8/27/02

Even as many of its members stayed on their combines in an extraordinarily early corn harvest, the Virginia Small Grains Association held its annual meeting Tuesday, Aug. 20, at the New Kent High School.
Some Virginia farmers reported they started cutting drought-damaged corn in early August when the crop recorded a moisture as low as 15 percent. It was the first time that attendance at a small grains annual meeting had been impacted by a corn harvest.
The association made two notable awards at the session. Dr. Dan Brann, who recently accepted retirement as Extension grain specialist at Virginia Tech under an early severance program, was awarded lifetime membership.
And Bruce Hotchkiss, senior editor of American Farm Publications Inc. and founding editor, in 1978, of The Delmarva Farmer, was honored as “Friend of the Industry.” Hotchkiss has been covering Virginia agriculture, and particularly the people and activities of the state’s small grains, corn and soybean associations since the early 1990s.
Interestingly, now that Brann is retired — although he continues to serve the association as an advisor on a volunteer basis — he can seek to be more than an ex-officio association consultant. Thus, he was able to accept election as the second vice-president for 2002-’03 and ultimately, should officer progression remain on its traditional track, he will become association president.
Serving the state’s corn and grain interests and industry in an expanded capacity was one of Brann’s wishes when he agreed to step down from his Tech post after 28 years of teaching and Extension outreach. James N. Oliver Jr. of Smithfield is the new president of the small grain association, succeeding Courtney Price of Spring Grove. Oliver is one of several young farmers who are moving into leadership positions in Virginia’s corn and small grains commodity organizations. Moving up to first vice president is Craig Giese of Lively.
Highlights of the meeting included a presentation by John Cassidy, vice president for grain operations for Perdue Farms, which now owns and operates the former Cargill grain export facility at the Port of Norfolk, and a panel of millers. Dan Mennel of Mennel Mills told the producers that what they grew was up to them but that he didn’t want soft red winter wheat. He said they might have to be satisfied with five bushels an acre less in production if they hoped to garner a premium on the crop from the milling company.