Virginia Farm Bureau Federation Young Farmers will host an Agriculture and Forestry Gubernatorial Candidates’ Forum from 1-5 p.m. on July 28 in Roanoke.

Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) July 10 announced the state’s first positive case of West Nile Virus (WNV) in a horse in 2017, according to Elaine Lidholm, VDACS spokesman. It is the first case since August 2015 in Virginia. The horse, a ten-year-old Saddlebred gelding, was from Wythe County and died as a result of the disease

Virginia farmers have an incentive to donate excess product to nonprofit food banks due to the Food Crop Donation Tax Credit. Approved by the Virginia General Assembly during the 2016 Session, farmers who donate edible food crops to a nonprofit food bank can receive up to a 30 percent tax credit for their donation.

Happy Sprout Inc. of Springfield, VA, trading as Good Seed Inc., is voluntarily recalling all packages of soybean sprouts because they have the potential to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections to individuals with weakened immune systems.

Governor Terry McAuliffe is leading a three-day trade and marketing mission to New York and Texas May 9-11, 2017. The team will promote the advantages of Virginia’s desirable business location and tourism assets as well as opportunities for Virginia agricultural products including: oysters, pork, wine, craft beer, and specialty food and beverage products.

Governor Terry McAuliffe is heading up a delegation of Virginia economic development officials on a three-day trade and marketing mission to Mexico May 1-4, 2017.

Drew Van Hook, manager and instructor at Silver Eagle Stable in Nokesville, said horses experience many of the same emotions as do humans: happiness, sadness, fear, anxiety, anger. They also behave differently when they're ill. Pet owners recognize their dogs' and cats' dispositions because they live together but how do equestrians know what their horses are feeling?

U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) will conduct its March Agricultural Survey on more than 1,600 farmers in Virginia to determine their plans for the upcoming growing season. The survey will ask producers to provide information about the types of crops they intend to plant in 2017, how many acres they intend to plant, and the amounts of grain and oilseed they store on their farms.