At American Farm Bureau, we pride ourselves as the unified Voice of Agriculture. And that voice comes directly from our farm and ranch family members. As a grassroots organization, our strength is rooted at the local level. This is where members become family, and together we foster innovation and bring forward policies to strengthen agriculture and our rural communities. The county level is not only critical to our success but where we embrace excellence.
Farmers, and Farm Bureau, value innovation. As the world around us evolves, we know that agriculture must also adapt to meet new challenges and opportunities. The same goes for how we serve our communities. I am proud of how Farm Bureau members are finding new approaches to engage with the public on agriculture, recruit new members and help make our organization more effective.
To honor and celebrate the hard work and creativity of our local Farm Bureaus, AFBF presents the County Activities of Excellence Awards each year to outstanding counties that set the bar for local program development. These awards showcase the incredible abilities and innovations of our grassroots members. The categories for awards cover education and ag promotion, member services, public relations and information, leadership development and policy implementation and safety.
At our 104th annual convention in San Juan, we highlighted 24 exceptional counties from across the country. Each one demonstrated their leadership and commitment to quality programming within their county.
From California, we saw the Modac County Farm Bureau step in to help their community with local forest projects. Through their partnership with the Modac National Forest, they facilitated the placement of temporary skilled workers to help on urgent projects around the forest. This collaboration not only met the critical needs of the forest but also allowed these employees to gain experience and, in some cases, even full-time positions.
In Texas, the Montgomery County Farm Bureau ran a Reindeer Feed Store during Christmas time. Through hands-on activities, both kids and adults learned more about agriculture and where their food comes from. For example, children put together their own bag of reindeer feed, learning about the nutritional value of each ingredient and how it was grown.
In Geauga County, Ohio, the local Farm Bureau hosted an Amish Safety Day. They partnered with local authorities to help educate their large Amish community on a broad range of topics from farm safety and first aid to water quality and fire management.
Source: fb.org
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Categories: Ohio, Business