Virginia Member Named Outstanding Young Cooperator
Reston, Va. – Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association (MDVA) recently named Ben Smith as the co-op’s 2022 Outstanding Young Cooperator (YC).
“Our Young Cooperator Program shapes future co-op leaders,” said Lindsay Reames, EVP of Sustainability and External Relations for MDVA. “We are thrilled to have Ben as our Outstanding YC for 2022 and share how our cooperative operates and makes decisions. Our Outstanding YCs not only become part of the fiber of our cooperative’s leadership but grow to become recognized leaders in many national agriculture organizations.”
Ben Smith is the dairy manager at his family’s Remington, Virginia farm, Cool Lawn Farm. Cool Lawn Farm is a fourth-generation, family owned and operated farm. They milk 780 cows and farm 2,500 acres with the help of 17 employees. Ben is a 2012 Virginia Tech graduate. Ben has served as Fauquier County Farm Bureau’s Young Farmer Chair for the past year and has been involved in MDVA’s YC program for six years. Ben has also been a board member of the Virginia Holstein Association for the past four years and serves on the board of the Citizens for Fauquier County.
As Outstanding YC, Ben will be invited to attend MDVA board meetings and will represent the cooperative at the National Milk Producers Federation YC meetings in in Washington, D.C. and in Denver, Colorado later this year.
“It’s my honor to serve as Maryland & Virginia’s 2022 Outstanding YC,” Ben said. “We are a small but mighty co-op of family-owned and operated dairy farms. It’s my honor to share our dairy story on a national stage and provide fresh perspective to cooperative business.”
Maryland & Virginia selects an Outstanding Young Cooperator to represent the organization at national industry events. The winners are elected by their peers based on their dairy and community involvement, ability to communicate with others, and their dairy knowledge. For more information about the Young Cooperator program, visit the Maryland & Virginia website at www.mdvamilk.com.
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Photo Caption: Virginia Member Ben Smith was named 2022 Outstanding Young Cooperator (YC) by Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Cooperative Association (MDVA).
