NEAFA is proud to announce that Matt Lohr, the 16th Chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), former Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and former Virginia State House of Delegates Representative will keynote the upcoming 2021 NEAFA Annual Meeting. “NEAFA’s Immediate Past President John Clark is a long time friend of mine,” said Lohr. “I’m part of his territory in Harrisonburg, VA. We’ve wanted to do something together for NEAFA for a while now. While I was the Chief of NRCS however, I couldn’t do personal events and then Covid hit. I’m excited to speak to a live audience again instead of being in my living room and doing something on zoom. I like that NEAFA’s mission is to realize as an industry that we can accomplish so much when we work collectively. I’m excited to have a chance to come up, learn more, and to meet with the attendees and share a positive message.”
Lohr and his family have a long history with agriculture. “I’m a fifth-generation farmer in Shenandoah valley,” said Lohr. “I got involved with FFA when I was young, and that gave me my love for communicating and speaking and telling the story of the agricultural community.” Besides his advocacy through politics, Lohr also runs his own business called Lohr Leadership, which focuses on motivational speaking based on his experiences in agriculture, life and political service.
“I’m a farmer in and out, it’s my true passion,” said Lohr. “I’m happiest when I’m here on the farm and I get to take care of the animals. I got involved in politics at an early age however. I was very blessed to come from a family that was very involved in public service; My parents and grandparents served on the fire department and the rescue squad, in the rotary club, etc. They taught me that serving your neighbor is an important way to live your life. I spent time serving as a state and national FFA officer, which gave me the opportunity to meet with President Bush on three different occasions, and I had the chance to meet other leaders at the state and national levels. That really fueled my interest to run for office, and give me an avenue to help make a difference for the agricultural industry.”
Lohr’s farm raises 750,000 broilers annually, along with 180 head of feeder cattle, and 250 acres dedicated to crop soy beans, corn, and hay production. “We’re a century farm,” said Lohr. “It’s been in my family for over 100 years, and is placed under permanent conservation easements so that it will stay in production agriculture forever. When I was Commissioner of Agriculture in Virginia, farmland preservation was a big initiative of mine. The initiatives that were in place before me, they weren’t viewed as farmer friendly for large scale animal operations. I made it a priority to make easements that were a better fit for confined animal farms. Once I was out of public office, I had the opportunity to apply it for my farm, so I could keep this land for production agriculture for future generations. Our farm is located off of Interstate 81, which is a major intersection, which potentially makes it a very developable area of land. I didn’t want it to become just another truck stop or box store in the future.”
Lohr has also worked as the Knowledge Center Director for Farm Credit of the Virginias, a customer-owned financial cooperative of 72 Farm Credit associations. “I spent 4 years working for Farm Credit to develop the educational aspect of their business,” said Lohr. “They wanted to educate farmers about business plans and farm succession. They work hand in hand with producers to help them be successful from the educational aspect. We focused a lot on young, beginning, small, and minority producers with an emphasis on the next generation.”
Lohr’s keynote is a combination of 3 topics. “The first part is also an important part of NEAFA,” said Lohr. “It’s about coming together and speaking with a collective voice. It’s about being able in agriculture to have our voices heard on the topics of climate change and other issues that surround agriculture. That as a community we can come together and speak with a collective voice. The second part is overcoming setbacks. You have to live life with determination and adapt and overcome setbacks. Lastly, it’s about living with a servant’s heart. I think for all of us, that giving back and looking for ways to serve and make our communities a better place is so important, to not lose sight of the importance of serving other people.”
Lohr’s keynote address will take place during the August 31st Annual Meeting Luncheon at the Turning Stone Resort and Golf Club, Vernon, NY. Registration and agenda details can be found by clicking here.