WILLIAMSBURG—Just seven hours after the official confirmation of her appointment as the next Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, Katie Frazier addressed attendees of the Virginia Farm Bureau Annual Convention on Dec. 3.
The Rockingham County native will become the second state agriculture secretary from Rockingham County when she succeeds Matt Lohr.
She shared that her career in agriculture started with Farm Bureau, “and you are the reason I caught the advocacy bug.”
Frazier will serve under governor-elect Abigail Spanberger starting Jan. 17 and will continue her work supporting Virginia’s top industries—agriculture and forestry.
She has worked at both the state and federal levels on a range of issues, including soil and water conservation, market and economic development, agricultural research, workforce development, and the preservation of working farms and forests.
Since 2018, Frazier has served as the chief brand officer for Farm Credit of the Virginias. In this role, she led the financial cooperative’s marketing, legislative and advocacy efforts, education, the Farm Credit Knowledge Center, stakeholder and community relations, and charitable contributions programs.
Prior to that role, she served as executive director of the Virginia Agribusiness Council, a nonprofit trade association in Richmond. During her tenure there, Frazier said, “I worked with you on legislation helping farmers and foresters.”
Frazier said that when Spanberger served in Congress, they spent time together on farm tours and it was obvious that the governor-elect was passionate about agriculture and forestry issues.
Agriculture and forestry are in a great space right now, Frazier said, and Spanberger and her administration will continue to support those industries.
“She believes in having agriculture and forestry at the table, and I share that commitment.”
-Virginia Farm Bureau
