Shelley Barlow
Secretary/Treasurer, Cotton Plains Farm, Inc.
Shelley Butler Barlow is a farmer at Cotton Plains Farm in Suffolk, Virginia, where she works with her husband, Joseph Barlow, Jr., and his father and son, growing cotton, soybeans, corn, wheat, and vegetables. She does everything from bookkeeping to weed-pulling to tractor-driving and everything in between.
Shelley participates in many community organizations including Wesley Chapel UMC, Possum Hollow Ruritan Club, and Nansemond County Farm Bureau. She also serves on the Virginia Cotton Board, the Farm Bureau's AgPAC Board and Cotton Advisory Committee, and the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Board. She was Virginia Farm Bureau's Farm Woman of the Year in 2010.
Shelley graduated from Western Branch High School in Chesapeake and also from Virginia Tech with a B.S. degree in Agriculture/Animal Science. She has worked in Agriculture since 1982, raising pigs, working as a Veterinary Technician, selling feed and animal pharmaceuticals, and finally, for the past 18 years, as a farmer.
"Being selected as a member of the 2014-2016 VALOR class is an exciting opportunity and a great honor and privilege. It has become more and more important for farmers and others in Agriculture to be able to communicate and advocate for our industry in thoughtful and knowledgeable ways. Participation in the VALOR program will surely help me improve and expand on these important skills."
Shelley Barlow
VALOR Class II