Susan Belford
Susan Belford was raised in Clarke County, Virginia where her family backgrounded stocker cattle and had a commercial cow herd. Susan graduated from Virginia Tech with a major in Animal Science and a minor in Communications. She works at Farm Credit of the Virginias with as a loan officer/branch manager. She works closely with full and part-time farmers. Additionally, she works with residential lending. She grew up showing beef cattle, participating in 4-H, FFA, and Junior Breed shows nationwide. Most recently she has been traveling across the country with her son showing beef cattle and lambs. She has served as a 4-H leader, and served on the board of the Fauquier Education Farm.
"Today, more than ever, advocating for agriculture and our food system, is critically important. Every day, I am reminded just how far removed from agriculture normal everyday Americans have become. We have moved far past chocolate milk coming from a brown cow. It is important to advocate and educate whenever the opportunity arises. What excites me most about VALOR is being given the opportunity to see production agriculture from a different perspective. I am looking forward to gaining skills to advocate not only for agriculture, but to bring back skills that I can share with others, that will help them maneuver through what might feel like tension filled conversations, for positive outcomes."