongoing government shutdown and volatility in ag markets. Their support of these priorities will allow us to better serve agriculture and rural America. Most importantly, our customer-owners and directors shared their personal Farm Credit story, bringing our mission to life.

A favorite of the Farm Credit Fly-in is the system-wide Marketplace Reception. Farm Credit invites congressional representatives and their staff to engage with our team and peruse customer-sourced products to take home. At the reception, FCV offered ice cream, fresh fruit, vegetables, pumpkins, mums and more, from the following customer-owners:

• Brookedale Farms, LLC (Mineral County, W. Va.)
• Moo Thru & Cool Lawn Farm (Fauquier County, Va.)
• Reese’s Farm Fresh Produce & Market (Halifax County, Va.)
• Spring Valley Farm & Market (Augusta County, W. Va.)

This feature story was originally published in the Winter 2025 Leader magazine. Access the full magazine (digital version) HERE.