Article on farmer that posted in the Richmond Times-Dispatch

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Virginia Farm Bureau unveils tribute to farmers

The Virginia Farm Bureau Federation this week unveiled a new sculpture at its Goochland County headquarters that honors the work of farmers in Virginia.

Named simply the farmer, the 6-foot-3-inch bronze statue depicts a farmer standing amid early corn and gazing to the horizon.

The sculpture is intended to “remember the farmers of the past” and recognize “those of us who still produce food and fiber,” said Steve Saufley, a Rockingham County Farmer and a member of the Virginia Farm Bureau board of directors.

“Our country remains strong because of many reasons, but mainly because we have a cheap and abundant supply of food,” Saufley said at a dedication for the sculpture.

Farmers make up less than 1.5 percent of the population, but one farmer today feeds about 155 people, he said.

Agriculture and forestry is an  $80 Billion industry in Virginia. The Virginia Farm Bureau has about 38,600 farmer members.

The sculpture is based on a sketch by Farm Bureau employee Brenda Bulifant, who grew up on a Lunenburg County farm. It was sculpted by Mathew Glenn of Big Statues Inc. in Provo, Utah. Its sandstone base was supplied by Goochland-based Luck Stone Corp.’s Charles Luke Stone Center from a quarry in Pennsylvania . — John Reid Blackwell

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